Poll: Hunting

[runtheplacered]

I understand that people hunt and I can even find a few pros for it. But, what I don't understand is trophy or sport hunting. Hunting for the idea that it's "awesome" and for the need to mount the head or antlers as if it's some sort of accomplishment. If you're hunting for food or hunting to keep an ecosystem in check, then why are we using them as decorations?

 

[mokes310]

I have absolutely no problem with hunting and hunters, so long as you're not just killing for sport. If you kill the animal, you'd better eat it, use the skin for a nice pair of boots, etc. If you just kill it so you can mount the head on your wall, then do nothing else with it, you're hunting for all of the wrong reasons.

EDIT: I used to hunt, and will do so occasionally, but now, I'd rather just take a stroll through the woods and see the animals in their habitat. Don't get me wrong, I love me some fresh killed turkey or tasty deer jerky

 

[mattaui]

There are plenty of states in the US that now have deer overpopulation because of misguided bans or restrictions on hunting, as deer no longer have any natural predators. It's so bad in some states that they have to spend tax money to have services come out and engage in a mass deer kill, which is hugely wasteful in many ways. There are plenty of people willing to shell out a reasonable fee and spend their own time to keep the deer population in control. Otherwise, the deer just starve to death, get hit by cars causing injuries and death and become lyme disease carriers.

I don't care to hunt, myself, but that's just because I've got no interest in it. I sure love the taste of venison, though.

 

[meatloaf231]

Hunting for sport is retarded, hunting for food is delicious

I'd probably not have been able to put it so concisely, and I don't think I'd have said "retarted," but this.

 

[thiosk]

Hey, if a man can provide for himself then why not let him. As long as you're killing for a good reason. To eat is a good reason, humans have been doing it for centuries.

I would like to point out that humans have been eating for a little longer than centuries

Now that we have wiped out the predators that once kept the wild populations in check, it is our DUTY as stewards of the environment to cull the populations and prevent out of control explosions in deer and other animal populations.

That means hunters, unless your community bans it and watches as the vegetation from foot to eye-levels is completely picked clean by overpopulated and starving deer.

 

[Woundingisfun]

People should be able to, and I would like to hunt as well.

 

[Zac_Dai]

It's not something I would do myself.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with the American approach to Deer hunting, it seems to be managed well. Though I hope most who do it are good shots and don't just maim the animal.

But if you go fox hunting or kill endangered species like Tigers then you're a ****, end of.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

I think you should only be allowed to hunt with bows, seeing as a .306 round takes away some of the challenge. I don't know, hunting is wierd. With all today's modern gear hunting is becoming a new kind of overkill. I throw my hands up!

 

[Damien the Pigeon]

My view is that if you are going to hunt, you better eat EVERYTHING you kill. Otherwise, you're just getting pleasure (and not food) out of killing a living thing. I find that pretty sick and perverse.

 

[sheic99]

The only thing I find wrong with hunting is the odds. I mean it's you with a scoped rifle and enough bullets to carve a smiley face on it's skin vs an animal(quite possibly with a family) who's just trying to survive in the world we're all already trying to demolish. Some people might say it's the same as eating meat but I don't buy that. Those animals were grown and killed for that particular reason(food), cruel but it doesn't upset any balance. People however hunt the strongest and the fastest, which means not only do they kill a creature that was... you know... just out for a morning stroll, but also fuck up the balance because they keep killing the leaders. Natural selection is NOT the same thing, it's always the weakest that get taken down and if you find any fun in taking down weak and sick animals, you are sick! Hunting is and always was fine as a matter of survival. So if you're hunting the critter because you are starving, then ya it's okey dokey, if you're hunting it for sport (tho the definition of sport in this area is strange, because sport is about something hard to achieve, not sitting on your ass in a tent waiting to pull the trigger) I find that weird.

A real hunter uses a bolt action rifle. They stalk the deer and wait for the perfect shot. Anyone who uses a semi-auto rifle is just cheating.

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

The only thing I find wrong with hunting is the odds. I mean it's you with a scoped rifle and enough bullets to carve a smiley face on it's skin vs an animal(quite possibly with a family) who's just trying to survive in the world we're all already trying to demolish. Some people might say it's the same as eating meat but I don't buy that. Those animals were grown and killed for that particular reason(food), cruel but it doesn't upset any balance. People however hunt the strongest and the fastest, which means not only do they kill a creature that was... you know... just out for a morning stroll, but also fuck up the balance because they keep killing the leaders. Natural selection is NOT the same thing, it's always the weakest that get taken down and if you find any fun in taking down weak and sick animals, you are sick! Hunting is and always was fine as a matter of survival. So if you're hunting the critter because you are starving, then ya it's okey dokey, if you're hunting it for sport (tho the definition of sport in this area is strange, because sport is about something hard to achieve, not sitting on your ass in a tent waiting to pull the trigger) I find that weird.

A real hunter uses a bolt action rifle. They stalk the deer and wait for the perfect shot. Anyone who uses a semi-auto rifle is just cheating.

