Hunting?
Okay, my views on this subject have drastically changed over the years. Years and years ago I used to BE a hunter, I even tried deer hunting once, with no success, but have killed plenty of squirlls :'(. I did eat them, I had that much respect at least.
Then I just lost interest.
Then it became a neusance. I like to hike, LOVE it in fact. But when your favorite trails close down during the best time of year (November - not too cold yet, no bugs, not hot) you really get to the point of disliking it.
Yesterday I wanted to go hiking at a local state park, but to my dismay, 3/4 of the trails were closed to hunting. >:( I was really pissed! Then as I was hiking I heard a gunshot in the distance, a single shot... I knew what that meant. A testosterone filled man (with no brains) who THINKS he has something to prove by killing a poor innocent animal, who is probably terrified, but killing that animal somehow makes testoterone brain feel like more of a "man". I imagined what it must be like for the dear right now, to not know where it is safe, to wander around terrified that at any moment that they will be shot! I just wanted to cry at that moment, for the terror, the pain that that poor animal must have suffered, NEEDLESSLY! Humans don't NEED to eat meat, yet they continuously go out to prove their manhood need to kill defenseless terrified animals! How cruel can you get?
So, as of now, I am against hunting, it is stupid, ruthless, and cruel. Who is with me?
Yes: someone should "have to" kill it themselves, to eat meat... In other words, the right to kill another thing, in my mind, begins and ends with need. Would your SO starve otherwise? hmmm... perhaps; I speculate that in the US or other developed countries, probably not. Most hunters spend more on guns, bullets, camo gear, 4 wheelers, deer stands, duck calls, etc etc etc than they'd ever need to spend on beans & rice & lentils & m'f'n carrots!... so yeah, I call BS-- usually that's elaborate rationalization for justifying blowing the hell out of living things, recreationally; nothing more. I agree that eating the flesh of a beautiful animal that nursed from its mother, survived the starvation season, evaded the cougar, survived a snakebite, and fought of the parasites that killed its herd-- against all odds, in other words, managed to survive the natural threats to its species into adulthood, which for any individual wild animal is a distant possibility at best-- only to be ripped apart by a hunter's bullet as it shows up to the field where it's been fed corn for the last 3 months... yes, that's still less hideous than factory-farmed CAFO-burger chompin; at least there's some rudimentary honesty about the process. But for most hunters I know, it is absolutely still killing in the absence of need: it's for fun, plain & simple, and they eat it so they can say 'this is ethically ok, not something I should feel guilty about *at all*, you know, since I eat it'.
It can be 'better than factory farming' & still be a bad idea-- that bar is set mighty low! Don't kill stuff if you don't have to-- how 'bout that? what's wrong with that plan?! Seems sound to me.
Yes: someone should "have to" kill it themselves, to eat meat... In other words, the right to kill another thing, in my mind, begins and ends with need. Would your SO starve otherwise? hmmm... perhaps; I speculate that in the US or other developed countries, probably not. Most hunters spend more on guns, bullets, camo gear, 4 wheelers, deer stands, duck calls, etc etc etc than they'd ever need to spend on beans & rice & lentils & m'f'n carrots!... so yeah, I call BS-- usually that's elaborate rationalization for justifying blowing the hell out of living things, recreationally; nothing more. I agree that eating the flesh of a beautiful animal that nursed from its mother, survived the starvation season, evaded the cougar, survived a snakebite, and fought of the parasites that killed its herd-- against all odds, in other words, managed to survive the natural threats to its species into adulthood, which for any individual wild animal is a distant possibility at best-- only to be ripped apart by a hunter's bullet as it shows up to the field where it's been fed corn for the last 3 months... yes, that's still less hideous than factory-farmed CAFO-burger chompin; at least there's some rudimentary honesty about the process. But for most hunters I know, it is absolutely still killing in the absence of need: it's for fun, plain & simple, and they eat it so they can say 'this is ethically ok, not something I should feel guilty about *at all*, you know, since I eat it'.
It can be 'better than factory farming' & still be a bad idea-- that bar is set mighty low! Don't kill stuff if you don't have to-- how 'bout that? what's wrong with that plan?! Seems sound to me.
i couldn't have said it better if i tried.
Well, on farmland in BC Canada hunting and gardening contribute to a lot of the food; as well as raising animals that yes, sometimes end up being eaten (not by me). We could drive an hour into the city with our pollution-puffing trucks to get groceries if you prefer ;)b
I think it's natural for folks to defend the people they care about; it seems like maybe you're defending the person, more than the practice... if you really thought hunting was a great idea-- & so much ecologically sounder than growing or buying veggie groceries-- seems like you'd be doing it yourself! I'm not personally attacking your SO; I've never met the man. Just saying that in most cases in industrialized nations-- when there are plenty of other things to eat-- hunting seems to me to be a bad idea.
Many people call hunting a sport from the area I live. A sport in which you snuff out other beings lives. Yes, predators in the wild hunt prey. But humans really don't have to. Go up against a bear or deer bare handed. Give them a chance to fight back! I hear people all of the time saying: bears have claws and deer have antlers, can't get close to them. have to shoot at a distance. Well, there is no fairness in that.
how can some one hunt and kill, then take pictures with the dead? Praise others for the killing?
they justify it by saying to prevent over population. but what prevents over population in humans, surely not killing?
so yes, hunting is wrong in my book.
