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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 21, 1992                   TAG: 9201210348
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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`DWINDLING SPECIES'? SOME ARE INCREASING

I AM CONCERNED with the bad press the sport of hunting sometimes gets. With his letter (Jan. 7), Donald Taylor showed his lack of knowledge in this area.

For example, he writes about the "dwindling animal species." As a college student and a hunter since the age of 12, I can remember a time when there wasn't nearly as much wild game in Virginia as there is presently.

The populations of bear, wild turkey and deer have risen dramatically, due in part to many sportsmen across the state. The deer population in the state is now at a dangerous level, where some deer could starve as a result.

Obviously, Mr. Taylor has never been hunting. I took his reference to an "electronic gauntlet" as an insult to the sport I love. Hunting is a sport that for the majority, matches the hunter's skill and wits with the elements of nature and the elusive animal.

Yes, hunting deserves coverage in the sports pages too. Hunting is a sport, just the same as baseball, basketball, football and auto racing. In a world where athletes are paid millions to participate in a sport they enjoy, hunting should be a refreshing change. I never saw a person who hunted do so for any other reason than because they enjoyed it. DOUG MASON ROCKY MOUNT

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