Hunting: Barbaric, fun, or what?

AquaticAmbi · #1 08-03-2005, 06:47 PM

I live in the South of the U.S., so this is something that I hear about probably way more than most of you, but what do you think of this sport?

While I understand hunting is necessary to a certain extent to maintain some species' populations in avoidance of overpopulation, I can't understand how anyone can find taking a wild animal's life fun.

Additionally, I find stuffed animals, especially mounted heads, grotesque and disgusting.

used:) · #2 08-03-2005, 06:54 PM

You're not alone, hunting's a big thing in Pennsylvannia as well. I honestly have no opinion of the matter bevcause I don't enjoy hunting. I like the outdoors, but I think that killing an inoccent animal is wrong. (God I sound like a pussy).

AquaticAmbi · #3 08-03-2005, 07:06 PM

I don't think it's wrong, but I think it's strange and perhaps a bit scary that people can consider it fun and take pride in mounting stuffed animal carcass to their walls.

used:) · #4 08-03-2005, 07:08 PM

Yes, I meant how to take pleasure in it. I agree with the need for it (deer meat tastes heavenly, and there's an over population right now).

Cyber-Slig · #5 08-03-2005, 07:12 PM

I can understand killing over-populated animals, and then immortalising them as a trophy, but what I can't stand is people killing nearly-extinct animals. It's foolish killing turtles, pandas, seals etc.

TheRaisin · #6 08-03-2005, 07:31 PM

I just don't support a "sport" in which you kill something for fun. It's so pointless and stupid. I can understand hunting for food. That's only natural. It shouldn't be one's only source of food, and God knows the Earth can't support a very large population of hunters in this day and age, but if few enough people do it, and they don't do it excessively, and they're not killing endangered animals as Cyber-Slig mentioned, I think that's okay. Probably. Jeez. I don't know. I needs must find a site to support this. Linkage to come.

But going out with a high-powered rifle, shooting a defenseless animal, drying out its corpse, stuffing it and mounting its head on your wall like it's some kind of amazing fecking accomplishment is absolutely insane.

Abe16 · #7 08-03-2005, 07:52 PM

Well, My friend hunts with his dad.He hunts over-populated animals, and i don't take that as a crime. Now, if he would hunt an almost-extinct animal, I wouldn't be too happy. I'd hate to have a mounted animal's head and/or animal rug.*shivers*

Dino · #8 08-03-2005, 09:12 PM

In the UK there's two types of hunting... game and fox. Fox hunting is done with a big pack of hounds, and lots of people on horses. They take ages to find a fox, then once they find it, they just follow the hounds until the thing is dead. They don't eat the fox, and it's been proven that the M25 motorway does more to control the fox population than hunting. So basically it's just killing animals fo fun, so I totally disagree with it.

Game hunting however, is done for the meat. You go hunt the animal, then cure the meat and eat it. So I support that. Hunting is instinctive and ingrained to us anyway, but there's no point doing it for the sake of doing it. That'd be like going fishing, killing all the fish, and not eating them. Utterly pointless.

used:) · #9 08-03-2005, 10:08 PM

Ah Britain, so civilized.

sligster · #10 08-04-2005, 02:19 AM

I think it's hella fun. I don't however, poach (as suggested by Cyber-Slig), or do it for trophies (unless it's a really ****in big deer). I do it mostly so we don't have to eat the crap we always bring when we go camping. So you could classify me as a game hunter, I suppose.

Although there are times when I'll do it just for the hell of it.

Facsimile · #11 08-04-2005, 03:41 AM

I despise hunting and guns in general. I'm glad they aren't that common here.
**** if I was a deer I'd be pretty pissed off if I got killed for 'a spot of fun'.

Dino · #12 08-04-2005, 06:56 AM

Yeah... like I said I only support game hunting - even if it's shot for fun, so long as the meat gets eaten it's fine. Even if the shooter himself does not eat it. My main concern is there being a point to it's death, and meat is really the most valid point, so as long as that's what eventually ends up on a dinnerplate as a result of it being shot, then like I said, fine.

