facebook 11 yo Boy (Legally) Hunts and Kills Rare Deer, His Prize? A Facebook Flame War.

[Ian S.]

https://www.facebook.com/wzzm13/photos/a.72277719567.70335.21982024567/10152780916014568/?type=1&theater

 

Rare albino deer bagged by 11-year-old Michigan's Gavin Dingman shoots white animal with crossbow on hunting trip with his father; story generates wide range of emotional feedback

 

Gavin Dingman, 11, poses with albino deer; photo via Facebook

An 11-year-old Michigan hunter last week killed a rare albino deer while on a hunting trip with his father.

This week, the story is generating a wide range of emotional feedback on Facebook.

Gavin?s father, Mick Dingman, told WZZM 13 that he and his son had spotted the white deer several times in recent the years, and that other hunters had talked about trying to bag the animal.

An admittedly nervous Gavin used a crossbow from 30 yards to harvest the 12-point trophy buck, and the news quickly spread in hunting circles.

?He kind of feels like a rock star right now,? Mick Dingman said. ?Everyone is calling, all of the hunting shows and hunting magazines.?

Sentiments being expressed on the WZZM 13 Facebook page, where the albino deer story has been shared more than 4,000 times, are somewhat mixed.

?He should have let it live. There are plenty of others out there,? reads one of hundreds of comments.

?If it?s rare, why the hell would he kill it?? reads another.

?I?m fine with hunting, just hate the ?Hey look, it?s different, let?s shoot it? ideas. Shoot it with a camera and let the unique one live,? reads yet another.

Deer-hunting in Michigan is an extremely popular pastime, so it?s not surprising that so many wrote in defense of Gavin Dingman.

?Get over it. The law says it?s legal. Back off the kid!!! Way to go kiddo!!? reads one comment.

?He paid good money for his license. He can use it for anything HE chooses, ? reads another. ?Whether it be a brown deer or an albino buck, the state of Michigan gave him permission to kill it. Leave the kid alone. He did nothing wrong. He harvested a great trophy.?

Some of the commenters criticized WZZM 13 for posting the story on Facebook, opening Gavin to criticism.

?WZZM should stick with reporting news, not trying to make an 11-year-old boy feel guilty for shooting a deer, during deer season,? reads one comment.

Albino deer and leucistic deer (not a true albino) possess genetic defects that cause the white pigmentation.

Some native cultures revere the white animals, and believe that they possess the spirits of ancestors.

This story brings to mind the killing last October of a rare albino ?spirit moose? in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Three hunters involved in that expedition were harshly criticized on social media sites, and ultimately issued a formal apology to the Mi?kmaq people.

It?s unclear whether any native groups have spoken out against Gavin Dingman?s killing of the white deer in Michigan.

The boy?s description of his big moment: ?My dad was just like, ?Take a deep breath. Are you sure you can take the shot? If you?re not 100 percent, we don?t want to injure it.? ?

The family plans to pay a taxidermist to create a full body mount of the deer.

WZZM 13 cites a report that claims that one out of 20,000 deer are born albino.

?Find Pete Thomas on Facebook and Twitter

Source:

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/outposts/post/rare-albino-deer-bagged-11-year-old/

[Xahid]

In this age, he should be playing "Deer Hunter" online.

[trag3dy]

In this age, he should be playing "Deer Hunter" online.

 

Why? You'd rather an 11 year old kid be sitting in front of his tv or computer playing a video game than out doing a physical activity and a hobby he appears to enjoy?

[Bamsebjørn]

Why? You'd rather an 11 year old kid be sitting in front of his tv or computer playing a video game than out doing a physical activity and a hobby he appears to enjoy?

 

Well... apparently some hobbies include killing rare animals.

This can only be forgiven if he did something useful with the corpse. Did he eat it?

[Xahid]

Why? You'd rather an 11 year old kid be sitting in front of his tv or computer playing a video game than out doing a physical activity and a hobby he appears to enjoy?

