I'm struggling to follow your argument, the goal posts seem to keep moving. So let me ask a simple question. Do you think that deer have the ability to learn to avoid hunters through negative experiences/interactions with said hunters?
Fair enough. I'm trying to change the way people do a thing without thinking and shades of grey don't seem to be effective. So I'm going pretty hard the other direction to break the gravitational pull.
Deer can learn. But I think we weight that thing WAY more heavily than we should. Intelligence is so heavily weighted for us that we have a hard time fathoming it doesn't matter to other lifeforms. But it doesn't. Intelligence matters very little outside of our little scope of experience. It mattered much less to humans 10,000 years ago than it does not. Shoot, in some parts of the world it still doesn't matter nearly as much as it does for us here in this little microcosm we've built for ourselves. Get outside of the species and look at our nearest relatives (primates) and it matters MUCH less. Broaden your gaze to include mammals and it barely matters. To most fauna (fish, insects, reptiles, birds) it matters even less. It probably matters not at all to fungus, viruses, plants, microorganisms, etc.
Yes, deer can think. But I am arguing that you're wasting time as a hunter thinking about what deer are thinking or feeling or learning. For most (and I include myself) thinking of deer like you think of a plant is probably better. Plants grow under certain parameters, unburdened by higher consciousness. A plant with good genes, growing with adequate soil, moisture, and light conditions, WILL grow. If you don't want to go that far, look at deer like fish. Plankton grows, little fish eat plankton, and where there are little fish and proper water parameters there WILL be bigger fish to eat them.
For you and me living our lives as brains in vats interacting with other brains in vats, life is very different. Our wellbeing hinges in a huge way on being able to put ourselves in each others headspace and navigate each others mental constructs. Language, laws, social norms, spiritual beliefs, memories, speculations, etc... Intelligence matters immensely if you're intelligent and surrounded by intelligent beings. But our intelligence does NOT serve us well when it comes to hunting and a great many other things. We need just a drop of it to maximize our effectiveness. Too much hinders us. And for the prey...they need a drop of a drop.
Some people don't need the gospel I'm preaching. Some people really need it if they want to put points on the contest this year. They're seeing Jesus in their toast. And some people are telling those people, "Yes, that is in fact Jesus on your toast. Come with me and I'll show you angels in your spaghetti too."