I'm glad they've banned fox hunting though, such a terrible sport.

soulstice · #13 08-04-2005, 07:03 AM

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In the UK there's two types of hunting... game and fox. Fox hunting is done with a big pack of hounds, and lots of people on horses. They take ages to find a fox, then once they find it, they just follow the hounds until the thing is dead. They don't eat the fox, and it's been proven that the M25 motorway does more to control the fox population than hunting. So basically it's just killing animals fo fun, so I totally disagree with it.

Game hunting however, is done for the meat. You go hunt the animal, then cure the meat and eat it. So I support that. Hunting is instinctive and ingrained to us anyway, but there's no point doing it for the sake of doing it. That'd be like going fishing, killing all the fish, and not eating them. Utterly pointless.

Oh, and there's hare coursing too. It's when two dogs chase after the hare and basically rip it apart while the masters of the hunt spur them on whilst mounted on horseback.

Being a total vegetarian, I don't believe in any type of hunting. Even for meat.
I hate hunt trapping too. Every year, thousands of dogs, cats, deer etc. are killed by hunt traps and then discarded as 'non-target animals'. To me, it's all wrong.

Kimon · #14 08-04-2005, 07:15 AM

Game hunting is alright (deer an the like) because venison is absolutely amazing, but I still have a particular dislike for hunting.

For one, I'm a nature freak, and seeing an animal get shot, especially by my or someone I know's hands, would crush me. And two, I always feel that it is kind of a waste of life. We don't need to eat venison; hell, I haven't ever seen it on a shelf in Tops. But people still go out and kill them.

As for sport hunting, it sickens me.

"Hey! Randy! Wanna go get drunk and blast the crap out of an unsuspecting living creature?"
"Well, only if we don't eat it and chop of it's head so we can nail it to my wall."
"Alright, I got the beer and guns. Let's go!"

Then the mindless killing ensues.

My mom's old boyfriend used to hunt. He had some property out there that was absolutely beautiful. There was a huge meadow in the back that totally amazing to walk through at night. Then he and his family decided to swap the beautfiul meadow for a couple-acre cornfield so that the deer they were planning to shoot didn't die of starvation. Assholes.

There was also a picture of a family youngn' (about 8 years old I think) stuck on the fridge. He was standing next to a wagon, over which was hanging a deer carcass that the kid happened to be gutting. The wagon was to catch the blood.

That kinda thing grosses me out to no extent.

AquaticAmbi · #15 08-04-2005, 09:15 AM

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Yeah... like I said I only support game hunting - even if it's shot for fun, so long as the meat gets eaten it's fine. Even if the shooter himself does not eat it. My main concern is there being a point to it's death, and meat is really the most valid point, so as long as that's what eventually ends up on a dinnerplate as a result of it being shot, then like I said, fine.

Indeed. I have a lot more respect and acceptance of hunters who eat whatever they kill. I still don't understand what they get out of killing a defenseless animal in terms of fun.

So let's ask the only member who has so far claimed it to be fun...

:

I think it's hella fun. I don't however, poach (as suggested by Cyber-Slig), or do it for trophies (unless it's a really ****in big deer). I do it mostly so we don't have to eat the crap we always bring when we go camping. So you could classify me as a game hunter, I suppose.

Although there are times when I'll do it just for the hell of it.

Why do you find it "hella fun", and why in the world would you sometimes kill just "for the hell of it"?

Ugh, like I said, I live in the South, and it's such a frequent thing to hear about. In middle school, I was horrified at this one girl's photo album she brought to school. There were so many pictures of her kneeling by a dead deer, lifting it's head up with blood running out of its nostrils and/or mouth and toungue hanging out. Disgusting.

I can also remember two other stories about killing animals from two guys. One used to sit out on a branch over the lake and shoot the fish. The other talked about shooting birds randomly. Oh, a few weeks ago, some stupid redneck boys trespassed on my grandfather's farm to shoot a crane, and leave it there to rot. I really hate people sometimes.

used:) · #16 08-04-2005, 10:14 AM

What about fishing? I love that sport, what about you guys? I always let my fish go too, unlesss they're huge. Hey I gotta eat too you know.

Teal · #17 08-04-2005, 10:52 AM

Fox-hunting I disapproved strongly of, partly because it was cruel and pointless (especially as there's a bloodless alternative), and partly because the people that indulged in it had to keep coming up with increasingly desperate excuses of why they did it instead of just saying "it's a fun ride across the countryside".

