Philotic Web

This might be "moral philosophy", but whatevs.

Wisconsin has an avid hunting culture. The U.S. in general has long history with hunting. I however, do not.

Despite living in portions of Wisconsin well-acquainted with the hunting world, I've never done it. I don't plan on doing it. Unless I'm in a survival situation where I need to kill an animal to eat to survive.

I'm not saying hunting should be banned. There are legitimate, I think, ecological and humane reasons to hunt. But the very concept of hunting for "sport" is ludicrous in my opinion. "Sport" is "entertainment," it's "recreation", it's "fun." Replace "I hunt (insert animal) for sport" with "I kill (animal) for fun."

And people who think it's some kind of great skill to have are also dumb. Hunting with modern rifles and shotguns, bait, masking odors, tree-stands, camo, scopes and so on is no more skillful than shooting fish in a barrel. Any fool can pull a trigger.

The only legitimate hunt then, in my humble opinion, is one for ecological reasons, a thinning of a swollen herd, a danger to humans, etc, with bow-and-arrow and very stringent licensing and numbers. On a side note, anything killed should also either be eaten, given to a food pantry or to research in the case of animals not usually eaten. [/u]

I have no interest in hunting, personally. I grew up in a house with guns, though; My father kept several and enjoys shooting targets and the like, although he never hunted game. I am fully supportive of our right to bear arms.

But since moving to Wisconsin (I should get in on all this midwest banter that's been going on around the board lately!) David's interest in hunting has been renewed and he's going to get his license next week. We, however, plan to eat whatever he kills, and he won't ever kill more than we plan to eat. He won't be hunting just for trophies, as that's not our thing.

I, for one, have never eaten wild game. So this will be interesting.

Venison is downright awesome. Deer hunting is important, especially here. The herds can get huge and cause problems for drivers, farmers and other animals in the ecosystem. So I don't have a problem with hunting as an act of conservationism, and a lot of the meat goes to local food pantries which is a bonus. I've had elk as well and it's pretty good, but the best is buffalo meat. The local Native American tribe sells the best buffalo steak you've ever eaten. Both buffalo and venison are much leaner than beef too.

I like hunting, my whole family hunts, I haven't been hunting since I was a junior or senior in high school.

I don't feel we hunt for sport, though I suppose it could be called that, the word has entirely the wrong connotations (seems more appropriate for trophy hunters or those going after big game in africa). We eat whatever we get.

I think its sort of appalling that most of us grow up never knowing where our food comes from, chicken breasts (or as I saw in the store last night, sometimes called Chicken breast "Steaks" to distinguish it from a mere filet), and cuts of beef and pork are all removed entirely from their origins. we're not eating animals, just meat products, and don't you dare remind someone that they're eating an animal, that's why they eat boneless chicken afterall, so they don't have to think about something like that. the illusion I maintain is that hunting puts you a little more in touch with the reality of what you eat, the same way gardening supposedly puts you a little closer to what you eat.

*shrug* the way I grew up my cousin might raise two pigs from piglets for a year for 4-H, name them Pork and Chop and none of us would have the slightest qualms about enjoying the bacon later in the year (damn it was really GOOD bacon too).

Oh and Satya is right that venison is downright awesome. But in my family we're not big on the gamey taste, so we clean and process the deer ourselves the day it was killed. A lot of people have a processor hang the deer carcass for a few days the way a side of beef is often hung, but that really intensifies the gamey flavor, almost to the point of unpleasantness. Also, there's also something very... satisfying about eight guys quietly working together to take apart a deer, cutting it up and wrapping it up, grinding most into hamburger... We tend to pool whatever our take is, the hunters that got deer will take a slightly larger portion of the loin and steaks, but basically everyone divides up things evenly and goes home with a full larder. :-p

I feel like if you're willing to eat meat, you should be able to kill it. Does that mean that you should go out and personally kill everything you eat? Well, no; that's not really feasible for most people. However, I do think that if you can't bring yourself to kill an animal, you shouldn't be eating its meat and just not thinking about where it comes from. I know a lot of people who do that with lamb, for example, and it really irritates me.

That said, especially if you actually use what you kill (and hunters that I have known/know of typically do), I see nothing wrong with hunting. The area my best friend lives in has a big problem with deer overpopulation and predator underpopulation, so hunters are actually helping to keep the ecosystem balanced.

I do not know.... I don't see the fun in shooting some random animal. Nor do I get dead animal decor. Having deer heads hanging around. I would not want some deer staring dolefully at me as I eat one of its relatives or it.
No, it's something I don't get. Mainly I wish folks would not torment predators so they can do their job of keeping things balanced.

Mainly I wish folks would not torment predators so they can do their job of keeping things balanced.

