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There are different kinds of hunting. There is hunting for food, hunting for a cull, and depredation hunting.
Hunting for food- rabbit, deer, elk, hogs, turkey, squirrel, pheasant, quail, etc.
Hunting for a cull- diseased animals or keeping a population in check, or for "problem" animals
Depredation- removing predators that are causing problems (coyotes, wolves, cougars, etc)
Methods of hunting vary and require a fair amount of skill and patience in most cases. Sometimes it can also be quite dangerous. Bears and pigs can charge when startled, wolves are intelligent, and cougars can catch people by surprise and kill them. There are specific times and seasons where one can get a tag/license to hunt. It is expensive, and not guaranteed. If you spook your once chance at a good deer or elk, you may not be able to get another by the time your license is invalid/season is over.
Every hunter I have met has placed emphasis on humanely killing an animal, practicing their shooting skills with a bow, crossbow, or firearm. Sometimes bad shots are made, which is unfortunate, but it happens.
There is no logical jump from hunting of prey animals to a serial killer.
I think the OP has a real problem with poachers, not hunters.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:38 PM..
Reason: Removed colored font
OP you aren't alone in your feelings. On the occasions a wild animal and I met during a hike in the woods, I was thrilled and awestruck to see it. Never once did I wish I had a gun so I could kill it. I understand the pleasure of being outdoors, and perhaps tracking a wild animal's progress through the woods. What I could never do is find pleasure in taking its life.
I respect the right for a person to hunt, even though I would never do it. But my respect is for hunters that actually DO track, kill cleanly and use every portion of meat from that animal. That was the philosophy of the Indians.
Too often "hunters" ride into the fields on an ATV with their sack of corn and a few six packs, climb into a tree stand and wait for some unsuspecting deer to come along and eat the corn they scattered below them. Then when they shoot, they miss a lethal shot because they are half drunk and only wound the animal, and are too drunk or lazy to track it and put it out of its misery. That is the kind of hunter I despise.
No one is torturing animals, no one has said they derive sadistic pleasure from killing an animal solely for the thrill of watching it die.
I see people who can differentiate between wild animals and people, legal and illegal and logic and absurdity.
I think canned hunting is absurd. I think it cheapens the entire fiber of hunting. These are the only type of hunters I would say hunt for the sole pleasure of it. Even so, hunting is legal, it is humane and it serves a purpose and I don't put much thought into the reasons people want to hunt, be it for food, sport or family tradition. I don't care if it makes them ecstatic or makes them cry.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:41 PM..
Reason: Removed deleted quote and direct response to it
Canned hunts ARE ridiculous, but it's what happens in places where there isn't a whole lot of public land for people to go out and hunt in a more traditional manner. Still, while less sporting than tracking and killing an animal, those hunters DO still use as much of the animal as they can.
Every year, surveys and estimates are done by state and federal wildlife/ agricultural agencies on how many animals a given area can support healthily and how many animals can be hunted or culled without negative effects to the environment or gene pool. In some states, entire budgets of state wildlife/conservation agencies come from the sales of hunting/fishing/fowling licenses, and that's just for run-of-the-mill animals. Licenses to hunt predatory animals or more uncommon animals such as bear, cougar, wolf, bighorn sheep, antelope, or oryx are VERY expensive and operate on a lottery system, which only gives out the "proper" amount of licenses to hunt those animals.
Too often "hunters" ride into the fields on an ATV with their sack of corn and a few six packs, climb into a tree stand and wait for some unsuspecting deer to come along and eat the corn they scattered below them. Then when they shoot, they miss a lethal shot because they are half drunk and only wound the animal, and are too drunk or lazy to track it and put it out of its misery. That is the kind of hunter I despise.
The majority of hunters hate these people too, and will promptly call the cops/game warden on them. You'll find idiots within any group of people.
The number of animals hunted and killed by other animals since the onset of life must number in the hundreds of trillions. Do they all suck too? So much pain, misery, and suffering, hundreds of millions of years of it in fact.
In the end it's all about collecting the energy of the sun in concentrated form, and eating animals is how some animals do it, while eating plants is how others do it, and using photosynthesis is how plants do it.
I have to add that it's been just a scosh tempting over these last two threads (smoking and hunting) for me to stereotype "city dwellers" as ignorant, self-important, haughty, insular, isolated, elitists casting aspersions from a supposed ivory tower. But I know that's certainly not all city dwellers and I shouldn't use what I read here to denigrate anyone else. There are enlightened city folk who sometimes get out and consider things from the viewpoints of others and know the world is bigger than just their circle of aristocrats.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:44 PM..
Reason: Removed deleted quote
2) Okay, if you doubt that most American hunters actually kill "deer, etc." for any form of consumption, then I doubt that you know ANY American hunters.
This.
We live in a city. I don't know a single person who would ever consider killing an animal for sport, per se.
In many cities, they even ask hunters to cull the deer population and the meat is processed as a charitable gift for the needy people getting meat from the food banks.
Venison is a very healthy and environmentally friendly choice when it comes to red meat. I consider eating hunted meat, legally of course, a privilege.
Quote:
On the occasions a wild animal and I met during a hike in the woods, I was thrilled and awestruck to see it.
Okay, but some of us see deer every time we go on a hike. Believe me, when they stock the streams there are more rainbow trout than could ever survive in the wild.
Even this anti-cull publication suggests that deers, which are pests in many cities and towns, are not being eliminated by culls:
So this means that people are eating wild-caught, wild-raised, totally free-range and semi-organic (because you can't control what wild animals eat) meat, saving that much factory farm animal production, AND the deer are not suffering. Because we aren't killing baby deer, after all. We are killing adult males after they have reproduced.
Arguing against hunting is arguing for veganism. A nice idea, but I've had anemia and it sucks. Me and my family eat wild-caught or humanely raised meat. And we enjoy it and are grateful for the hunters who go out there and do the hard work.
But most importantly, I take issue with your bias against humans. After all, many insects, mammals, fish, and others in the animal kingdom, eat other animals. So what you really must mean to say is that "carnivores suck".
To which I say, mammals suck. Carnivores chew.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:44 PM..
Reason: Edited quote
Okay folks, after a major clean up, I am opening this thread back up. Please stay on topic and remember posts are expect to be civil, well thought out exchange of points and counter points. You need to stick with discussing the topic and not other posters.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
There is a lot of tradition and history in hunting. My Dad never really took me hunting but he supported me if I wanted to do it growing up. He taught me to shoot all manner of firearms (safely) and to be an ethical hunter and outdoorsman.
I killed my first deer at age 14 by myself. I had to field dress it and we butchered it and ate it over the next couple of months.
I've killed many more since then and all ended up on the table.
Another aspect that is often overlooked is that many hunters not only enjoy nature but many if not most are much closer and in touch with nature than any activist. I have not hunted in 10 years and I may take my 8 year old son hunting one day if he wants to. I love spending time outdoors. I've never used a tree stand, I always hunt from the ground and many times I've had a deer walk right past me and I just let it go, on purpose. I just wanted to marvel at it and take in the scenery.
Lastly, hunters are responsible for maintaining more natural habitat and saving the lives of more animals than any recue or conservation group. Look at what Ducks Unlimited has done and get back to me. Your hunters ARE the true conservationists.
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