Wary of hunters, these deer appear at dawn in search of food near Buffalo Mountain Road in Floyd County, Virginia.

As a gun sounds, they scatter. The gunshot came from far away but they know the sound means danger. Life for deer means finding food for survival while avoiding those who interest in them has little to do with survival or food. All too often, deer are shot for the purported pleasure of killing them and then left for the carrion.

I grew up in a family of hunters. We hunted for the deer meat, the hides and, if the buck warranted it, the trophy on the wall. There needs to be more to hunting than just a thrill from killing.