Reader HighDesertDog sends this link about the anti-hunting and anti-gun crowd. As is typical they have a solution searching for a problem, and the "problem" is underage hunting. Recent photos of 8-year olds hunting has set the pleasure police out on a crusade.

When an 8-year-old girl made headlines last month by bagging the first black bear of the season, many Marylanders were surprised to learn the state has no minimum age limit for hunting. But for some families in rural areas such as Garrett County, learning to handle firearms is as much a part of childhood as losing one's baby teeth.

Hunting opponents aim to change that. The Humane Society of the United States is talking with state legislators about establishing a minimum hunting age of perhaps 16, said Heidi Prescott, the society's senior vice president of campaigns.

"A deer rifle can kill someone up to a mile away, and young adolescents lack the experience, judgment and emotional maturity to handle that kind of firepower safely," she said. "To send someone into the woods with a long-range weapon who�s not even mature enough to drive a car is an invitation to tragedy."

Of course the whole idea is to kill interest in hunting and guns altogether. Letting the animals become overpopulated is hardly humane, and it's dangerous to hunters and non-hunters alike. On the 240 mile drive back from Blacksburg this weekend, I saw no less than 10 dead deer that had been hit by cars.

Not to mention that waiting until your kid is 16 to teach proper gun safety is another kind of danger.