From Cougars to Deer

In response to “The State Believes It Owns Even Cougars,” one of LRC’s readers astutely observes that Leviathan admits to owning wildlife only when it can thereby milk us for more money. But when those animals damage our property, all of a sudden we’re on our own: “…if you farm for a living, the state is NEVER going to claim that it was their deer that destroyed your ability to grow and sell the crops that are vital to your way of life. And if a deer runs out into the road and does thousands of dollars damage to your vehicle (if you’re lucky; many people have died in these collisions) the state will NEVER pay one penny towards fixing the damage ‘their’ deer did to your car.” And he ironically notes that Iowa, for example, is very free with advice for landowners whose acreage the government’s herd is ravaging but mighty short on any other help. Hmmmm: that’s the State’s MO for bureaucrats, too…

Meanwhile, Fritz Groszkruger writes, “Many taxpayer dollars could be saved if the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) were restricted from jurisdiction over private property. When deer are on our property they should be subject to our rule not the rule of the state.  … It is incredible to me that an animal that costs $4 billion and 200 lives a year in vehicle crashes is managed to provide sport for a tiny minority. That we need a license from the state to shoot a deer should be shocking to people in a free country.”

That we need a license to do just about anything anymore should shock formerly free Americans. But alas, it doesn’t.

Finally, a number of you noted how similar is our plight to that of medieval serfs, whose rulers persecuted them for killing wild animals without permission. I would add that the rising consciousness of government’s restrictions on their natural liberty moved our Founding Forefathers to revolution.

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4:42 pm on September 26, 2017