Hunting

I'm not against the existence of hunting. The cleaner kills are no worse than industrial meat-production. But I think there should be restrictions; one should need a permit not just to own the gun, but to actually use it for hunting. There should be safety restrictions (no shooting where people are commonly to be found/where there are endangered species/delicate species who oughtn't be disturbed by having shots go around them), but going too far might just encourage poaching.

Hunting is a bit of a family tradition of mine. Naturally, as a vegetarian, I don't take part in it and it's become less prominent in recent years. But any return to the familial halls of pretentious boredom home in Finland will lead to being surrounded by freshly-killed game. Guns adorn the walls of the studies of nearly all my relatives' country places. I dislike it, but I can see the appeal. I just think that bloodsport is detestable and the strategic thinking and sense of accomplishment don't justify the killing.

 

No just no.

The day you allow me to kill humans for fun will be the day killing animals should be seen as sport. Don't worry I could even eat them*...

(Due to that stupid "I hope you'll eat it" comments done to hunting pictures with disgusting human grinning with corpse of poor animals)

 

Unless it's done for your own survival, or to regulate ecosystem problems WE have created... you will be on my list of people I'd like to kill.

 

Yep, I'll agree with you on this.

 

I dont think anyone that watched disney as a kid would ever want to hunt 0=)

 

I went once, when I was about twelve. My father had gone every year when I was young and I think I always wanted to go mainly because it was an adult thing that I was too young for--and because they got to buy mini candy bars to take with them. I very distinctly remember those little candy bars being one of the reasons I wanted to go. When I was twelve I was finally old enough to go. So anyway, literally the first time I ever fired a gun (I later won several archery competitions and as it turns out I'm just sort of naturally a very good shot) I clipped a deer and we had to follow the trail of blood through the snow for over an hour to put the poor thing out of it's misery. Not only did I never go again, my Father never did either...

 

A lot of these regulations are set in place in the United States. One need a hunting license, permits, permission slips if it is not state game lands or personal property. The only way that someone is even allowed to get these, is to prove that they have taken and passed the Hunter's Education Safety Course. I took it and got a 99%, even though I personally do not hunt. Each season has its own regulations on the number of tags or permits one is allowed, and one can only get that many kills, anymore is illegal, one can be fined, taken to jail, and any and all materials related to the offense can be seized. This includes but is not limited to guns, bow, bullets, arrows, knives, hunting equipment (stands, blinds, camo clothes), they can even seize someone's vehicles and house. Hunting and Poaching are taken very seriously.

My family hunts, we get a lot of our meat that way. Hunting is also used as a form of population control. Less deer are getting hit by cars, thus less human injuries and death. There are also less animals starving because the population is being controlled to prevent that. However, one of the best reasons to support hunting is that is helping to end hunger. There are programs like Hunters for the Hungry where hunters donate that animals that they killed to food banks and the meat is given to the poor. This meat is fresh, cleaning, tasty and most importantly, free to the ones who are the most in need.

 

It depends how one hunts and what the purpose of hunting is. I strongly disapprove of hunting for 'sport' and I am vehemently opposed to hunting foxes and hares with dogs - a favoured pastime of the landed gentry in the UK. I'd rather hear the why and how and then make a judgement.

 

I hunt a lot, but only for food. I was raised on "You shoot it you eat it" and I only make clean fast kills. The food doesn't just go to me on Deer either, it feeds my family, church, friends, etc...

 

So you wouldn't be able to afford other food if you didn't hunt?

 

I would, but food that we gain from hunting is completely natural, no steroids or anything. Most years we only kill 1 deer and we have a feeder full of corn and vegetables growing all over our property so the deer are never hungry. We take very good care of our deer, even dig tanks (ponds to most people) for them to drink out of.

 

I don't agree with hunting solely for sport. I'm pleased that my country banned hunting foxes. I'm an omnivore. I'm okay with slaughtering animals for food. TESCO often sends inspectors to our local slaughterhouse and they have tons of safety regulations. Some slaughterhouses are better than others.