And just because we're using powerful guns doesn't really make it like shooting fish in a barrel. I have had hard times being able to hit a deer because it was so damn far away. Just read my gut shot story on the first page, that there was most likely a result of the long distance.

Also, I can't imagine a hunter using a semi-automatic rifle either, it just seems wierd, even for me.

 

[sheic99]

The only thing I find wrong with hunting is the odds. I mean it's you with a scoped rifle and enough bullets to carve a smiley face on it's skin vs an animal(quite possibly with a family) who's just trying to survive in the world we're all already trying to demolish. Some people might say it's the same as eating meat but I don't buy that. Those animals were grown and killed for that particular reason(food), cruel but it doesn't upset any balance. People however hunt the strongest and the fastest, which means not only do they kill a creature that was... you know... just out for a morning stroll, but also fuck up the balance because they keep killing the leaders. Natural selection is NOT the same thing, it's always the weakest that get taken down and if you find any fun in taking down weak and sick animals, you are sick! Hunting is and always was fine as a matter of survival. So if you're hunting the critter because you are starving, then ya it's okey dokey, if you're hunting it for sport (tho the definition of sport in this area is strange, because sport is about something hard to achieve, not sitting on your ass in a tent waiting to pull the trigger) I find that weird.

A real hunter uses a bolt action rifle. They stalk the deer and wait for the perfect shot. Anyone who uses a semi-auto rifle is just cheating.

And just because we're using powerful guns doesn't really make it like shooting fish in a barrel. I have had hard times being able to hit a deer because it was so damn far away. Just read my gut shot story on the first page, that there was most likely a result of the long distance.

Also, I can't imagine a hunter using a semi-automatic rifle either, it just seems wierd, even for me.

Yeah well, my dad was out hunting once and a guy was using an automatic rifle.

 

[darkless]

It should be aloud i mean its just natural selection animals kill other animals ALL the time where as humans set a time in most times like your only allowed hunt certain animals at certain times of the year I don't see the problem.

 

[gamebrain89]

I am a hunter, but I feel the need now, as I have on occasion here on the escapist, to qualify my answer. I am a meat hunter. My family hunts for food, not for trophies. Our view of it is that as long as you take what you kill, and use it, its perfectly acceptable. Now while I do feel this way, thats not going to stop me from trying to get a huge bull elk if I have a Bull tag.

On the subject of Trophy Hunters, I find what they do very unethical. Hunting an animal merely because it has a large set of antlers, or some other thing that trophy hunters prize, is stupid. I am most offended when my family and I come across a rotting carcass, that some hunter carelessly left behind, taking only the cape and the antlers. If you don't want the meat, have it processed and donate it to a homeless shelter or something, they would gladly take the food (most likely). If you talk to true hunters ( people who are born and raised by hunting families, not those rich farts who think it would be cool to have a mount in their den) you will find that they are some of the most ecologically minded people you will meet. Hunters are inherently conservationists, its part of the territory. We are concerned about the future of our wildlife, and work to preserve it.

As for odds, you really do not understand how hard it is to actually find these animals, let alone see one for a long enough time to get a shot off. Trudging up and down hills, ( if you need an ATV to hunt, you shouldn't be hunting in my opinion) sitting in the freezing cold for hours on end, then trudging back, is far from easy. When I go elk hunting, the animal has a 95 percent chance of getting away without ever being seen by human eyes. That is much, much higher than your average meat cow has of surviving(0%). when hunters stay within "Fair Chase" animals have an extremely high chance to escape.

[link]http://www.boone-crockett.org/huntingEthics/ethics_fairchase.asp?area=huntingEthics[/link]

 

[stompy]

If you don;t waste the animal, if you make the kill quick and painless for the animal, and if you make sure the animal's population isn't endangered, then I have no problems. However, wasting the animal, or just killing for the hell of it it a sick practice.

 

[Atak Cat]

I am Generally opposed to hunting but the respect the arguments about overpopulation, that and to a slightly lesser extent the if you use Everything on the animal idea.
However having read Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds I propose that the trophy hunters try something new...Human Hunting (with stun weapons only) where one person starts of as the prey in a predetermined area with a cattle prod like device being hunted by however many people they choose (self imposed Difficulty). The Hunters have a Stun gun (I'm still designing) and their own cattle prod thing to defeat an opponent you not only have to shoot them with the gun but use it to tap a radio receiver in the other players helmet. By the way everyone wears a full face helmet to protect their heads and it has a tracking device so the players can tell when they are closing in on each other and to stop people accidentally leaving the hunting area.

Or maybe i thought about this to much.... oh and when you defeat someone you get points depending on the hunter to prey ratio and it all goes on an international score board.

Failing that send this to someone as a a PS3 exclusive game with futuristic weapons.

 

[Neon Orange Ninja]

I dont mind hunting as long as you use it as many people have said.

 

[Berethond]

I am for hunting, provided it's in a manly way. Even though I personally don't(and wouldn't)
Manly= thirty ought six bolt-action rifle, not some high-powered automatic spray gun of death.