- Free Article: No
- Contents Category: Nature Writing
- Review Article: Yes
- Article Title: Seasons of a Hunter
- Online Only: No
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The deer scene in New Zealand has changed considerably since I used to see the stags, self-segregated after the May belling, in herds of sometimes more than a hundred in the tussocky valleys behind the Lindis Pass. In a book on the hunting of what is curiously called ‘big game’ ex-professional deer culler Philip Holden reports that the biggest congregation he has seen numbered fifteen. While his mélange of loosely linked reminiscences conveys impressions of the wild terrain, the elusive quarry, the excitements of hunting and the fascination of the kill, it also indicates a growing disillusionment with the process of turning beauty into dead meat.
- Book 1 Title: Seasons of a Hunter
- Book 1 Biblio: Hodder and Stoughton, $9.95
- Book 1 Cover Small (400 x 600):
- Book 1 Cover (800 x 1200):
I hunted for a season myself, and know the feeling. But I can approve neither the grammar nor the sentiments of Holden as he advises on photography, for instance:
One thing to avoid is taking those all too common ‘horror’ shots of wild game. I’m sure you all know the type of picture I’m talking about: dead animals shown in a most callous uncaring light. Protruding tongues, huge close-ups of bullet-holes riddled with blowflies. Course it’s the way it is – but even so we don’t have to beat someone over the head with the facts, do we?
In death as in life it (the deer) is worthy of your respect. That respect can be shown when you come to take a picture of the dead animal. For instance, a deer’s tongue can be put back in its mouth, the mouth firmly closed, blood can be easily removed from a wound …
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