I've been hunting since I was 14 years old and it really is a great thrill. It's population control for some species so I am totally okay with that aspect of hunting. In a lot of areas deer, coyotes and other animals get completely out of control depending on certain factors. So there is that aspect.
My family has never hunted just for the kill though. We typically go duck, goose or moose hunting and a very small reason for that is the actual sport. We actually love eating those animals and about 95% of the reason we go hunting is to load up our freezers with meat. The meat is very lean, tastes good and is probably slightly cheaper than getting the same amount of meat from slaughtering something like a cow.
Now I am a bit torn on a subject like this. It sort of repulses me when I went hunting and I watched people kill a moose, cut off it's rack and leave the meat to rot. To me purely trophy hunting seems like such an absolute waste and it makes me a bit sick.
Yeah I do it, but not purely for the sport aspect. When we go hunting we actually walk and hike in the wilderness. People around here sit in a tree, throw out hundreds of pounds of carrots and bait things like deer. To me that really isn't hunting at all.
I think the problem people are having with your argument is "it's unnecessary." No shit, know what else is unnecessary? Video games, movies, all other forms of entertainment, any good that can be defined as a luxury item, this website, most models of cars, and a hundred other things. There is nothing unethical about hunting as long as you eat what you kill and you follow standard sustainable practices. In many cases, like others have said, eating wild game can be even more ethical than eating farm raised animals.
Never have nor never will especially not for sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittman...estoration_Act
The money from the above bill and others like it have contributed more to the conservation of game animals in America and their habitat than all other organizations combined. 5.5 billion has been collected since 1937 which has purchased millions of acres of land for national parks.
Endangered species from around the world have been saved because hunters imported them to the US. In the 70s the Scimitar Horned Oryx went extinct in its natural habitat but because of game ranchers in Texas they have survived. Total population of Oryx in Texas in the 70s was 2,700 now its more than 12,000. All reintroduction attempts from various organizations started with animals purchased from these game ranches. Nilgai antelope also faced extinction now they thrive in there home habitats because of game ranches. Nearly half the entire population of Blackbuck antelope survive on game ranches in Texas. Whitetail deer, Wild Turkey, and Pronghorn antelope have all gone from nearly extinct to thriving in the US because of the billions payed by hunters that goes to their conservation.
Hunters have been a negative force in the past that cant be disputed but in the last 80 years hunters in America have become a large and wildly successful force for the conservation of natural habitat and species.
I don't mind natural predators, we got wolfs, bears etc, but introducing them into new territories is creating other problems, one which we already see here is the fact that wolfs go after sheeps for example. Which makes the owner of said sheeps well pissed for obvious reasons.
Another animal that causes problems are mooses, which is a pretty common animal here, all our major roads got proper fencing to keep them off the roads but you still have accidents, getting a moose through your front window is pretty much hastala vista, you are lucky to get out alive.
Wild boar, they breed like rabbits, they cause absolute havoc, they will ruin a garden in a couple of hours, this also creates conflicts with locals.
Animals can coexist side by side with humans, but it's not as simple as you make it out to be.
The nerve is called the "nerve of awareness". You cant dissect it. Its a current that runs up the center of your spine. I dont know if any of you have sat down, crossed your legs, smoked DMT, and watch what happens... but what happens to me is this big thing goes RRRRRRRRRAAAAAWWW! up my spine and flashes in my brain... well apparently thats whats going to happen if I do this stuff...
I don't hunt and never could unless I needed the food. I think eating meat is optimal for human health and I realize that taking life to give life is just how the world works. Still, I prefer to be respectful about it and I see no sport in bloodshed. That said, hunting has been essential to human survival since humans first appeared on earth so I think it's natural for some to be hard wired to enjoy it. Esp men. We may not all have to hunt down our dinner everyday but it's hard to deny evolutionary instincts like that. I'm glad my bf doesn't hunt and has to desire to do so though.
---------- Post added 2012-11-05 at 04:25 PM ----------
Our prehistoric ancestors ate meat. There is even evidence to show that the extra protein and fat allowed us to evolve such large brains. Now if we move on from our ancestral species to early and modern humans the evidence for meat eating is clear. Of course adaptability is one of the main things that allowed humans to prosper so different populations ate varying amounts of meat. The ones who ate the least meat were the ones with the least access to it though.
Vegetables are an important part of our diet but it doesn't make much sense that such a grueling demanding lifestyle like early humans lived would have been fueled through vegetation. Meat is also very nutritious which a lot of people forget about. You think healthy you think low fat, low calorie veggies. That's not really the whole picture. Meat is also very nutritious and is a completely natural food that we evolved eating.
I'm a vegan myself. However, if someone decides to eat meat then I respect the decision to hunt over, say, buying meat from a grocery store. While I don't inherently object to eating meat (I'm a vegan purely because I think it's healthier) I do object to the practices of most big businesses in the meat industry.
In most cases, the guy who goes hunting for food has a much smaller carbon footprint than huge cow/pig farms that are raising animals in pretty horrible conditions. If we're going to complain about anything, this is what needs the attention the most. Not some average joe hunter.
Not for me, but I don't begrudge anyone their right to do it. Personally, I think using a gun to shoot an unsuspecting animal purely for sport is for cowards. If you're actually using all parts of the animal, then I'm ok with it.
I'm not anti hunting but the argument that hunters contribute to conservation is really kind of over blown. Hunters conserve the animals they want to hunt. That may or may not conserve an actual functional ecosystem that provides societal benefits beyond just more game to hunt. Hunters and the hunting lobby are really self serving in this regard, sorry.
---------- Post added 2012-11-05 at 05:42 PM ----------
True! The morality comes into play with how the animal is raised and treated prior to slaughter. Killing an animal for food isn't immoral. But allowing it to live a miserable life is.
I dont see how sitting in a tent in the cold waiting for an animal to cross your path to shoot qualifies as hunting. I also dont see how it could possibly be fun.
Never had, and likely never will. However, as long as the purpose is to get food and the species and the amount of them getting shot is regulated (regulated in the scale of country/continent so that the populations are kept healthy), it's all good for me. If it is for trophies and/or endangered/vulnerable species, then I wish the animals had guns too.
What do you think about Kobe Beef? Cows raised in great environments, massaged, fed great food, beer, and then slaughtered for the awesome meat. Its a very good Japanese meat.
Does hunting for cougars count.....?