We the undersigned strongly object to this event taking place for one or more of the following reasons:

Killing a living animal solely for fun is fundamentally wrong.

Encouraging children to take the lives of innocent animals without good cause  and rewarding them for doing so is promoting insensitivity in children and a disrespect for living creatures.

Making the slaughter of squirrels into a family social event is disturbing and having it promoted by organizations generally seen as beneficial to the community, 4H and the Virginia Cooperative Extension, undermines their trust and support of these organizations.

Children learning to shoot by practicing on squirrels is reprehensible and a recipe for disaster for squirrels which will leave some merely injured, in pain and dying a slow miserable death.

Despite the fact that it is legal squirrel hunting season, the timing of this event is cruel and inhumane (as is timing of squirrel hunting season itself). Baby squirrels are being born in January and February in Virginia. That means when moms are killed babies will be left in nests to starve to death. The females that haven't given birth will be pregnant with babies.

Squirrels are innocent creatures. They are of no threat, they are not over populated and they are a beautiful part of nature. There may be a few people who eat the squirrels that they shoot but very few. There is no good reason for killing them.

Children should be taught to value the nature around them. Giving them prizes for killing the most squirrels instead of helping them appreciate the wildlife of The Eastern Shore is a detriment to their developing characters.

Children and young adults do not yet fully understand the finality of death. The magnitude of taking a living creatures life is something they need to be taught. The cavalier nature of a contest such as this could result in grave consequences. 

Shooting squirrels is killing and couching it in language like 'harvesting' is merely an attempt to make it sound less brutal.

Suggesting this teaches children hunting skills is preposterous. There is skeet shooting and target shooting available, activities that don't leave animals maimed and with fatal wounds. Activities where children can be controlled, taught and monitored safely and don't involve living creatures for training.

A child should be sad at the sight of an animals death, not happy because their parent or role model praises them for killing it.

Rewards for the heaviest pile of dead squirrels is barbaric.

Encouraging children to win a contest like this is a recipe for disaster. It goes against everything that most people want to foster in a child...love of nature, delight in wildlife going about their daily lives, the desire to respect, protect and defend the innocent gifts the world of nature provides, the appreciation of the peace and tranquility of being part of nature rather than destroying it. 

Children should not be taught that the value of 6 or more dead animals is a T-shirt. 

An event such as this paints the entire Eastern Shore with a broad brush making us all look bad. Those of us opposed to it should have a say considering the non profit nature of the organizations promoting it. 

There is no valid reason for this event. To hold a local event for a small slice of the local people who enjoy killing squirrels seems counterproductive when an event promoting the qualities and diverse and abundant wildlife on The Eastern Shore would have far greater appeal. 

There is additional concern for other wildlife if shooting with lead. The squirrels that are shot but manage to get away and then die can be eaten by scavengers and it takes only a miniscule amount of ingested lead to bring down the eagle, hawk, fox, or owl that eat the dead squirrel.  And there is even a risk to the human who eats it no matter how carefully butchered. 

We are not protesting ethical, legal and responsible hunting.

We are not protesting anyone's right to raise their own children the way they see fit.

We object to this group organized squirrel slaughter, the inclusion of young children, the promotion by community organizations, the catering to the few that like killing squirrels for fun and the exclusion of all others, the majority which find this totally unacceptable, unethical, unnecessary, and cruel.

We politely ask those in charge to please reconsider having this event.