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I find this to be a rather bizarre connection to make. Hunters are typically not motivated by some sadistic need to kill something. Most hunters do it to get in touch with nature. It's the same motivation that people have to do other activities in nature, such as camping, hiking, etc. People don't have to sleep in the woods or hunt down their own food these days, but for some this is a way to temporarily get back to a simpler way of living as an escape. Most hunters have a good deal of respect for nature and eat the animals they hunt.
I'm not into hunting myself, but find it more noble to eat an animal that was hunted but allowed to live its life in the wild than eat meat from the supermarket that came from an animal that lived in a pen so it could be slaughtered.
Wild dove is better than chicken and axis deer is better than drugged beef at times. Both are common in Texas.
Also I did not say I think hunters will become serial killers. But rather that the general motivation is pretty much the same.
The general motivation is the same...how so? Why don't mass murderers walk into a stockyard and shoot at cows rather than a public place and shoot people if it's the same?
Because it's not. Hunting animals is different than murdering people, wouldn't you think?
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:32 PM..
Reason: No rude icons
Because it's not. Hunting animals is different than murdering people, wouldn't you think?
Or, if we're going to make the slippery-slope argument and conflate hunting sentient animals with murdering people, couldn't we also say killing "non-sentient" animals (see next quote below) is akin to hunting sentient animals which is akin to murdering people?
Quote:
Originally Posted by supersavina
I suppose I could add that to me, hunting (for pleasure) a sentient creature is what is wrong to me.
I also don't see anyone sticking up for the plants. We murder countless baby and adult plants for our consumption and self-righteously determine there's nothing wrong with that?
It blows my mind that people are allowed to kill rather intelligent animals just for the sheer pleasure of succeeding in causing a creature to cease living.
This practice has truly lowered my opinion of humanity as a whole.
In the US particularly, in more rural sections of the country, I imagine this is a common practice, and people don't think twice about it.
I bet that anyone pointing out how clearly (at least in my mind) atrocious, cold-hearted, and flat out SADISTIC hunting as a hobby (rather than for food where food is truly scarce, like pockets of Africa) is is quick to be belittled and hated upon in those places where it is the norm.
I'm just curious, how many times has the morality of this "fun activity" crossed the mind of those of you who engage in it?
Am I really that alone in having enough heart that I would never put a bullet in a cognizant animal just going about its day for ENTERTAINMENT?
I think people who enjoy/support hunting have two typical comebacks to this argument:
1. "Y'all (people who oppose hunting) are just stupid little tree huggers" (trivialization of the evil inherent in the practice, and belittling those who bring it to light)
2. "People who oppose hunting are dumb, they don't know what it's like to starve," etc.
>>Which may be a valid argument in a part of the world where food is very scarce, but in the U.S.A., people can effortlessly make a switch to a vegetarian diet and still be healthy (which I have been evidence of for the past decade), and I doubt most American hunters actually kill deer, etc. for any form of consumption.
I eat what I kill. Deer are overpopulated, our forefathers killed out most of the natural predators in the United States, so now deer run rampant.
I am simply filling the place of the wolf, the bear, and the big cats that used to keep deer populations in check.
Regardless, I do not take issue with people hunting so long as it is in a safe environment and they are not hunting something that is endangered/threatened. I feel the same way about fishing, which is essentially a form of hunting given the physical environment.
Now as to the "big game hunters" who do not feel complete as men without bagging a rhino, elephant, etc., I actually pity them. Clearly they have some personality flaw which motivates them to satisfy something lacking by achieving such a trophy.
I do not judge people from different eras since the culture was different, and many times they were not killing a species that was endangered. But in todays world, it makes little sense to me why anyone would hunt an endangered species just to add to their so called collection.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:35 PM..
Reason: Please comment on topic only, not other posters. Also, removed deleted post.
Here's a question, based on the peculiar title of this thread.
There's a demand for hunting, we know that. If hunting were not legalized, would the "black market" for hunting be much larger than it is? I say it would.
In other words, by legalizing and regulating hunting, aren't we better able to control it and avoid the proliferation of black market hunting, which we can't control? I say we are.
Here's a question, based on the peculiar title of this thread.
There's a demand for hunting, we know that. If hunting were not legalized, would the "black market" for hunting be much larger than it is? I say it would.
In other words, by legalizing and regulating hunting, aren't we better able to control it and avoid the proliferation of black market hunting, which we can't control? I saw we are.
The OP cares nothing about legality of illegality and creating artificial black markets by outlawing hunting.
They simply see all animals as deserving not to die at human hands.
In reality, we hunt everytime we go to a grocery store, someone else has simply handled all the dirty work.
You are saying that for most American hunters, it is a wholesome family experience. Well, it is still a method of entertainment. And if they do "love" the animals while putting a bullet in their head, I would have to say there is something seriously depraved about that.
You know the American Indians would say a prayer when they hunted basically thanking the Great Spirit and thanking the animal for giving its life. Below is just an example.
" Oh, Great Spirit, let your winds be gentle and your skies be heavy. Let there be a blanket of fresh snow to track the Antlered One....as did my forefathers. And grant that I find him with antlers like tree branches - wide and mighty. And grant that my hand be steady....my aim be true....and my drag, short. But most of all, O Great Spirit, grant that my children and their children's children have the wisdom to preserve your work in the forests, fields and streams....... So that they too can one day hunt the Antlered One.....in the footsteps of their forefathers."
Perhaps you could just try to look at it from a different perspective and remember animals are not people. I am an animal lover. I also have raised rabbits, goats, pigs and chickens for meat, milk and eggs. Although I don't hunt, I prefer wild game and hand raised meat to processed factory farmed meat. Many rural people have a stronger attachment to nature and self-reliance. We are brought up with a different attitude towards the cycle of life. For the wild animals there is predator and prey. This is their life. As Memphis said human hunters are merely taking the place of natural predators. Do you call the wolf, bear or even domesticated cat, sadistic? Do you think they don't enjoy the hunt and the kill.
The previous poster who said we are all hunters every time we go to the grocery store is spot on. The only difference is that we do not get our hands dirty doing it.
Some people like to fish, but that does not make them "sadistic" when they catch/kill a fish. A hunter can love animals (i.e. his dog), but still enjoy the stalking, skill and other things a hunt requires.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-23-2014 at 05:37 PM..
Reason: Removed deleted quote and direct response to it
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