Hunting: your opinion.

I read an article a while back about a hunting organization getting upset over certain statistics. The survey showed that most youth in the US today prefer to play video games over hunting w/ their fathers. There were a lot of comments about how hunting gives a father-son, male bonding experience and how they dislike games taking that away. It got me thinking, what is everyone's opinion on hunting?

Personally, I think it is comforting news. Young males will always be drawn to violence, so isn't virtual killing better than the real thing? Your personal views about video games aside, they can kill in a game and no actual life is taken; or you may go outside and sit in some deer piss with your pops in the bushes and shoot the next unsuspecting animal thats unfortunate enough to stumble by.

The argument of a father-son relationship builder is a weak one IMO. Why must father and son kill in order to bond? Are we such uncivilized beings? "Sorry son, I just don't give a damn unless I got me a rifle and a beer." I imagine in most cases, Jr. is just complaining to go home so he can play his Gameboy on the car ride home anyway, and dear ol' dad is either hammered drunk or wishes the child wasn't there.

My half-joking aside, lets hear some opinions on the matter! What do you guys think about hunting?

 

I enjoy hunting. I mostly like being in the woods, I become part of the forest when I am there. But I hunt for meat since the stuff the grocery stores have is pretty much inedible. While I not the king of the forest, the forest spirits let me know my place and bless me with their bounty.

 

so many other creatures hunt for their food. so why would it be wrong for humans to do the same thing?

 

IMO,no its worse,it desensitizes a person to the reality of death. they perceive death as "cool",even if it is "just a game".

why do you feel that way? because you never got the opportunity to spend time with your father in the woods or because you didnt enjoy that time?

that is a complete assumption on your part. just because someone hunts for 3 months out of the year,(which is about the extent of most places hunting seasons if you hunt for all game), does not mean that is the only bonding time a father who hunts would spend with there son.. that is a very naive comment on your part.

being "civilized" has nothing to do with providing for yourself and your family.

now youve went from naive to just plain stupid...

once again as it would appear youve done completely through your post you "just imagine", then make wild assumptions about a lifestyle you obviously no NOTHING about.

i think hunting is something man kind has done since the dawn of time and i find it to be a useful skill to have and i feel every father should pass not only that knowledge but the knowledge of fishing and gardening as well as raising domesticated animals for food down to there children..
not just there sons but there daughters as well...

 

hippiehillbilly, you are kidding yourself if you think the majority of hunters today kill out of necessity to support themselves and their families. If that is the case then it is by choice. Some people share your views I'm sure. However it is by and large viewed as a recreational fun time outdoors- not a life sustaining required necessity. I'm sure your anecdotal evidence from those around you would suggest otherwise (I do not question what you do as an individual). Though you see I'm talking about the majority of hunting today in our society. You accuse me of assumptions, yet you assume an awful lot in your post.

You say this as if it somehow justifies anything. Just because "its always been that way" does not automatically mean it is right. What hunting was at the dawn of time and what it is today are completely different. As time passes things change. To do something just because thats how its always been could be counter-productive.
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As for the other responses, I mean no disrespect but I think the issue is using a gun, blade, or crossbow. "Other creatures" hunt only what they are able to take, but man can taken them all with weaponry; they are unnatural and strange. However, if you were to tell me that you hunt w/ your bare hands, I would call you a barbarian and to get out of my sight! Comparing yourself to other creatures hunting is not accurate imo.

Most people hunt for fun and recreation. Many will consume what they've killed, but its almost never out of necessity. Why must these creatures die for my pleasure? Also, just because "other creatures" do something does not automatically make it acceptable or right for me to do it. Animals kill their offspring, torture each other, have a Harem of females, partake in Cannibalism, etc. Does that give me the ok to do the same? No.

Just to clear things up, I am not saying hunting is wrong. If done out of necessity and in moderation it can be perfectly acceptable. It is when hunting becomes a "sport" or something you do for fun and as experience I feel it becomes wrong.

