I visit Wissahickon Valley Park three times a week on average. I walk, not just for the physical benefits, but also for the mental and emotional ones derived from being close to nature. Most seasons, I enjoy, not simply the plants and trees, but my fellow creatures. In years past, however, that would change come late December when signs would go up, ostensibly announcing a curfew but, in reality, indicating the slaughter of the deer who make the park their home. I learned to alter my path to avoid these signs and the negative impact they had on my outlook. This year, seeing no signs, I was heartened to think that folks had wised up and the hunt was over. How wrong I was! Bridget W. Irons, co-founder of Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer, made clear that, unannounced, the killing took place again this year. When are we going to learn to share the world with other species, species who, in this case, have more of a right to the park than we do? As a sign I once saw in a Sierra Club hut many years ago put it: "Humans aren't the only species on Earth. We just act that way." 

Louise E Wright

East Falls