Remember Pete the Poacher? The guy who thought he had a right to ignore fishing and hunting regulations? Well, he has a brother named Larry who is almost as bad. Larry doesn’t go out of his way to hunt or fish out-of-season, snag fish or take more than his limit, oh no. Larry is a litterer. Larry thinks Pete is the black sheep in the family and pats himself on the back for being a stand-up kind of guy. No, you wouldn’t catch Larry ripping roe from spawning rainbows just to make a few bucks on the side or shooting deer at night. He’s the kind of outdoors person who really tries to follow the rules. Still, you know he’s been around because Larry leaves a trail.

When you come across a location where Larry has been, you’ll know it right away. Candy wrappers, cigarette packages, pop cans and other junk litter the ground. His pockets are always empty because he throws everything on the ground. Larry’s car is neat as well. He empties his ash tray and throws out any junk that accumulates onto parking lots or anywhere else he happens to be at the time. If you’re driving behind Larry you’ll know it’s him because he throws garbage out of his car window constantly while driving down the road. Larry has quite an appetite and never misses a stop at a fast food restaurant. By the time he gets home his belly is full and the roadside is littered with junk. 

 Larry must spend quite a bit of money on fishing tackle too, because you can fill a garbage bag every Monday around popular fishing locations and surely it’s only Larry who makes all that mess. Have you seen all the discarded fishing line Larry left along the bank? Every year it spells death to seagulls, ducks, loons and other birds. Broken beer bottles, empty lure packages, worm cans, coffee cups, lunch wrappers, why take them to that nearby garbage can when it’s so easy to drop them on the ground? He figures there is someone around getting paid to clean up after outdoorsmen like him and he doesn’t want to put them out of a job. 

Well, I’ve got news for you Larry. Lots of others like to fish and hunt and you’re spoiling it for us. Sure, Ontario isn’t like Virginia where your first littering charge costs you $500, but we have laws against littering too. You can cry on someone else’s shoulder when you finally get caught. Meanwhile, look around. See those looks of disgust? Did you ever wonder why no one offers to share their fishing or hunting tips with you? Why people turn their back when you start throwing all your junk on the ground? No one likes a litterer. You get away with it because you live in a permissive and free society where people are supposed to act their age. Too bad you never progressed past the diaper stage when everything you didn’t want was thrown out of your crib.