 

i know of no hunter that kills just for the trophy,and i know a lot of hunters.. while i know that there is a VERY small portion that do so,that in no way equates to all hunters hunting just for a trophy..in fact most that hunt only for the trophy donate the meat to food banks to feed the poor. why would you take issue with that?

call your local food bank.. im betting they have little to NO food on he shelves.. ask them how many deer or other game they get every year from hunters. then ask them how much it helps the poor.. then ask them how vital it will be this hunting season..

you say folks dont do it out of necessity? well they may not have to do it,but every hunter i know does appreciate the cost savings a deer in the freezer gives them and there family.. i got news for you,with the inflation on food that is upon us and the economy going in the shitter,it WILL become a necessity for many in the very near future.that is why i believe it is a useful skill to pass down.

have you ever been around people who hunt for any length of time? i hate to tell you but there human just like you.. they coach little league and teach school.. there is no stereotypical hunter as your making it out.

its easy to make assumptions when your on the outside looking in..yes many enjoy time in the woods and truly dont care if they kill or not as has been alluded to already.for them the kill is just a bonus for the hours spent in the woods..have you ever drug a dear out of the woods? have you ever field dressed a deer? there is a LOT of effort in what you choose to call recreation and some of it isnt very pleasant..

you make it out like hunters just walk out and shoot a deer cut its antlers off and simply walk away.
you also make it out as if its easy to kill a animal..
i know people who have hunted 10 years and never killed anything..

besides all that,hunters have played a vital role in the conservation of game animals..if you would care to do some research you would see that almost ALL funding for management of wildlife comes from hunters.. they in turn get to reap the harvest.

you have every right to your opinion.. but you really should educate yourself on the realities of that which you are protesting..

 

I know no one that hunts for "fun". My tribe lives in the woods and hunting (and fishing) is part of what helps us survive, as food in the kitchen is pretty slim and our gardens aren't very big yet. This fall you can bet we'll harvest as much meat as we're reasonably and sustainably able, to fee the Family!

 

i think the problem here is that the O.P. has never been involved with those that hunt. i think he is making assumptions based on what he has read(my gues the majority of it bein animal rights crap) and the way he personally was raised..

i would encourage the O.P. to go to a check in station or a deer cooler this fall and not only see the diversity of those that hunt for himself,but also ask them why they hunt..

also i would encourage the O.P. to take a camera and abide by all hunting laws and see how easy it is to get a picture of a animal in its natural habitat. i think that alone will shatter some of his assumptions.. contrary to popular belief,there is a LOT of skill and knowledge to getting close enough to a animal to kill..

that is the only way he will see the truth for himself and possibly then he will quit making assumptions and stereotyping hunters..

 

i don't know about you, but i happen to live in an area where hunting is quite commonplace and popular. i've been around people my entire life who have hunted wild game or still do so. with the exception of one person i can think of right off hand. not one of them have hunted simply to kill something. they eat what they hunt. not accurate huh? other creatures hunt to eat and so do humans. where is the inaccuracy in that?

 

I'm thinking that the OP lives in an urban/suburban type area. I've always lived in rural areas and hunting, fishing and farming is how a lot of people put all their food on the table. I also wonder if the OP uses any types of animal products?

 

we were wondering the same thing..always makes me laugh when i see a vegetarian wearing birkenstocks...

 

Whilst in one of my reporting classes for the journalism school in college, I found an ad in a paper for a hunting class which encouraged parents to bring their children to the class. I found it kind of odd that they would want to get young kids interested in shooting things dead, and i was pretty desperate to find a story idea for the class so I went with that.

I found out that hunters are probably one of the more misunderstood groups of people out there. I talked to the man teaching the class, who was a hunter himself (obviously) and regularly took his children hunting. he said that hunting is not just a parent-child bonding experience but also a way to spend time in and gain a healthy respect for nature. Adult hunters (ideally) teach their kids that the power their gun gives them to take life should not be abused - that is, they shouldn't just be shooting animals left and right. One argument a lot of hunters make is that teaching a child how to properly use a gun (and how NOT to use it) will make them less likely to get in a gun-related accident, rather than more likely. Whether this is true or not I can't say, but I would guess that the percentage of junior hunters injured with hunting rifles is not any higher than that of kids in non-hunting families who got a hold of Daddy's handgun and cause some kind of injury. Think of it this way - if you have two children, one of which has been taught how to properly use a gun and respect its power, and another whose only experience with guns is with movies and video games, and you HAD to let one of them have a gun, who would you give it to?