I'm pretty sure everyone on here is against hunting.
No way. Hunting is the best! I love to shoot an animal in the leg, and then come slowly slit its throat, watch the blood drip down their bodies and use their meat to make jerky! YUM!!!!
;)b
If humans stopped eating meat and went vegan (as we all know, this will never happen unfortunately) can you imagine what it would do to the planet? Farmers would no longer have a reason to shoot groundhogs, coyotes, wolves, etc. The only animals shot would be the very few who wander into neighborhoods and treaten our children. The poplulations animals of all types would explode. It would start out with game animals as since nobody would hunt anymore the "game" animals populations would explode. For a few years the whole ecosystem would be off kilter, first "game" animals, then predators, then it would eventually fall into balance.
Our children would be able to fall asleep to the sound of wolf song at night. Smog and polution would be reduced, animals would for the most part loose their fear of humans. We could go hiking in the park and deer would come right up to us, eat grass by us not more then five feet away, because they would see us as fellow herbavores, nothing to fear.
It would be a marvelous world where humans and animals lived side by side in harmony, crop lands now used for growing crops for cattle would be converted into wildlife sactuarys and parks. Animals would have new homes, more space. I wish I lived there, on this world.
While this sounds very idealistic, I don’t see this scene playing out just because we stop hunting and killing animals. We are encroaching on wildlife more and more every day as we build ever greater sprawling suburbs, bigger cities, buy up land and lay down concrete for more and larger vehicles and roads, shopping malls, huge homes that only a few people live in, etc. Food is not the only supersized commodity. Just today I was driving down a busy four lane road at 3:30pm in the middle of a city and a deer came running across the road. I live in a small house with an apple tree in my yard in the middle of my city and I get a TON of deer that come visiting in the winter looking for food to get through the winter. I gladly share with them, but the point is that they have nowhere else to go because we are developing more and more land and tearing down their sources of shelter and food. Not all of this land is being used for animal factories and crops to feed the billions of animals in these factories (many crops also go for by products such as fuel and sugar). Its not only hunting and horrible factory farming we need to be concerned about in regards to animals but we also need to take a good hard look at how each and every one of us uses our environment. Are we willing to give up space to accommodate wildlife and our own growing population? What about our vehicles? Are we willing to downsize to bicycling to work or walking or at least sharing public transportation with others and finding ways to travel that harm our animals and our environment less and make less of an impact? What about trash and landfills?
While hunting for sport is pointless, it probably isn’t at the top of my priority list right now as far as where our planet is headed and what we are doing to our animals and each other. What can each of us do to make the world a better place to live in? We can volunteer in our communities (clean up our parks and fight to protect wilderness areas, help feed the hungry, care for unwanted pets in animal shelters, etc) share what we have with others less fortunate, useor make our own natural products for cleaning and personal care, walk to work or share transportation with others, buy less stuff, live in smaller spaces, the list goes on. Put our energy where we can make a difference.
Naturebound brings up an excellent point.
While I understand (and love to remind others) that "the only perfect vegan is a dead vegan," and that none of Us can possibly live with 0% negative impact on other creatures, it's important to recognize all the other ways We affect wildlife.
We as humans need to make the general move toward living with nature and not against it.
While hunting for sport is pointless, it probably isn’t at the top of my priority list right now as far as where our planet is headed and what we are doing to our animals and each other. What can each of us do to make the world a better place to live in? We can volunteer in our communities (clean up our parks and fight to protect wilderness areas, help feed the hungry, care for unwanted pets in animal shelters, etc) share what we have with others less fortunate, useor make our own natural products for cleaning and personal care, walk to work or share transportation with others, buy less stuff, live in smaller spaces, the list goes on. Put our energy where we can make a difference.
I am passionately opposed to the misuse of land for factory farms and excessive garbage crops (ahemCORN), that much is certain. But I'm also sickened by the way the overall human population has grown too large and too greedy for its (and others') own good.
an interesting tidbit, especially for those who know about my/Our idyllic little acreage in rural Georgia:
We allow a dear family friend and his son to hunt on the land a few times during the hunting season. His name is David Lynch (really), and he's a really nice guy. He and his family live a pretty simple country lifestyle, which includes growing and gathering a majority of their food. James once raised some objection to his dad about them using Our land to shoot animals, but his dad explained it this way: If the Lynches didn't hunt out here, they'd either find/kill animals elsewhere OR be forced to drive 30 miles into town to buy meat from a grocery store...even if it were from a "local" farm, it would have been processed, packaged, shipped, etc., adding greatly to the environmental impact. Plus, they are very mindful of taking only what they need to last until the next season, and they're not wasteful or simply killing for sport.
Sure, they could live a healthy lifestyle eating a totally plant-based diet.... but they're not going to convert, and nothing I say or do will change their minds about how to live. I like the Lynches and I don't put up a fuss when they come by during hunting season... pretty sure that doesn't make me any less of a vegan, though.
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