I swear this is an honest question

[mexi cali]

I am anti hunting. It is an aversion that has caused me much grief with hunters over the years, most of whom are/were friends.

Their response is usually to ask me if I eat meat, which I do.

I cannot reconcile the act of eating meat prepared for consumption with the act of looking through a scope and pulling the trigger and killing an animal. I don't quite understand it myself but these are two very different things for me. Some say hypocritical and maybe that's partially true but I don't think that response is enough when compared with the act of killing unless it is done in the name of survival in the face of death or dire need.

My question is this; what goes through the mind of a hunter as he/she lines up an animal in their sights to the point of crystal clarity as they squeeze the trigger and watch it fall? Is it euphoria? is it pride? I, in all honesty don't understand it.

And what sense of accomplishment do those who choose to pose with a dead animal at their feet and have the moment immortalized get?

Please, try to keep your responses intelligent and on point.

No judgement; just a need to understand.

[Silverstarqueen]

First a lot of people are like you (and me), we eat meat, but we don't like hunting or killing. Yes, it's hypocritical and I can't explain it either. I've tried to eat vegan, but I get a belly ache and I miss animal foods pretty quickly.
I don't know what goes thru a hunters mind, but my hubby was a hunter. I don't think they worry about it, maybe it's a challenge , so that's the attraction, to track an animal successfully, and make a good or difficult shoot. Plus they like the fact they are bringing home the bacon so to speak, feeding their family, and it's practically free, No Tax (a bonus). Plus they get cool stuff like horns to make knives, or display, and maybe a nice skin. It's kind like they feel they are getting back to nature, back to their natural roots. Maybe there's even a genetic reason why hunting is rewarding for people.

[jimmy4321]

I like meat, not that crazy about hunting but I think people are just more disconnected from that whole process and that makes it difficult to understand I guess.
I am pro hunting or whatever you'd call it. It controls populations, good sport to share with family/friends and you get food, It's a far more civil way than to leave nature take it's course.

However I never understand the over the top emotional crap they show on these hunting shows, I realize their happy but a bit much.

[Auto1]

I find 'wild' meat to be less chemicalized - if that makes any sense. I have never shot my own animals, but enjoy meat that others have hunted.

For my group of 'people' hunting is a serious undertaking. If you kill it, you eat it. That includes grouse and squirrels etc. And every part of the animals gets 'used'.

I asked a friend once what he goes through when he hunts. First of all, he likes being outdoors in nature. You should see his pictures. But when he sees an animals, he asks the universe if it is okay for him to take this animal. He 'prays' about it, one might say. After he pulls the trigger there is a time of silence and reflection. (He never takes a shot unless he is sure of the shot, and on the one or two occasions that the animals hasn't gone down immediately, he takes a shot right away to end their suffering. He has had to track one animal down, and doesn't kill too close to dark to make sure that he recovers any animals that he shoots.).

He says you always feel a little bad that you have taken something's life. There is a time of sadness? Or whatever. But there is also (later) a feeling of thankfulness and pride? (My own words...).

I feel like wild meat is almost preferable to me - because it hasn't been injected with hormones... And it didn't trust humans who then shot it in the face. (I would totally buy store bought meat as well, FYI).

It also helps to keep things balanced, when people harvest animals responsibly.

And you can cut the meat like YOU want it -thick or thin or...

Sorry this is not well written - I have a wicked migraine. I just don't have anything against wild meat, and enjoy eating it when someone give it to me.

[Always Sunny]

...My question is this; what goes through the mind of a hunter as he/she lines up an animal in their sights to the point of crystal clarity as they squeeze the trigger and watch it fall? Is it euphoria? is it pride? I, in all honesty don't understand it.

And what sense of accomplishment do those who choose to pose with a dead animal at their feet and have the moment immortalized get?...

I'll start out by saying that I don't hunt. I do fish (well, haven't in a while, but used to enough). Personally I have absolutely nothing against hunting, as long as it's for the purpose of utilizing the animal for food and uses the rest of the animal to its fullest extent (hides, bones, etc.).

I think what you're pointing out here describes a certain type of hunter, but not all of them.

Sighting an animal in absolute clarity? I like to think of it as the hunter looking to take the perfect shot. The shot that puts it down in one go, as painless as possible. Responsibility in hunting is paramount.

I see no wrong in posing with an animal, again as long as the purpose of that kill is for sustenance. Hunters will rarely pose with a single rabbit or a couple little quail. It always seems to be that trophy buck. At the core of it, providing food is a very primal thing and hunters are always proud of the impressive ones.

I love wild game. Moose, deer, venison, boar, quail/partridge, rabbit, etc. Though I tend to lean towards the larger animals, as I do with "commercial" meats like beef. If an animal is going to lose it's life to feed another, I prefer to see it feed many instead of a few (one of the reasons why I very much dislike veal for example, if it can grow to provide hundreds of pounds of meat it should).

**I do not support hunting for the sake of the kill. These big game hunting places where you can shot exotic animals for the sake of the glory disgust me**

[Bunnyhop]

Mexicali, I think you might be misunderstanding the point of hunting for a lot of hunters. I'm not a hunter myself, but all of the hunters that I do know hunt for the purpose of providing good food for their family.

Most of us go to the grocery store or butcher shop, where someone else has done the killing for us. Do you wonder if those people enjoy killing or feel a sense of pride at killing?

