Question for hunters

[cat9x]

My belief is that God gave us the world to rule over and all the animals in it, we have to respect and take care of this world, and I believe hunting is human nature.

I also believe any person that eats McDonalds, fast food, or any type of meat, fish, poultry and complains against hunting is a pure hypocrite. People can be fine when it's "out of sight out of mind" because they dont want to see the reality of animals dying so they can eat hamburgers and chicken nuggets...but if someone shoots a wild animal to eat it, thats horrible.

I do not get sad, what I do get is more and more respect for the animal, and firmer in my belief that we must conserve our land and protect these great animals we share this great planet with. God bless.

[Cerick]

The first animal I ever remember killing when I was about 8, bothered me a little bit. Then I ate it.

If you've never killed before, the first or second animal might bother you, after that you realize your doing it for food. Very good food.

If you have some of the venison I cook, you'll be out the next day trying to get some of that fresh, delicious meat.

[Death from Afar]

Can i add a different take on this.

I am not a deer hunter, and the only animals i hunt that i eat are water fowl, which I do eat and do love.

90% of the hunting i do is varminting. The animals I shoot are pests and I am a bit careful about eating due to health concerns from RCV disease in the case of rabbits, and poisoning that has been used for aniaml control. So most animals are shot and left, or in the case of pigeons, usually thrown in a big hole. I eat a handful of those, but you cant eat 500 at once)> Do i feel any regrets? Heck no! Farmers have been controlling animals of all sorts from bugs to prarie dogs to crows since the beginning of time, and if pests were not shot, then the farmers livlihoods would be in danger.

[Buzzcook]

Regret is not quite the word for it.

I've had gardens where I've raise some beautiful veggies. I wish I could have shared the sight of vines full of tomatoes. So when I harvest them there is something like regret. But I still eat them up.

Same thing for game animals, there is an idealized Bambi that I'd like to have gamboling around eternally. Then there is the Bambi I take home to eat.

[Elite Doberman]

Thanks for the responses. This helps me get a better understanding.

A couple people mentioned hunters ethics. What are hunters ethics? Does this basically mean taking the animal down as quickly and painlessly as possible?

[hogdogs]

Since the terms "ethics" and "morals" are open to debate... To me I prefer "acceptable" or "proper". Number one thing is a clean quick kill as much as I can have happen. After that is legal requirements. Following those is vermin control to help both land owners and native wildlife, to me is a way to give back to both for me getting the opportunity to use the land for my benefit.
Others have feelings about things like not shooting a duck unless it is in flight or would never use a light at night even if legal. I will use whatever means that I am allowed LEGALLY to take game or vermin. If folks think it is not "sporting" as it is an unfair advantage then I expect they also only hunt bare handed as even a club is an advantage...
Brent

[Sarge]

Thanks for the responses. This helps me get a better understanding.

A couple people mentioned hunters ethics. What are hunters ethics?

'Ethics' are what causes you to do the right thing, when nobody but you and God will ever know what you did- or why you did it. In previous times when 'religion' and 'morals' weren't dirty words, this was called 'conviction', 'conscience' or having a good 'moral compass'.

Does this basically mean taking the animal down as quickly and painlessly as possible?

I don't count that as the meaning of ethics but in my mind it is the only way to kill anything, including a snake with a shovel.

[razorburn]

I will tell you the first time I killed an animal, at age 11, it made me sad, yes.
At this age, not anymore.
I am still extremely sad if a pet dies. I am not when I shoot an animal. They are not a pet, and I have no attachment to the deer or animal I hunt.
It is a strange and complex thing to take a life, even if it is an animals'. People react differently no matter how well or poorly justified the killing is. Some will not care at all, or some will feel regret, and I can't say if either is wrong.

[ojibweindian]

I look at this rather simply, albeit possibly incorrectly (depending on circumstances). Assuming enough predators are in a game animal's habitat, I would think that killing one, such as a deer, with a rifle is much more preferable to the animal than being killed by wolves, 'yotes, pumas, etc. With a rifle, death to the animal comes within a few minutes, usually. Death by clawed predator may take a while, and often the animal is being eaten by the predator while still alive.

Nature can be very cruel; I like to think of myself as being a bit more merciful

[hogdogs]

ojib, AMEN!!! And can you imagine how painful death by human hunter was before we had the atlatl?
Brent

[Jseime]

I love animals too, I just feel that all of them are different.

