Hunting / Pro or Con?

[2MinsToPost]

I used to be an avid hunter until the day came when I shot an animal, I will not tell what kind, and the animal did not die from my shot but rather was wounded and took off. I followed the blood trail until almost dark to no avail.

I have not gone hunting since. I am pro hunting because in my opinion it is a necessary evil, especially with animals such as deer who will die of starvation without some form of control, ie hunting.

What are your thoughts on this?

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by 2MinsToPost

I used to be an avid hunter until the day came when I shot an animal, I will not tell what kind, and the animal did not die from my shot but rather was wounded and took off. I followed the blood trail until almost dark to no avail.

I have not gone hunting since. I am pro hunting because in my opinion it is a necessary evil, especially with animals such as deer who will die of starvation without some form of control, ie hunting.

What are your thoughts on this?

I hunted a few times before I went into the Army...lost my taste for it there.

[whorstman]

Well, I'm not too hip on getting up at the assed crack of dawn and going out into cold assed weather and sitting still for hours waiting on a deer to come along that I will no doubt spook away or miss anyway. Some of my friends love it, and it is population control. Plus some good eatin too.

[2MinsToPost]

i admit it was a small buck. killed me, seeing that beautiful animal, then taking my shot, seeing it hit then take off, following the trail. never again, i can't do it. not something i have shared with many, especially since most of my friends are avid hunters.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

I don't understand the population control justification for hunting.We don't go shoot loose dogs just because there are too many.If there is an overpopulation of a certain animal,then there are other ways to control that.I don't favor taking away what people already enjoy doing.I just don't understand why they enjoy it.Seems it should be something that people have to be paid to do(instead of wanting to do.)I wouldn't say I am against others hunting.It is something people have grown up doing,and seem to enjoy.I JUST DON'T SEE THE JOY.

[Scav]

I am ALL ABOUT going Canadian Geese hunting, that is the only animal I can justify killing

[Bigsmc]

Was a huge supplement to our freezer when I was growing up. My Dad literally hunted to provide food. Not necessary anymore, but he's still at it and I had some venison while visiting my parents on vacation a couple weeks ago.

Me? I can take it or leave it. Went as a boy because it was great Father-Son time together. When I moved to Florida, I just left the guns behind.

[Danzig]

the whitetail deer population is actually larger now than when the first settlers arrived. deer are incredibly adaptable...also, after the first year, most does give birth to twins or often-times, triplets.

no telling how many accidents including fatalities are caused by car/deer accidents. plenty, just ask any insurance agent. birth control has been tried in many areas where urban sprawl has occurred. many think deer are cute until they become a nuisance animal...or when they attack you early in the morning. a buck during the rut is no fun to be around, and people have been killed.
regrettably (or at least to some) most natural predators of deer no longer exist, allowing deer herds to increase to unsustainable levels.

also, for those who just don't want to read a hunter/fishermans viewpoint...most state public land, as well as nat'l wildlife refuges are largely supported by hunters. it's a voluntary 'tax' by those who buy licenses every year. my husband and i are also members of the national wild turkey federation. (we've never killed our first turkey btw) but by supporting this organization, we and turkey hunters nationwide have returned the population to its former, much higher numbers! hunters didn't decimate the flocks, human encroachment among other things did.

by no means am i trying to convert anyone. but much like being a horse racing fan, i'm attacked for being a hunter, or for fishing, by those who consider all three as being 'cruel'. i'm just asking to be allowed to do what i do, i'm not trying to force anyone to live by what i think, i beg the same respect in return.
think about the sport you follow....how many of you have had to try to explain your love of this game to someone who dismissed everything you say out of hand, only saying how cruel it is to the horses we love.

[GPK]

Growing up....My father and two older brothers hunted. It provided quite a bit of food for out family. I never took to it for some reason but have many friends that still hunt and I could care less whether people do or don't.

Only animal I have ever killed was when I was at the huntclub with my father one day and a wild dog came running at us and he sure as hell wasn't looking to bet petted or play catch. 1 shot with my .357....buh bye.

[dr. fager]

Well I wasn't going to reply, but here's my thoughts. I hunted pheasant a lot with my Dad when I was younger, time I cherish...when our brittany spaniel passed I stopped. I still have a lot of friends and relatives that hunt all sorts of game, even though I choose not too I have no problems with it.

I personally have hit two deer with vehicles...so anyone who doesn't think population control is vital, is a little off base.

[paisjpq]

No one in my family hunts though Vt is a fairly pro hunting state...I don't have a problem with it per se however I do have a problem with 'bounty hunting' such as the 'coyote derby' concept that is becoming more popular around here. I work on a farm that conssists of 300+ acres surrounded on all sides by suburbia--the land is all posted and discharging a firearm within city limits is illegal--our deer herd is stable but never gets out of control because we also have a decent group of coyotes that take care of the very old, very young, and very sick.