Hunters take that on themselves, and none of the hunters I know take that lightly. They don't just shoot any animal they see. And before they pull the trigger, they make sure that they are getting the best shot possible to ensure a quick kill.

[kgcayenne]

I am not against hunting at all; Elk and moose are my favourites. I have more of a problem with large commercial operations that mistreat and stress the animals raised for consumption. Stress does change the flavour of animal meat. A deer that has been chased through the woods and stressed will be stinky and quite gamey. Ick So it's only natural to think that a cow or a chicken may be different when mistreated?

[Triple 6]

And what sense of accomplishment do those who choose to pose with a dead animal at their feet and have the moment immortalized get?

This! I cannot wrap my head around. I guess bragging rights?

[cori]

I have been a passionate hunter …of fishes, that is spear fishing, when young.
The sporting aspect motivated me as well as the free diving technique needed to spot and get close enough to the fish. I think the ancestral predatory instinct was at work with the ignorant carelessness from youth.

Today, being much, much older these exploits are among the deeper regrets of my life.
Getting older brings a deeper understanding of what life is and a greater consideration for the marvel which EVERY life and living creature is

According to this, I consider today that any hunt for pleasure should be totally forbidden.
Killing as a sport or a past time remain KILLING and is rewarding in no way.

The way we treat other living creatures, as well as the earth, is a mirror and correspond to the way we act with such a frenzied selfishness between us. It determines the direction in which our civilization goes ... rather catastrophic isn’t?

We are lucky to be at the top of the predatory chain, but what if we were not... and some superior being would come and pray upon us, for the pleasure, the fun, a sense of accomplishment, the sport, the meat or whatever…?

What would you think and feel, seeing your child or wife being shot and the hunter coming, putting his foot on it for the photo and then carving up and dismembering his game?
Think of it really and please answer honestly.

The objection of eating meat (coming from the butcher) is not valid to excuse hunting because these animals are “manufactured “ and considered as food, as industrial products.
OK, as we have incisor teethes, we are made to eat meat… OK! nature has not made us exclusive vegans, but neither made us to kill animal as a hobby, a sport, for the fun or a past time but only for survival.
The problem here is more about the way these animals are grown without consideration or respect and sometime (too often), killed in horrible “inhuman” conditions.

If the sport, or being in the nature, or the excitement coming from tracking the animal are the motivating parts, why not just go for photo shooting, which has the advantage of providing you with a picture and a permanent living memory of this particular moment but keep the beauty of the animal alive?

[FreeRights]

I'm not for or against hunting. I do hunt myself, and when I do get something, every single piece of it is used for something.

You do have a sense of euphoria when you're hunting. It's hard work, and you have to know how to do it right to be successful.

Humans have hunted animals pretty much as long as humans have been humans. I don't like sport hunting. I don't go after the biggest or best this or that, but what I do get is used as food and a variety of other useful things.

The flavour in the meat and the bones is better too, because this is as "natural" as it can get.

I can understand why one would not be interested in hunting, or would prefer not to associate with the activity, but many people do hunt and it's considerably more humane than the meat that you're getting in the super markets.

[Woodenhead]

I'm fine with hunting for actual sustenance or population control. I find that the numbers of those types are severely overblown, though. Most are in it for more egotistical reasons, first and foremost - and it's not normally a conscious decision. (and that's why you get so many passionate defenses about it, too)

[momofthree]

I grew up in a family that hunted for food, I have also been on a cattle farm and helped out with dehorning and castrating the calves and vaccinating the cows. I can't even imagine the poor animals in the slaughter houses and industrial barns. I would much rather eat meat that I know lived its life as intended running around the bush and then died with a quick shot, usually they do not even know what hit them if taken by a skilled hunter. The wild meat also has no antibiotics or hormones (to make up for castration).

All the hunters I know hunt for food and use as much of the animal as possible. They are also the most passionate about preserving the province for those same animals and are themselves animal lovers. It seems to be they don't take killing lightly and won't let an animal suffer. There is something about looking something in eye before you take it's life that gives you a much greater respect for that animal and the food it it provides for you and your family.

We are so separated from our food sources when we go to the store and buy a package of meat, next time research where that meat came from and the life the animal lived before you eat it, it might change your mind.

[fvkasm2x]

I grew up with "manly" grandfathers and father. When I was a young teen I went hunting and shot a deer. We tracked it to where it had fallen and it wasn't quite dead yet. I was horrified to see it laying there panicked and dying.

My grandfather said I had to "finish it" so it wouldn't suffer but I was so traumatized I ran away. Never went hunting again and haven't shot an animal since.

I can't fault people for hunting for food, but for trophy or sport is unnecesary and ridiculous IMO

[Bpeep]

Not too long ago hunting was a necessary means of survival.
Now every store has unlimited selections of meat, and if you don't like or trust it, it's easy enough to get meat from a trusted producer.
Animals out there have it tough enough as it is with encroachment etc, they don't need orange vests out there blazing at them en masse each fall.
Stocks in rivers, oceans and on land are rapidly diminishing and in some instances becoming extinct.
It saddens me to see what we did.

[Hmmm]

I eat meat and do not hunt either. I like wild meat because its healthier to eat and obviously has a much better life prior to being harvested. I don't think I can pull the trigger to kill it unless I'm really hungry. I am also 100% against posting the pictures of your kill and bragging about it. Thats just wrong IMO. Harvest, fine. Brag and show the dead animal on FAcebook, not fine.

Now if you have an extra Moose roast in your freezer and need to get of it, PM me please.