Dogs for example are loving and loyal as can be if you raise them right. I love dogs and will always have on once I am established and have a place of my own. Yet there are places in the world where dogs are considered a source of food which seems to me to be completely bizarre and if anyone tried to eat my dog they would be in for a very unpleasant life in the hospital for several days.

Game animals are totally different than pets. I am not attached to a deer when i shoot it and its not my pet that relys on me. I try to make every kill as quick and painless as possible... much quicker and much less pain than the animal experiences dying the natural way.

If you want to understand hunting you should go along with someone who is a good hunter. They have to be a good hunter because there are a lot of dipsticks out there who make hunters look really bad and go about it totally the wrong way. Walking out across the prairie after a herd of mule deer and stalking to within a good distance then selecting a deer and taking it is a lot different than some guys who drive around shooting out the window at the first thing that moves.

[Brad Clodfelter]

I think your posting this on the wrong website. It's kind of like asking PETA members to show pictures of this years deer hunt.

[longrange08]

It Makes Me Sad To See A Deer Die I Never Enjoy That Part Of The Hunt However I Do Enjoy Many Other Aspects And The Meat Is A Major Factor. Were I Not Able To Keep The Meat I Would Quit Going I Hope That Helps. ACTUALLY IT GETS WORSE EVERY YEAR AS I WATCH DEER AND LEARN FROM THEM AND ABOUT THEM MY RESPECT AND AWW OF THEM GROWS A LITTLE EACH YEAR AND BECOMES INCREASINGLY PAINFUL TO KILL ONE NOT SOMETHING I TALK ABOUT WITH MY HUNTING BUDDIES BUT AS SOMEONE ASKED I WILL BE HONEST ESPECIALLY SINCE I DONT KNOW ANYONE ON HERE PERSONALLY AND DONT HAVE TO HEAR THEIR SHI% LOL BUT ALL THINGS CONSIDERED IT IS STILL MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR YOU SHOULD TRY IT. ONE LAST THOUGHT AND DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE FEEL THIS WAY AFTER BEING A MARINE AND SEEING LIVES TAKEN AND LOST THE KILL BOTHERS ME MUCH MORE KNOWING HOW EASY LIFE IS LOST BE IT DEER OR MAN AND HOW EASILY IT CAN BE TAKEN AWAY WHEN I GOT OUT I SKIPPED SEVERAL HUNTING SEASONS JUST COULDNT DO IT

[Crankylove]

My aunt has asked me similar questions as the OP in the past. Her feelings are different than mine, and thats okay. She believes hunting is cruel and barbarous, and is just an excuss to kill. She dosen't think twice about going to her local market and buying chicken breasts, ground beef, or pork ribs. These animal products she buys came from animals that have know their whole lives only as confinement. They are kept in cages and pens, overcrowded and dirty, living on feed that is engineered to make fat animals that will sell for a higher price, and when the farmer thinks they are right for sale, they are taken and slaughtered in the most cost productive way available. It may be a spike or electrode to the head of a pig or cow, or what amounts to a big bath tub for chickens where they are simply electrocuted in numbers. They get thrown on conveyor belts, dumped in trucks, and handled by people who have become immune to the depressing things they see everyday.My aunt will eat meat from the store or resturaunt, because she dosen't think about where it came from, as far as she is concerned, it sprang to existance in that little plastic tray. She rants and cries for the "poor animals" that have no chance against the hunters. I have explained that the poor animals have much better eyesight, hearing, smell, and can run away from me much faster than I can stalk them. She dosen't understand the difference between me, spending a year preparing my gear, making sure my gun is shooting true to make that clean kill, handloading the perfect load, watching the wildlife and hiking in the area I want to hunt, heading out into the back country to try and outwit the game on their home turf; and a cow or chicken taken from their pen and electrocuted and run thru a slaughter house so she can have dinner. If I can't make a clean, quick kill, I don't take the shot, and many times have come home from my hunting trip empty handed, and have still enjoyed the hunting experience. When I track and stalk a deer, elk, or antelope, I learn about the way they live, and get to watch them interact in nature. When I gut and skin one, I learn more about their anatomy to help ensure the next shot I take will continue to be a humane kill. I put hours of labor into cleaning my kill, hauling it to camp, and butchering and packaging it at home so that I and my family can enjoy it. I don't take pleasure in indiscriminate killing, but I do enjoy the challenge of the hunt, the time I spend in areas full of wildlife, and fruit of my labors after a successfull hunt. Some people feel if they don't personally kill the food on their table, they have had no hand in that animals death. They may not have taken part in, or seen that animals death, but it still died to be on their table. I know many people who wont hunt, but are aware of where their food comes from, they also know that I do hunt, and we are all ok with each others feelings on the matter. Everybody can feel differently about a subject, the problems arise when someone thinks that their opinion and belief is the only correct one.