I've received silly death threats from some people elsewhere because I agreed with the (regulated) hunting of gray wolves in America. It's a necessary evil to keep their numbers healthy. Otherwise they'll die anyway from eating all the caribou.

Hunting is okay if it serves an environmental purpose, it's carefully regulated, and hunters strive to kill animals quickly. Hunting doesn't really interest me. Although I would hunt if I got paid enough money.

 

Ah... When did wolves become a problem again? I thought they were recently re-introduced to North America...

I guess no matter how advanced we are, we do poor job when trying to take nature's place in equations.

 

Sorry, I should have at least googled that before relying on my memory. It was probably Canada. I just know I had these arguments in my teens and some people were considering the life of a wolf to be more important than a human.

 

I wouldn't mind going once to see what all the talk is about.. But i'd hunt after whatever the state says is ok ( like that species is overpopulated )

 

I have no opposition to hunting for food, I'm not so hot about for sport. A number of my friends hunt and I think it can be pretty cool, but I am really not interested in it and they understand that it's not something I'd ever really want to do with them.

 

I'm against hunting for sport. I only condone the practice if it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, for example if one lives in a rural area where hunting is an important source of food. There are other situations such as reducing numbers to protect other livestock and such, if no other solution is available. In all cases the killing should be done as humanely as possible, minimizing distress and/or pain to the animal.

I get both frustrated and amused by anyone who thinks keeping trophies of things they've killed is in some way impressive. When you see something like a deer head mounted on the wall, well certainly it catches the eye. But only because the animals themselves are so majestic, and would be even more so living in the wild instead of exhibited in a statement of one person's draft attempts to make themselves feel confident by shooting something that was just going about it's business unawares. I'm not squeamish about it, it's more the pointlessness behind it that bothers me. Having an interest in anatomy/biology I'm quite interested when I see animal skeletons, or preserved remains for the purpose of study. Even then however I have strong feelings that the specimen should have died of natural or accidental causes (roadkill for example) rather than having been deliberately sought out and killed for human purposes.

Also, when it comes to the debate about hunting with the use of hounds in the UK, I'm on the side of the fox:

 

Fox hunting and coursing aside, I find no issue with hunting. Let make it clear I do not hunt, nor do I own a firearm. For many it is practical and economical. I've enjoyed dining on and cooking all sorts of wild fowl and game when my friends who hunt wish to share their bounty. Did I mention I was a card carrying member of the Audubon Society. Hunting is not necessarily a danger to the environment. Animals are not my equals, and anyone who seriously thinks that way is demented. I don't have a problem with fur as long as the animals are raised for the purpose and not trapped. Animals sustain us and keep us warm. Here in America a fox hunt rarely ends with the death of a fox. In England where farms are less commercial, closer together, and families rely on the fowl they raise the fox is a nasty predator and the fewer the better. The times I've been a rat catcher with the local hunt the fox is merely driven to ground. As for trophy hunting for big game, especially big cats, it is a shameful practice in light of how few there are.

 

I have hunted and enjoy it. I haven't hunted big game (deer, etc.) just ducks, squirrel, dove, and woodcock (yes, that's a thing lol). And I fish. It's a lot of fun when you can do it with friends. Much of the time you do more chatting than shooting.

I love cooking wild game too and I'd much rather eat something that had a fulfilling life out in the wild before dying than in a cage or feedlot. Plus, you appreciate where your food comes from a lot more (I'm also a big gardener).

From an ecological standpoint, humans have hunted since they first evolved, and we're an important part of the ecosystem as any other predator, though people have drifted away from that.

The one thing I get frustrated with is having to deal with the ulta-macho attitude in a lot of hunting/outdoors circles, at least in the media, and here in the south. I have relatives in Alaska, and there, many many people hunt as just a way of life, and it doesn't seem as tied up with conservatism and redneck culture.