Hawk Watch and Die

I read an article yesterday. Local to me actually.  It was about a Red Tailed Hawk that was shot with an arrow. A good shot actually.  Right through the chest.  The arrow stopped at the fletching.  The hawk has been flying around for a month with the arrow through it.  It's flying is normal and it's apparently eating pretty well too. They found it and captured it.  The arrow was removed and it appears the hawk with make a good recovery.  I'm happy for the hawk, I really am.


     And you all know that's now where I'll stop.  The comments on this article.

     Probably some punk kid in his coal rolling Dodge pick-up. Flying a Rebel flag who thinks its cool and the Redneck way. Showing off to his girl that wears to small of cloths looking like a can of busted biscuits.

     Hope you get fingerprints off of the arrow and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, felony    conviction so he can't posses and weapons in the future and no hunting license ever again !!!!!

     Here's what we do, we find who it was and shoot them. We need to bring back capital punishment and humiliation

     Some people can be real knobs! I hope they can find the dope who did that and stick a arrow in their back!

Those are copied and pasted.  And there are hundreds more just like it.  But my point.  Not long ago people would be praising the shooting of this hawk.  But condemning it wasn't a kill shot.  This hawk could have been destroying a food source.  They prey on chickens, rabbits and snakes(that eat mice and other vermin).  So imagine losing all your chickens and eggs and not being allowed to do anything about it.  You'd shoot the hawk too.  You'd shoot the crows if they did it.  You shoot the groundhogs that are a risk to your animals and equipment.  Why the discrimination amongst the animals?  Aren't they all special?

Good for you that you can now sit at home on your computer, or in a coffee shop on your computer, or sitting on your phone in the woods typing about how mad you are that a hawk got shot.  Aren't you happy that you have time to actually do that?  But yes, we do live in a time where not many people are bothered by hawks.  So to see one get shot is bothersome.  Especially because it very well may be have been someone someone out shooting their bow and saw it and decided to test their skill.  But seeing as how it was shot in march in Pa, who's out shooting their bow?  Not many people.  It seems that they set up intentionally in an attempt to kill this hawk.  Which tells me they may have been trying to protect something.  Maybe their small dog that runs in the yard.  Or their cats.  Or their chickens.  Should they have illegally shot it? No.  But we don't know the story.  So lets not judge the motives until.  And from some of those comments, hard to tell who the monster is.....

That all being said....I'm bummed the hawk got shot.  I saw one just the other day drop on a mouse or some other small creature.  It was incredible.  I've seen them flying in the field behind our house looking for food.  I've seen eagles and even captured them on photo.  They need to eat too.  But when something threatens our food source, we have to protect it.  And what happens when animals kill other animals?  Do we let it happen?  Do we protect the victim animal?  They don't play by the same rules as we do.