People who have this image of hunters as ignorant wildlife-murdering rednecks should reexamine their views. Hippies of all people should understand their desire to foster a deeper connection to and respect for nature. You don't have to condone the killing, but you also don't have to extrapolate it into assumptions about their personalities. Besides, hunting is something that is passed down in families, so hunters teaching their kids how to hunt now were taught by their fathers years ago, and so on. do you expect them to drop a family pastime that is rooted in generations of ancestry just because you don't like the idea of killing animals?

Do you swat flies when they invade your house? Kill ants with poison? You're a cold-blooded murderer.

 

outstanding post..

 

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Please show me where I questioned the skill involved. You try so hard to defend an issue I never attacked. Though your suggestion to take up photography brings up something I was considering to post. If the recreational aspect of hunting stems from being out in nature, as opposed to the actual kill itself (which many have argued is the case) then why not just photograph the animal? I have theories as to why, but we'll leave them for a future post.

But aren't you doing the same in assuming that all hunters have a deeper connection and respect for nature?

This would provide me with little more than anecdotal evidence. I have spend time with hunters, much of my family partake in hunting. If my entire opinion of hunters was based solely on those around me, I would have a skewed opinion. You would do well to realize this yourself. I am not saying all hunters are bad and that it is an evil act. I am saying those who hunt for sport and fun should reevaluate why claiming an unsuspecting life brings them joy. If you kill for food due to financial reasons- then by all means, do what you feel you must to survive. However if someone is that financially unstable they should not be on the internet right now, let alone have a computer. That $50 a month should be going elsewhere.

Gay Marriage. Slavery.





Some people have taken such offense that they've gone off onto tangents, questioning my upbringing and making many assumptions that are fairly outrageous (lol). My argument is that killing animals for fun is wrong. I have made no claim that killing out of necessity is wrong, only that in today's society its generally not the case. So far all I see in response is anecdotal evidence, coupled with counters to arguments I never made.

 

woohoo! this thread kicks ass. you guys know how to have a discussion. anything I wanted to contribute has already been posted. I love it when I keep switching sides. keep it up!

 

no you started out making generalizations and pretty much putting down not only parents who encourage there children to learn the skill,but hunting as a whole and once you didnt get the response you hoped for you changed to "hunting for fun",,but still implied it was the majority of hunters.. then when people came back and rebutted that statement you twisted it around to say you never said what you said,,when in fact your O.P. was nothing but a attack on hunters and hunting as a whole..

 

I was referring to hunting today, which is by and large regarded as a sport. Those who hunt out of necessity are greatly in the minority. You should have been able to gather that from my OP. Use some common sense and reading comprehension? I started talking about an article which surveyed children preferring video games over hunting. If a man can purchase a $400 video game console and $60 games for his child, do you think he hunts out of necessity?

Again, you are kidding yourself if you think the majority of hunters do it for survival. It is out of choice, not necessity. My argument remains the same. You say I attack hunting as a whole, and imo the majority hunt for fun- so yes, you could say I am attacking hunting as a whole.

This is ridiculous. Children should not be given guns. A child should not be taught how to use firearms. I don't care how much you think you've told him to respect the gun's power... A young child should never be given the opportunity.

 

At what age should a child learn to shoot?

 

I never made that assumption, nor implied it. Of course there probably are a few people who go out every once in awhile just to kill and couldn't give a shit about nature. However I think you'd find those are very few and far between, because the general hunting community would not want to be seen hanging around these types who are partially responsible for creating the negative image of hunters a lot of people hold. And I can't imagine they'd want to spend much time in the woods if they weren't interested in nature and wildlife. You, however, with your "sorry son, I don't care unless I've got a beer and a rifle," comment and other comments definitely made some generalized assumptions about hunters.

I concede you make a good point by bringing up marriage and slavery. Just because something has a history doesn't make it OK. But it certainly doesn't necessarily prove it wrong either.

By the way, without hunters certain deer populations would explode and wreak havoc on their local ecosystems.

Oh, and do you eat meat? Because at least these animals live in their natural, wide open habitat before they are killed. A lot of the meats we buy in grocery stores and restaurants come from domesticated animals who basically stand in cages not much bigger than themselves for their entire lives - then they're dropped with a piston to the brain and thrown into a giant meat grinder. I think if we got all of our meat through hunters it would be much more humane than the way we generally get it now.