Friday, July 24, 2009

Deer Hunting: Fun Hobby or Cruel Killing?

A good friend of mine, Kris Ericson, runs a photo a day blog. His post from day 374 and the comments, sparked a small debate about the ethics of deer hunting for sport. I respect his opinion. Check out his great photo, and read the comments you can chime in about how you feel about the idea of deer hunting. You can also leave me a comment here if you wish.

If you enjoy deer hunting, I'd love to know why.

If you think killing a deer, or any living animal is wrong, I'd also like to know why you feel this way.

8 comments:

Alicia Billings said...

I don't hunt, but if I did it wouldn't be for a trophy. I wouldn't kill for sport, but if it's going into a freezer it makes perfect sense.

1953buick said...

honestly i don't see Kris's points. for one, the population control is a total myth. this argument is mostly from Game Commission personnel whose salaries depend on hunting and trapping license fees. in fact there is evidence that hunting triggers herd growth. Nature manages itself through many factors including availability of food, water, size of habitat, etc. Also he brought up shooting the deer with a camera and saying you need to invest in a lot of camera gear which is not true either. Very decent Digital SLRs are in the $1000 and under range. I got my 10 megapixel Canon DSLR Rebel XTI for under a grand. Why not take the money that is put towards guns and ammo and put it towards a decent camera setup. i'm not against hunting all together, but i do not see the "sport" in it or "family tradition". Why not turn that bond with his father into a more positive experience. Kris states that he feels bad sometimes, so why not answer that instead of ignoring it. I agree with Alicia, for food, yes; for trophy, no.

Unknown said...

I don't see a problem with killing animals for food. In my opinion, that is what God intended. How do you think animals survive in the wild? They hunt other animals. To me, it's the same thing.

As far as hunting for sport, I guess I don't really have an opinion. I've never hunted (unless you call fishing hunting), so it's hard for me to determine if it's right or wrong. I guess I'm indifferent on this one. It definitely isn't something I'd ever do for fun.

William Hessian said...

brian, i do understand that animals hunt for their food. It is a necessity to their survival. For us, it may have started that way, but we no longer need to kill animals to survive. We have advanced intellectually to the point that we can grow crops around the world import/export anything we want and have tons of choices to eat.

I think we've gone past the point of killing animals and eating meat for survival. That is my opinion.

On a side note, I do agree that it tastes good.

Albert A Rasch said...

William,

Extending your logic, it would stand to reason that we should disregard any vestige of our ancient rhythms, instincts, and intuitions. Do you think the growing rebellion against manufactured food and factory farms is because we have risen "intellectually" to the point were we can produce all the food we want?

Sorry, but I am willing to bet that if I dumped you 100 miles from civilization you would have a hard time adapting to the wilderness. Not me. I am equally comfortable on NYC's East Side as I am on the Eastern slope of the Rockies.

Hunting is more than just killing. There is a visceral calling, a stirring of the instinct that brought us to this point in time when you are out on the hunt. Those that refuse to listen to their own body's whispers, will never hear it or experience it.

Best regards,
Albert
Instincts and Hunting
Real Men Hunt

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