Dec 13, 2014 2 min read

I am writing in response to the Dec. 7 letter from Rich Walker who suggested reducing the number of deer in Washington Cemetery through live trapping or hunting.

I am adamantly opposed to his suggested deer reduction, as my family and I have enjoyed seeing these deer in a relatively safe environment for our entire lives. These deer have been hand-fed by nearby residents all their lives, and it would not be hunting at all to kill them as suggested. The newspaper recently ran an editorial which pointed this fact out, when a poacher killed a deer he had lured with bread. This is inhumane and is tantamount to killing zoo animals.

There is a large field adjacent to the cemetery where the deer forage in the winter months. I grew up in this area, and watched many deer eating in this field. I hope children living in Washington can always go to this area to witness live deer families. I want to see the deer protected in this environment, as they always have been. They are a beautiful vision among the tombstones.

Christmas is almost here, and we should be thinking of ways to be kind to animals, not trying to figure out ways to kill or eliminate them.

Mona Gray

Washington