I don't mind game shooting so long as the shooter is going to eat the animal - unlike the big pheasant shoots around where I live, where they shoot so damn many birds they have to incinerate or bury most of them. That's after they've decimated the local predator population to PROTECT the birds they're not going to eat. That's what I don't get about a lot of bloodsports - they kill off the predators to protect the prey, then cook up an excuse of having to shoot the prey because there's too many of them?

What I don't understand is why some people think it's FUN to kill the animal, like I don't understand why some people think it's FUN to trap an animal for its fur and stamp it to death either - I guess in game hunting it's the whole "thrill of the chase" thing? Being out in the wilderness, the act of stalking the animal... I mean, *I* enjoy doing the latter, but for me it's to try and get close enough to watch whatever animal it is without disturbing it.

"Canned hunting" is the one I find most distasteful - where they release a rare animal like a big cat or a rhino into an enclosure, and charge a fortune for a "hunter" to go and shoot it. The animal can't escape, and is sometimes even drugged so it's less dangerous, so it's a fairly guaranteed kill - just so someone can boast of their "bravery" at killing a lion.

Fishing? Well, I'm kinda ambivalent on that one, especially if people eat what they catch - after all, I used to do a bit of fishing myself, when I was a lot younger (read: about 10, 15 years ago). The fact I never caught anything is partly why I stopped going, and of course I didn't like the idea of trying to retrieve a hook from a fish's throat (because I'm such a "liberal leftie" I didn't even like the idea of sticking a hook through a maggot. Didn't mind the maggots, just didn't want to skewer them.) Since science has acknowledged the fish (probably) suffer when they're caught makes me disinclined to start again. But then, so many people just sit there and don't catch anything, so...

Munch's Master · #18 08-04-2005, 11:28 AM

I think hunting is sick and wrong. If you HAVE, to kill something, eg. In the case of Fox-hunting, you're a farmer whose livestock is beign threatened, then I agree, but do it in a humane way, not chasing nd tormenting the animal with hounds. Game hunting I don't like. Killnig somethnig for fun and no reason is disgusting. Fishing, I don't really know. Some people catch a fish then let it go again, others catch it, cook it, eat it. I don't disagree with that as suh, but i don't really see the point when you can just go to the supermarket and buy some fish to cook. I don't disagree, I just don't get it, maybe it's for the prride of eating your kill, but I don't understand it. I don't like the fact that the fish suffer when caught, what with the hooks and the slow suffocation out of the water, so I'm torn on this one. Hunting animals that are overpopulated I agree with partially, as it prevents the numbers getting to high and causing an unbalance (although I stil lthink it should be done in a humane and controlled manner), but hunting rare creatures, like elephants, seals etc. is wrong. Trophies of animals I find to be just nauseating. How can you take pride in displaying a dead animal for all to see? What is the attraction in that?

used:) · #19 08-04-2005, 01:24 PM

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Fishing? Well, I'm kinda ambivalent on that one, especially if people eat what they catch - after all, I used to do a bit of fishing myself, when I was a lot younger (read: about 10, 15 years ago). The fact I never caught anything is partly why I stopped going, and of course I didn't like the idea of trying to retrieve a hook from a fish's throat (because I'm such a "liberal leftie" I didn't even like the idea of sticking a hook through a maggot. Didn't mind the maggots, just didn't want to skewer them.) Since science has acknowledged the fish (probably) suffer when they're caught makes me disinclined to start again. But then, so many people just sit there and don't catch anything, so...

I'm pretty liberal myself, but I still enjoy gooey green blood of a worm spurting out as you prepare it so you can nick a bass. I typically do stuff like lake fishing and pond fishing, I can't stand river fishing because I always get snagged. The hook in the fish's mouth is nothing, just hope it doesn't go deeper, then it's rreally hrd to get it out.

Kimon · #20 08-04-2005, 01:37 PM

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Some people catch a fish then let it go again, others catch it, cook it, eat it. I don't disagree with that as suh, but i don't really see the point when you can just go to the supermarket and buy some fish to cook. I don't disagree, I just don't get it, maybe it's for the prride of eating your kill, but I don't understand it.

