For thousands of people in Wisconsin, this time of year is not only a time for the holidays, but also a time for wearing blaze orange clothes and spending weekends in the woods hunting deer.
The hunting season, which spans the greater part of the fall and beginning of winter, is an important Wisconsin tradition that both UW-Madison students and faculty take part in.
'Deer hunting is extremely popular in Wisconsin,' said wildlife ecology professor Scott Craven. 'The traditional gun-hunting season over most of the state is the nine-day season Thanksgiving week. But in the disease-control zones and the herd-reduction zones, the season started for archery back in September and continues for gun-hunting well into the winter.'
It may be a popular Wisconsin pastime, but many do not fully understand why anybody would want to hunt. Some say they believe that it is unethical and others say they believe it is a waste of time.
'I have a few friends that don't understand it, so I just don't bring it up with them,' UW-Madison senior Blake Gorowsky said. 'People see the movie Bambi and associate human qualities with the deer. It's just hunting, I don't see what the big deal is.'
For most, hunting is about more than just killing and eating deer. Many recreational hunters actually kill very few deer and hunt more for the love of the sport and the spirit of the tradition.
'Bow hunting is challenging because you have to get so close to the animal, so it's not a high success rate, it's a lot of sitting around, waiting, watching nature,' UW-Madison graduate student Shawn Chadwick said. 'It's about spending time with family and being outdoors.'
Another concern is that hunting is a dangerous sport. But, Craven says there have only been a few hunting-related accidents in the last few years and it is probably a lot less risky than many other recreational activities.
Despite any criticism or any lingering fear from the 2002 outbreak of chronic wasting disease, hunting is still an important way of controlling the deer population, Craven said.
'The deer herd has the capability of doubling at least every two years and we're already at very high deer populations,' he said.
Craven said unless hunters harvest a similar number deer this year as last, around a half-million, then a larger herd could contribute to a higher number of deer-vehicle collisions, more ecological damage and the spread of diseases.
Hunting opportunities can be found across the state, including Dane county as well as more remote wooded areas of northern Wisconsin.