[Rupert Pupkin]

You guys already know my view. I am totally against hunting for sport. In my mind, there is no justification to killing animals for fun. If you are talking about people who honestly do it for food, then that's a totally separate debate.

With regard to horseracing, even though I am in the business, I would have to agree that it is a very cruel sport. I don't think that it necessarily has to be a cruel sport. The main reason that I think it's cruel is because they are injecting sore horses legs with cortisone and forcing these horses to run until they either end up crippled or dead from a broken leg. This part of racing should be illegal. There are actually horses out there with bowed tendons who are being forced to run. These horses will positively break down. The best case scenario is that the horse will hurt the tendon so bad that he will never run again and he will be hampered for the rest of his life. The worst case scenario is that the horse will break his leg and be euthanized.

I don't think that racing has to be cruel. If you have a really competent and ethical trainer who only runs his horses once a month and will not run a hurt horse, then I don't think this trainer's horses are being mistreated. But that scenario is the exception to the rule.

I think they should totally change the rules of racing and not allow broken-down horses to race. This would probably put many if not most tracks out of business but that's too bad. If a business can only survive by hurting animals then that business should not be allowed to operate.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

You guys already know my view. I am totally against hunting for sport. In my mind, there is no justification to killing animals for fun. If you are talking about people who honestly do it for food, then that's a totally separate debate.

With regard to horseracing, even though I am in the business, I would have to agree that it is a very cruel sport. I don't think that it necessarily has to be a cruel sport. The main reason that I think it's cruel is because they are injecting sore horses legs with cortisone and forcing these horses to run until they either end up crippled or dead from a broken leg. This part of racing should be illegal. There are actually horses out there with bowed tendons who are being forced to run. These horses will positively break down. The best case scenario is that the horse will hurt the tendon so bad that he will never run again and he will be hampered for the rest of his life. The worst case scenario is that the horse will break his leg and be euthanized.

I don't think that racing has to be cruel. If you have a really competent and ethical trainer who only runs his horses once a month and will not run a hurt horse, then I don't think this trainer's horses are being mistreated. But that scenario is the exception to the rule.

I think they should totally change the rules of racing and not allow broken-down horses to race. This would probably put many if not most tracks out of business but that's too bad. If a business can only survive by hurting animals then that business should not be allowed to operate.

I pretty much agree with everything you say, in fact, you are putting it rather mildly...working in horse rescue, I've seen things that would make you sick, yet the abuses in racing are mild compared to the horrors encountered by dogs, cats, roosters and other animals. An if you've ever been to a slaughter house...my god! PETA did a wonderful undercover expose on Kentucky Fried Chicken a few years ago documenting the unbelievable cruelty they allowed...throwing live birds into boiling water, breaking off beaks, legs...all kinds of purposeful torture. The site is still on the web but it takes a strong stomach to see! We need to stop all of that...man eats meat, that's a given! But the torture and cruelty can't be justified by any spin doctor! All life must be held sacred, animals should be seen as living beings with feelings and not simply property like a damn piece of furniture...man has dominion over the animals, with that should come responsibility and kindness not ....well, you get the idea! A parting thought...nearly all sociopaths, you know folks who torture, rape and kill people, sometimes many people, have a history of cruelty to animals as children!

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

I don't understand the population control justification for hunting.We don't go shoot loose dogs just because there are too many.If there is an overpopulation of a certain animal,then there are other ways to control that.I don't favor taking away what people already enjoy doing.I just don't understand why they enjoy it.Seems it should be something that people have to be paid to do(instead of wanting to do.)I wouldn't say I am against others hunting.It is something people have grown up doing,and seem to enjoy.I JUST DON'T SEE THE JOY.

I dont see the joy in it either. But the fact is white tail deer in Texas are overpopulated. They have no natural predators left. ANd people pay big bucks to shoot and eat them unlike dogs and cats. I happen to love the taste of venison. So I dont get it, but I sure will eat it. If the hunters pay the state and others for it, and the animals dont starve like the clearly would, Im all for it.

[timmgirvan]

Dude: I saw BAMBI, nuff said!!

[SentToStud]

Hunting is not my thing but if others do it, it does me no bother. That's their right.

I will say I find those "shootin fish in a barrel" type outings on enclosed ranges like the one where Cheney shot his friend in the head are objectionable. Doesn't seem very sporting.

[Scav]

Originally Posted by GPK

Growing up....My father and two older brothers hunted. It provided quite a bit of food for out family. I never took to it for some reason but have many friends that still hunt and I could care less whether people do or don't.

Only animal I have ever killed was when I was at the huntclub with my father one day and a wild dog came running at us and he sure as hell wasn't looking to bet petted or play catch. 1 shot with my .357....buh bye.

They still have WILD DOGS where you live? jesus

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Scav

They still have WILD DOGS where you live? jesus

Wild dogs, two: