hunting

[Billy Bones]

hi its me billy bones i wanna hear wot u think of hunting. like the gun you have , the things u hunt or wot u dont like about it

[Lotesse]

[the poster elicited disapproval of hunting - moderator]

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[Earniel]

I extremely dislike hunting. For one, I fail to see the need for it in modern society other than an archaic habit that more often than not completely disregard national laws and issues on animal well-being.

I also fail to see the use of breeding animals like pheasants and drop them in the wild just because some trigger happy people want to shoot them out of the sky.

When I think of hunting I think of arrogant people who cowardly poison foxes and birds of prey, even within wild reserves!, because they want to get rid of their competitors. Some of them even shoot cats, whether they are wild or somebody's pet. They're constantly lobby-ing to increase the periods where they can hunt, regardless of breeding- or hatching seasons.

When I think of hunting I think of the absolutely barbaric slaughters on Malta that they call hunting. I'm glad the EU is finally rethinking their stance of allowing it but I'd like to see some more enforcement still.

In Belgium since we have only a small percentage of wild reserves and hardly any natural predators left so populations of prey species like deer can get out of hand. In this sort of cases one must find a way to bring the population back to the numbers the environment can sustain. Often the only way to do that is shooting them. This manner of wild-life control, I can accept but it seems a far cry what modern day hunting practises entail today.

You'll have to forgive me my rather extreme stance on hunting. I'm sure there are hunters out there who have respect for the animals they hunt, but frankly , not in my experience.

[Andúril]

In Zimbabwe, when I was 15, I went for a walk up a hill to marvel at the surrounding landscape. I found some stones, and proceeded to throw them around.

Standing at the top of the slope, I found it more gratifying to roll the stones down the hill, as they built up some good speed, and bounced erratically. Fun!

However, as soon as I had rolled down the biggest stone, I saw a troop of mongese running across the general trajectory of the stone. I hope it doesn't hit one, I thought. Using their average speed, I estimated that the last mongoose would make it just in time.

I was wrong. One of them stopped, and stood up on it's hind legs. Exactly in the path of the rolling stone. Damn, he's gonna get it in the ribs, I thought. Unfortunately, it wasn't so lucky. About two meters from the mongoose, the stone bounced up, ricocheting off it's head. It stood there for about five seconds, and ran off to join the troop.

That is the closest I've ever come to hunting.

[rohirrim TR]

Originally Posted by Billy Bones

hi its me billy bones i wanna hear wot u think of hunting. like the gun you have , the things u hunt or wot u dont like about it

congrats on comingup with a controversial topic judging from your reactions I had better not comment

[brownjenkins]

i have no desire to ever shoot another living thing unless i absolutely have too

i do enjoy fishing though

[Spock]

rules, what rules, I didn't know about any rules, where ?

ok, I'll check.

I can't find anything that would prohibit this subject.

[Lotesse]

O.K., Billy Bones, now I've had a day to simmer down - I apologise to you publically for the uncalled-for namecalling and stuff that I threw your way yesterday, but however I still must reassert my passionate stance against the practice of sport-hunting, with deer-control situations like what Earniel mentioned being an only - an ONLY - exception. I find hunting to be stupid and cruel and unnecessary, and unfairr to the animals being hunted, and it makes my heart cry and rage inside when I see defenseless animals being injured without hope, in fact I am almost in tears right now just thinking about it.

[Spock]

Gee, if your a vegetarian I can almost understand your being upset L but otherwise many people enjoy stuff like hamburgers, etc. which don't grow on trees.

[brownjenkins]

Originally Posted by Spock

Gee, if your a vegetarian I can almost understand your being upset L but otherwise many people enjoy stuff like hamburgers, etc. which don't grow on trees.

sustenance and sport are two different things

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

sustenance and sport are two different things

Yes, but is it not still slaughter and killing? You do not have to eat beef, pork, chicken, etc, to live.

I have an unformed opinion on hunting. I know many people that deer hunt. I have also heard tell that their deaths by hunting are far more merciful than the starvation that results from over population, particullarly during harsh winters.

Here in Akron, not far from where I live, the deer are plentiful, coming into residential areas and often destroying people's property. They are also a threat to drivers, especially at night. Hunting is prohibited in this area, but the government has a deer kill every year or so here to control the population. The deer meat is distributed to homeless shelters.

[Lief Erikson]

Sounds like a very good system.

[brownjenkins]

Originally Posted by Sister Golden Hair

Yes, but is it not still slaughter and killing? You do not have to eat beef, pork, chicken, etc, to live.

sure it is... just a different kind... i don't have to eat meat, but i like it... and, contrary to spock's statement i can still disapprove of hunting, or at least some forms of it, even if i enjoy something like deer meat (which i do)

i think it has to be looked at situation by situation... we have deer problems here to, so killing some off is a necessity... excessive deer can lead to disease problems among the population... not to mention human deaths by automobile accident

i also have an uncle who hunts deer and even bear with a bow and arrow, spending hours in the woods camping, tracking, etc... and even putting his life on the line in the process... while it's not something that would get me going, i can see the "sport" in it from the challenge involved, and the risk

on the flip side, i had some friends back where i grew up whose idea of a good time was walking around with their guns and basically shooting anything that moved... birds, squirrels, even house cats... to me this seemed pointless because it is neither necessary, or a real challenge... it seems more like a power trip to me (and a false one at that, since the animal really has no chance)

i think there are some people who hunt "respectfully" and some people who do not... the latter are the ones i disapprove of

[Spock]

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

and, contrary to spock's statement i can still disapprove of hunting,

Sorry never said you couldn't disapprove of it.

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

i think there are some people who hunt "respectfully" and some people who do not... the latter are the ones i disapprove of

I agree.

[Mercutio]

Let me just say that revenue from licenses is a huge chunk of the money fish/game/wildlife commissions get. Without it they couldn't do anything to protect & conserve land, promote outdoor recreation, etc.

At least in the U.S.

[Spock]

Good point. The friends I have that hunt, eat what they kill and give any excess to either family or the local food bank. That's noble in my book.

[Mercutio]

Most people who hunt for sport eat their kill. Humans are naturally omnivores, so it is quite natural for people to kill animals for consumption. How is predation of wild animals any different than that of domestic?

It's not immoral for a wolf to kill a rabbit, is it?

The animals may be "poor and defenseless," and they never ran after humans with a gun, but since when does a rabbit have legal right to live? In our times, the only legal rights animals have are those laws and regulations governing hunting and humane practices. We do not grant legal rights to life, freedom, and happiness to animals.

[brownjenkins]

Originally Posted by Spock

Sorry never said you couldn't disapprove of it.

i should have said, i can understand why L is upset

[Lief Erikson]

Very good points, Mertucio and Brownjenkins.

Originally Posted by Mercutio

It's not immoral for a wolf to kill a rabbit, is it?

We would do best not to compare our morals with those of animals. Many sharks eat other sharks. Does that make it moral for humans to eat other humans? Rabbit sexual habits aren't something humans would do well to emulate either .

[Mercutio]

Yes, the wolf is acting on instinct, whereas humans we can make an informed choice whether to kill.

I think I was going more along the lines of the wolf not violating the rabbit's legal rights and it is completely natural (natural wild life).