Letters to the Editor -
Dear Editor,
While I totally empathize with those who were victims of collisions with moose in this province, as an individual, I am very concerned in regards to where this controversy is heading.
So far I have heard we should cut back the brush along the margins of our highway. Fine.
I also hear that warning signage should be placed at points where moose habitually cross the highway. Not a big deal since it is in places now and could be expanded, but one has to ask if moose are to be informed of those requisite crossings since they tend to be illiterate.
Removing the nuisance (sic - debatable term) population near the highway? This may be difficult and comparable to forbidding a small child to leave a certain room in the home in which he has been conditioned to roam since birth. Of course, our highway department's salting process attracts them to those salt licks. Maybe we should do away with this deicing process and take a course in hazard driving.
Culling the herd? I believe with all the poaching in this province and the legal kills up to about a sixth or seventh of our total moose population, that's culling enough. In any case, what about our hunting lodge enterprises? Are we going to deny those businessmen a livelihood? What about eco-tourism dollars? Some visitors come to see wildlife, not kill it. Will they have to view a piece of taxidermy in some museum in the near future to experience the muted thrill of seeing this magnificent beast?
Fencing the highway at certain points? A very costly, dubious and maybe unnecessary practice for large lumbering moose. While it may be perfect for small leaping deer as in New Brunswick, which has only 20,000 plus moose, a population so small that hunters get just one day to bag their animal.
Lighting the highway at certain places where moose may cross? Will this cause speeding drivers to slow down or encourage them to speed up more at such points if time is of the essence?
Lowing the speed limit for nighttime driving? Isn't that a decision best left to the person behind the wheel? What kind of repercussions will this have on the transportation industry and other travellers? If a driver is young or old, alert and has excellent eyesight and a brain, who are we to weary him on his journey?
Yet, the real question is where are the actual hard studies supporting the possible causal relationship between moose and highway fatalities? What investigations exist to place all blame on a dumb beast? How often was the driver at fault? Drunk, negligent, fatigued, drinking coffee or fiddling with a cell phone?
Look, I know and you know for the most part, this moose debate was artificially created and will go on until it blows itself out. I for one am not at all disposed to the wastage of tax dollars when we have so many other needs in this province. In any case, before any minister or government allots money for any of the above "solutions," don't you think we should study the specific nature of all moose accidents before we discuss solutions?
This situation reminds me of the poem about the many varied sermons the congregation preacher delivered on divers topics, but he seldom mentions sin. I contend that our petitioners against moose have failed to discuss the sins of drivers on our highways. I leave you with the last verse from This side of Calvin, by Phyllis McGinley.
And in the pulpit eloquently speaks
On divers matters with both wit and clarity.
Art, Education, God, the Early Greeks,
Psychiatry, Saint Paul, true Christian charity,
Vestry repairs that shortly must begin,
All things but sin. He seldom mentions sin.
Aubrey Smith
Grand Falls-Windsor
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