There are some fish you cannot buy in stores, and fish taste differently fresh caught than store bought.

Rhiizyme!

Statikk HDM · #21 08-04-2005, 01:43 PM

It always tastes better when you catch it, clean it, and cook it yourself. I don't dig processed fish.
Hunting is lame, though, and requires a lot more money and physical effort than fishing. I've done varmint hunting before, and it is a lot more fun and entertaining than freezing your cock off in a deer stand for 7 hours. Tasty, too. Hmmm, barbecued squirrel.

Hobo · #22 08-04-2005, 01:47 PM

Well. If a man can kill a deer or fox with his bare hands and feet, naked. I'll condone it. And tip my hat.

Other than that. I don't condone it.

Kimon · #23 08-04-2005, 01:56 PM

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Well. If a man can kill a deer or fox with his bare hands and feet, naked. I'll condone it. And tip my hat.

Totally.

Hiding in the bushes and cappin' an unsuspecting animal 300 yards away, not so much.

used:) · #24 08-04-2005, 01:58 PM

how do you think lions do it? Haha!

Statikk HDM · #25 08-04-2005, 06:12 PM

I don't go as far as you guys. Anybody who can kill prey with recurves or bows older than 25 years gets a tip of my hat. Anybody like Fred Bear who went after ****ing lions with a 30 year old compound gets a nod, too. Anybody who has ever killed or repelled a violent animal in excess of their weight with a knife of any kind also gets props.

AquaticAmbi · #26 08-04-2005, 08:09 PM

I used to love fishing with my grandfather, but I never ever kept the fish. Since I'm all, you know, marine biology-lovin', I just liked looking at them and then letting them go.

Something else related to killing animals that completely pisses me off is when people kill wild, dangerous animals that come into their neighborhoods. I've heard of many stories on the news where an animal like a bear, for example, comes into a town and the police shoot it. Come on, what the hell do you expect when you live near mountainy, woody areas? It's the animal's true home; they have the right to be there. And it's so pointless to shoot it dead when the animal could be tranquilized and moved to a new, less civilized location.

Dino · #27 08-04-2005, 09:10 PM

My personal opinion on it, is that killing animals for meat is natural. So if you can't justify killing an animal for food, then you're simply not natural.

Also, you need to understand that hunting is ingrained, so it's natural that we get a kick out of hunting. Helps ensure the survival of the species. Enjoying the hunt, means catching food isn't a chore, so staying alive is no big deal.

Cyber-Slig · #28 08-04-2005, 09:31 PM

There's also hunters who torture animals. I remember a while back, I saw a programme, and the hunters cut a deer's belly open and it fell on the ground with it's guts hanging out. They left it there as bait for some cheetah, which in the end, never showed up. Am I the only one that finds that finds that wrong?

And Dino does have a point, after-all, some animals do try to eat us. It's nature. Worms eat us, Birds eat worms, Cats eat birds, Dogs eat cats, we eat dogs (Well, wolves and foxes), worms eat us etc. etc.

Kimon · #29 08-04-2005, 09:38 PM

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And Dino does have a point, after-all, some animals do try to eat us. It's nature. Worms eat us, Birds eat worms, Cats eat birds, Dogs eat cats, we eat dogs (Well, wolves and foxes), worms eat us etc. etc.

The ciiiiiiiiiiircle of life! Dooo-doo! Somethin' somthin' sooomethin'! Etcetera...
Mmmm. Thank God for the Lion King songs.

And Dino, while the whole "enjoying the hunt" thing may be engrained in humans naturally, tons o' people find it hard to enjoy when they're killing awesomely cool creatures.

Leto · #30 08-04-2005, 10:12 PM

I find that hunting is wrong, in a sense that you are taking a life (Oh, I am a closet vegen, but meat is just too nice.

)

I don't want to sound like your parents, but consider the feeling of animal when it's being killed. If you were running away from some huge biped with a boomstick, would you not be slightly scared? What of your family, what of your territory?

Then again, I'm a softy, I can't sleep when I hear mouse-traps go off... But then I play GTA and kill many, many old people with my badass chainsaw. Am I not slightly hypocritical? :/