Instead of killing Live animals, I prefer my Kids at that age playing computer games!

Physical activity on the other-hand can be anything else, swimming, hiking,  outdoor games, etc. just not killing anything.

[trag3dy]

Well... apparently some hobbies include killing rare animals.

This can only be forgiven if he did something useful with the corpse. Did he eat it?

 

Why is that a problem? As far as killing animals go besides being albino it's literally no different from other dear. I'm not sure why it needs to be treated differently.

 

And yes, most hunters will use the meat in one way or another. My brother and Dad often make sausage with theirs after they go hunting.

 

 

Instead of killing Live animals, I prefer my Kids at that age playing computer games!

Physical activity on the other-hand can be anything else, swimming, hiking,  outdoor games, etc. just not killing anything.

 

So just say you don't like hunting. It's not hard. There are lots of reasons why hunting is good besides being a sport people have enjoyed for hundreds of years.

 

And he's not your kid, so yeah..

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

apparently some hobbies include killing rare animals. 

somehow, to me, it seems wrong to call killing any creature a 'hobby'  :(

[Bamsebjørn]

My brother and Dad often make sausage with theirs after they go hunting.

 

Good for them, at least the animals don't die for nothing then.

 

 

So just say you don't like hunting. It's not hard.

 

 

I don't like hunting.

[(Account no longer active)]

I'm fine with hunting (something every 'man' should do once in a while), but I wouldn't have shot a rare one.

[MikeChipshop Member]

OK, it technically is 'rare' however it's not 'Endangered' another quirk will come along and produce another Albino deer.

[DocM]

With between 2 and 3 million deer in the state every year (does have twins and reproduce like rabbits with 6-7 does for every buck), population control for all of them is essential because such a large herd is beyond the ability of predators to control, especially in urban, suburban and near-rural areas that predators usually avoid.

Besides stripping farmer fields and gardens like 4 legged harvesting machines, deer also cause about 60,000 auto accidents a year in Michigan - including accidents with human fatalities - in both the cities and country. They'll march right into heavily populated areas an in front of vehicles. Everywhere from rural roads to city freeways, and our deer can easily exceed 200 lbs - some going well over 300 lbs. Imagine hitting that at 60 mph.

As to albino deer, they make up a small population because as youngsters they're easier for predators to target and rarely survive to adulthood. Most all of out wildlife biologists advise against protecting them as it weakens the herd by spreading recessive genes (albinism isn't the only one.)

Another problem with deer is our harsh winters. Many deer die from starvation during a harsh winter, and too many survive during mild winters causing big die-offs the next harsh winter. I've been in the field during these die-offs and it isn't pretty.

Because of the die-offs, predators avoiding populated areas and deer being quite willing to come into them, the best way to control their population is hunting to cull the herd. Hunters further into rural areas use firearms, but a large number use bows, or crossbones as this youngster did. Handicappers frequently use crossbones to hunt.

And for the record; Michigan has no minimum hunting age, but those under 12 must have a "mentor hunter" with them to supervise.

Hunters pay for their licenses, thus providing funds for other wildlife management projects, eat the meat (venison is very tasty) and provide winter incomes to rural areas that otherwise have little.

[blank]

In this age, he should be playing "Deer Hunter" online.

 

At his age he should be learning how to survive without relying on everyone else to do the dirty work.

 

Besides, Deer overpopulating is very dangerous, and deadly for us.

[DConnell Member]

In this age, he should be playing "Deer Hunter" online.

 

Playing Deer Hunter doesn't provide food for his family. Hunting can. This way he got a real-world achievement, and some tasty venison as well!

[domboy]

Survival of the fittest... I thought evolution was an excepted theory we teach in school? A completely white dear is going to stick out anywhere except on a snowy day. Guess what...

 

Of course on the flip side, I always liked the idea of the illusive white stag in the Narnia books...

 

Either way this boy has a pretty good chance of surviving epic disasters like the zombie apocalypse and world-wide power loss etc.

[Mandosis]

Good for him, that is a huge achievement for someone his age. I live in Minnesota and deer are a huge danger while driving. Especially at night. Someone was driving right in front of me last year when a deer ran out of no where and totaled the brand new car. Thankfully there were no injuries.

[techbeck]

Gee, another hunting and kids thread/gripe session.  If you dont live in hte US, if you dont have hunting in your family, then you wont understand and dont try to.  It is perfectly safe for kids to hunt.

[Houtei]

Well I have no problem with hunting for food and im fine with people that do it for sport but at the same time I personally don't believe in killing animals unless you need to to eat or maybe you need to so you wont killing people lol as long as theres a reason better than its fun.  I have friends that hunt and my dad hunts though.  Funny thing is though most of the time you spend way more money on all the cost just go hunting and you could buy a lot more food than your going to get from a deer in which you have a good chance to not even get anything.

 

If that kids parents want to raise him a hunter then more power to them. Same things goes for if they want to kill a super rare deer and show it off.

[Stokkolm]

Well I have no problem with hunting for food and im fine with people that do it for sport but at the same time I personally don't believe in killing animals unless you need to to eat or maybe you need to so you wont killing people lol as long as theres a reason better than its fun.  I have friends that hunt and my dad hunts though.  Funny thing is though most of the time you spend way more money on all the cost just go hunting and you could buy a lot more food than your going to get from a deer in which you have a good chance to not even get anything.

 

If that kids parents want to raise him a hunter then more power to them. Same things goes for if they want to kill a super rare deer and show it off.

You've obviously never been hunting before. About the last adjective that could be used to describe hunting would be fun. You get into the woods before the sun comes up and if you don't see a deer before about 8am you're almost always waiting until the sun is about to set before you have another good chance. It's very boring, so if a person is hunting they are doing it for a reason. Usually it's for the meat and if you come across a trophy then that's a plus.

[episode]

I don't like hunting.

 

Do you eat meat?

[sbasil]

The youth today! :-P But nothing unheard of. Just the other day there was this story about a 11-year-old Finnish boy that had hunted and killed a 400kg moose. http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288753502456.html

 

Barbarians!  :|

[Stokkolm]

The youth today! :-P But nothing unheard of. Just the other day there was this story about a 11-year-old Finnish boy that had hunted and killed a 400kg moose. http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288753502456.html

 

Barbarians!  :|

Nice! Is that in Sweden? My moose hunting season in Alaska ended in disappointment this year. They taunted me quite a bit, but I could never get a good shot on one or they didn't meet the legal requirements.

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

Awesome for the kid. Nothing wrong with that.

The only issue is "White" but it should not be.

Venison is great meat and I am sure they will not waste it.

As a meat eater I certainly think that this is preferred way to farming deers.

Hunting is something human have done for not hundreds of year... But since the beginning of time.

[streetw0lf]

I read somewhere that men hunt to compensate for their small wieners. 

[vcfan]

good job kid. I wish I could shoot something as fascinating as that deer. although this season i'll be trying my hand at something a little different. timber wolf and red fox.

[DocM]

I read somewhere that men hunt to compensate for their small wieners.

Then explain the huge number of female hunters, including girls? My wife could nail a deer at 250 yards on a bad day with a rifle, and she's a pretty fair archer too. Daughter? Even better.

Not at all uncommon. So many the state Dept. of Natural Resources is putting on workshops for new female hunters.

It's the meat first, then (for deer etc.) the leather. Trophies like a mounted set of antlers are secondary.

Some of us also hunt for charity. There are so many excess deer that hunters in some regions of the state can take more than one per hunting season. Some of this gets donated to food banks and other charities. Some deer killed in auto accidents can also be donated. 3 programs just in Michigan. We donate through Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger.