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Disturbing animal images

Today, I share with you some disturbing animal images. Don't look at these photos if you are squeamish.

The first is from the Belleville News-Democrat. A squirrel with an arrow shot through its head managed to survive for at least five days on its own before it was picked up by the Belleville Humane Society on Monday. The squirrel appeared to have a crossbow arrow through the right side of its head to the lower left side, near its jaw.

UPDATE: Although the squirrel managed to survive five days with the arrow through its head, it was too seriously injured and had to be euthanized Tuesday.

It's tragic that someone felt the need to shoot an arrow at the squirrel, particularly because it isn't squirrel season in Illinois, but it's amazing the squirrel survived so long in that condition.

The second comes from a former employer, the Times-News (pdf file) in Burlington, N.C. Each year, the Times-News publishes photographs of hunters with the deer they killed during North Carolina's deer season in a special Deer Derby section. I don't necessarily have a problem with deer hunting, as long as the hunters use the deer as food, but I think it's a tad bizarre to publish photos of smiling hunters holding up the deer they killed.

I truly felt sorry for the Times-News' graphic artist, Linda Bowden, who had to scan in all those photos of dead deer each year. But that didn't stop me from making her a birthday card in 1999 that featured one of the photos she scanned in and the saying "We love you deerly."

Fortunately for me, Linda -- like a lot of people in my profession -- has a twisted sense of humor. She knew my views about the Deer Derby and thought it was the best birthday card she ever received!

Roger 0 comments 10:14 AM