Very interesting thread. My perspective on the issue comes from being brought up on a farm. Where all animal life either earned it's keep or it was gone. Don't get me wrong we never killed anything that did not need it and we were never cruel. But neither were we afraid of going out back and whacking the head off of dinner. Even dogs had their place and had to earn their keep. They provided protection and early warning. Watched over the other animals for predators.
We did a lot of hunting. Both as a food source and as pest control. For example we always carried a 30-30 with us in case we ran across a coyote. These pesky little creatures just love to get together to feed on baby lambs and calf's. Thus reducing our source of income. Another one was ground squirrel's. They dig these nice big deep holes that horses and cows love to step in to break their legs. They also like to dig holes in our ditches letting all the water run every where. So it was our job as kids to rid our ranch of these pets.
The point of all of this... well we never did enjoy killing something and sometimes felt a little bad, but it was a part of life. You do it and go on. As far as hunting, we always had a rule, if you shoot it you eat it. Well maybe not the squirrels.
I enjoy hunting. Getting out with the dog, the chase and seeing that shot is a lot of fun. But I always eat what I shoot. For the larger game of deer, I always feel saddened by shooting one, but then I remember how good it's going to taste on the dinner table. You can't find good eating like that in the stores.
So should you kill something just for the sake of killing it. No, I don't believe so. But neither should you feel bad about killing something when it needs to be done as in the case of ground squirrels or if you plan on eating it. I do have a problem with people who sport hunt and just leave the body there to rot. But these are my values and who am I to judge what another does. As long as what they do does not affect me directly, then I have no say over what they do. It's their choice and I would never vote to pass a law to stop them.
Richard