What do you think of hunting?

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I think there's something weird about people who can find it enjoyable to watch something die and know that they killed it. I acidentally hit a bird with my car once and I cried my eyes out, I couldn't imagine actually aiming to kill something. That being said, I also don't eat meat. I have a big problem with certain animals being hunted- like bears and cougars, whose numbers are limited but they are not technically "endangered" so in most states it is legal to kill them. I know that many of them are picked off because livestock farmers have their own interests in mind, but wildlife also needs food and a place to live. We also wouldn't have such a huge overpopulation problem with deer if all their natural predators weren't hunted into near-extinction or driven away.

[Miss Z]

I think there's something weird about people who can find it enjoyable to watch something die and know that they killed it. I acidentally hit a bird with my car once and I cried my eyes out, I couldn't imagine actually aiming to kill something. That being said, I also don't eat meat. I have a big problem with certain animals being hunted- like bears and cougars, whose numbers are limited but they are not technically "endangered" so in most states it is legal to kill them. I know that many of them are picked off because livestock farmers have their own interests in mind, but wildlife also needs food and a place to live. We also wouldn't have such a huge overpopulation problem with deer if all their natural predators weren't hunted into near-extinction or driven away.

Exactly.

Hares used to be very common in Britain. Since medieval times they have been hunted for food, and more recently 'to keep down the population'. That's pretty much the same reason my myxomatosis was introduced, to keep down the population of wild rabbits and hares, and I think in a way that is a form of hunting. Now it's quite unusual to see a hare. And the myxomatosis virus kills hundreds of pet rabbits each year And also, since many rabbits and hares were killed, the amount of predatory birds, such as red kites, fell dramatically. Why do some people feel the need to interfere with nature?

[Cataholic]

I think there's something weird about people who can find it enjoyable to watch something die and know that they killed it.

Very well put. I have YET to meet (and I am 40 years old) a 'hunter' that didn't make me go "hmmmm....".

[BOBS DAD]

Very well put. I have YET to meet (and I am 40 years old) a 'hunter' that didn't make me go "hmmmm....".

It may very well be though Cat, that "You have" met hunters that seemed very normal to you. You just did not know that they were hunters. Because like a lot of things, most people participate in activities in moderation and are not consumed by them. I also do not agree with hunting merely for sport but I have hunted and still do on occasion. I once posted on this same subject (but was more on the theme of "hunting dog" breeds). In that post I mentioned how we (my family) hunted for food. We had no real pleasure in seeing anything die, but was more of a natural order of things. In order to eat, you had to kill and clean and process your meat. It is a bit hypocritical to eat a hamburger and think that you are totally against any sort of brutality or mistreatment of animals. It may in fact be more respectful of nature to hunt, forage and gather your own food than to rely on others to do so and pretend that your Big Mac was born a patty!!!

In my previous post I said: I am no longer a Hunter (per se), but I used to hunt frequently with my father. Growing up my father always had Beagles as he was an avid hunter. He taught us to love and respect nature. He also taught his boys to hunt. As a family, we did not have much (in the way of money) and so any game that we bagged was cleaned, processed and prepared as food. Rabbit, Pheasant and Deer (processed and frozen) sure helped to lower my Mom's bill at the market. To this day nothing makes me feel more relaxed than a brisk, sunny morning, walking in golden fields, smelling the fresh air and hearing a Beagle off in the distance howling. It reminds me of a simpler time. A time when my biggest worry "was for Christmas, what would be my toy" - thanks to Stevie Wonder for that line.

Just weighing in on the subject! Following are Ginger shots on an early morning hunt... She Hunts - I Watch and Listen!!!