More About Hunting Deer and Rabbits in Eastern Canada

Anthony G. Gulig teaches history at the University of Saskatchewan.

At first glance, it appears that this book might appeal to readers
interested in hunting deer and rabbits. Although Hawkins includes
hunting and trapping stories from his past, he makes little effort to
put these stories in the context of what is undoubtedly his great
respect for the natural environment of eastern Canada. More emphasis is
placed on how to hunt than on the personal value and rewards of hunting.
At a time when sport hunting is threatened more and more by
animal-rights activists, literature dealing with hunting should make at
least some attempt to explain the personal and environmental issues
related to the sport.

Another fault of the work is that it does not in any significant way
explain what is unique about the hunt in eastern Canada. Hunters from
Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies, British Columbia, and the North will be
left wondering about the point of this book. While the personal stories
Hawkins relates are readable and interesting, they would have been much
more powerful had he associated them more clearly with the larger
meaning of the sport: hunting is so much more than the pursuit and the
kill, but you wouldn’t know it from reading this work.