[Art Eatman]

I guess the whole issue was never all that much of an issue for me, growing up with farming and ranching. Ranching, you raise cattle to sell to the market for folks to eat. You work your butt off to make sure the herd stays healthy, and you can't help but feel some attachment to those animals.

But their intended purpose is as food for people. And you can't have the food without killing the animal. For me, then, there's just no concern about "the way life is".

Bambi: Graceful. Pretty, in body and for the buck, antlers. There's just something about a deer that's more aesthetically pleasing to me than most other herbivores. But they're meat, and the meat tastes good. If you want to eat venison, ya gotta kill the deer. That's just the way life is.

My concern is for the health of the herd, not the fate of an individual animal.

Ethics? In general, it has to do with a quick, clean kill, minimizing suffering. That's why I make the effort to use a tack-driving rifle and control my "buck fever" so that I do the proper bullet placement. "Fair chase" comes in via not cheating: I don't hunt deer at night, nor hunt in any small high-fenced enclosure. I really don't care for hunting over such bait as an oat patch, for that matter, but that's sorta drifting off the fair chase issue. I don't want to get into the issue of fair chase and waiting at a water hole, either; after all, that's what the big cats do...

Last, I guess, hunting is a way of connecting with hundreds of generations of forebears. Sitting around the fire at deer camp, watching stars, visiting with friends: That's been going on for thousands of years. I'm not so arrogant that I think only modern ways have validity.

Only hunters and gardeners are "do it yourselfers" in providing food. Everybody else merely hires other people to do the dirty scut work for them. Think about that when you boogie on down to Ruth's Chris...

If I were a hostile sort, I'd ask the meat-eating anti-hunter, "What makes you so noble, since you hired a killer to do your slaughtering for you?"

Art

[sureshots]

Today, we have no choice. The Deer population has to be controlled. I can not think of A more Humane way to control these beautiful animals than the art of Hunting. Yes, I used the word art. Time was when man hunted for survival, he had better be good at this or face the possibility of Hunger for Him and His Family. Today we hunt for Sport as well as food. We are under no pressure to make the Kill so we can do this at our own leisure. Being enough said there is no reason for one to be unethical or inhumane in ones hunting practices. Good Hunting

[davlandrum]

I feel that I take personal responsibility for the animals that die to feed me and mine. How could I eat meat if I was unwilling to take that responsibility? Just having someone else do it for me is not acceptable to me.

Dave

[sserdlihc]

I was raised seeing my father and grandfather slaughter hogs, chickens and cattle. So, when I started to hunt and kill, it didn't bother me. However, I only will kill what I plan on eating. That was and still is the rules of the game with my family. JUst my 2 cents

[Chinny33]

I am apart of the PETA group too!

People Eating Tasty Animals

[Kreyzhorse]

I am a hunter. To be honest, I don't like to kill any thing and I am saddened when I take a life. Life is fragile. However, to hunt, you must kill. I hunt. I eat what I kill.

In my opinion, hunting is honest and actually teaches you to respect life in a way that a non-hunter could ever understand.

[anythingshiny]

When i was just a goblin, i shot a robin with my bbgun. i had no intentions of eating it..it was just the 'stalk' if you can call it that and the young thrill. I felt bad about it though..it was a beautiful red breast and deep down i had no need or reason to kill it.

I hunt but i eat what i hunt. the thrill is still there, the stalk is still fun but i do not feel bad with a good clean shot.

i despise the trophy hunters shooting ONLY for rack..as long as they are gonna eat it, fine..have at it, but the old stories in hunter mags about hunting big game in africa always bothered me.