Except that, around here at least, there are no predators. The bears and cats that controlled the deer population hundreds of years ago were exterminated or otherwise forced out of the region by settlers and farmers wanting to protect their families and livestock. The only predators the deer have left are humans with their guns and bows. Even the state parks have been opened in recent years to controlled hunting to reduce the deer overpopulation. Before this was allowed, deer in the parks were eating everything in reach, starving themselves and destroying the ecosystem.

Quite the timely topic, as deer season begins later this month. I haven't gone hunting in years (and likely won't go again for quite some time), but I don't see anything wrong with it.

(Keep in mind that I'm from a rural area in central Illinois.) The end of deer season was always one of my favorite times of the year, if for no other reason than the abundance of jerky (and, of course, taking some to school to trade, followed by long arguments of whose deer jerky is the best). The area I grew up had a deer population that was absolutely ridiculous. Deer could frequently be seen in the school parking lot (or tearing up our football field the day of a game), your back yard, anywhere and everywhere. What's more, the area was economically depressed. Hunting deer put meat on tables (which, really, I'm sure had a lot to do with why so many people hunted).

But, honestly, I don't think it really matters what their motives were. If, as is the case with deer, an animal is so overpopulated that it's downright dangerous (to humans, themselves, and the rest of the ecosystem), I don't care if you only go hunting because you've loved to kill anything cute ever since you watched Bambi as a child. Whatever it takes to keep the population at a safe number (which is why hunting is so heavily regulated these days). And given that I don't think I've ever met a hunter who doesn't either keep the meat for themselves or give it to someone else, it looks like a win-win to me.

ETA: I guess I should also note that when I was younger, we didn't hunt with all the fancy gear a lot of people use. Shotguns, a makeshift treestand, and camo gear; you didn't really need much else. If you didn't see at least a deer or two within the first couple of hours, your outing was pretty rare.

my brother worked at Bass Pro in college so he and my cousins are big into the fancy gear. Most of the older generation just do it with a couple layers of clothes and their rifle or shotgun. I carried a shotgun. In south central missouri deer are more scarce, my cousin that makes hunting videos travels just about anywhere else to hunt and make the videos. There have been years when we got none or only one or two deer despite having ten guys out hunting. I didn't see a deer until my third or fourth year hunting. I was in my own stand by that point and I woke up (heh) to the sound of my Dad's gun going off. there was a deer right in front of me, broadside. He didn't hit it clean and I raised my gun, kept it dead centered almost fired and then froze, thinking, "is it it okay for me to take a shot if he's already shot at it and hit it? would that be a colossal screwup?" the deer bounded away. I couldn't explain myself and I think my grandpa and brother thought I didn't have the guts to fire. heh. but my dad and I talked it a bit and I figured things out: get the deer dumbass. :-p

Kelly, you should go hunting with David, you don't have to carry--most people don't their first time out, at least in our family--it's quite the experience. If you enjoy it, the next year, you can take a hunter safety course and get a tag. You don't ever have to fire, but it's a way to participate. It's not for everyone, but I think most people should try it.

Don't forget Tradition! Some of my best memories come from our hunting camp each year. All of our kids have spent time in camp during deer season ,hunters or not and all enjoy it. I could really get into this subject but Thursday is our last day of late deer season and I have some cabin cleanup to do yet tonight. Oh yah , I do think it takes a lot of skill and a good head to harvest an animal, It takes a lot of practice , patience and planning to ensure a humane respectful kill.

I don't have a problem with hunting. It's not something I enjoy, personally.

Also, after taking parasitology... I'm pretty sure I couldn't choke down boar. And deer sort of freak me out now.

And deer sort of freak me out now.

I can't stomach most meats so don't hold back if you decide to answer but: why?

Parasites. Sooooo many worms, etc. And wild animals don't get treated for worms like livestock species.

Parasites. Sooooo many worms, etc. And wild animals don't get treated for worms like livestock species.

That's why i don't eat anything that isn't 100% artificial/synthetic

I rather not be acquainted with the stuff i eat.
Not like my parents, who give names to our chicken >.> and then we eat them.

I hate the stupid chicken in any case, is there any animal dumber than chicken? They deserve to be eaten.

Parasites. Sooooo many worms, etc. And wild animals don't get treated for worms like livestock species.

That's why i don't eat anything that isn't 100% artificial/synthetic

I rather not be acquainted with the stuff i eat.
Not like my parents, who give names to our chicken >.> and then we eat them.

I hate the stupid chicken in any case, is there any animal dumber than chicken? They deserve to be eaten.

pigeons

I really see absolutely no problem with hunting provided it is done in as humane a fashion as possible.

For most animals, life consists of finding food, reproducing, and being scared s***** that you're about to be eaten. They can't appreciate life, so I just don't think much is being taken away from them by ending theirs.

Now, of course, animals which have shown signs of a level of self-awareness are different. Needlessly killing incredibly intelligent animals like dolphins and chimps is ridiculous. But some deer? Meh.

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”

Needlessly killing incredibly intelligent animals like dolphins

Eff you Dolphin!

This was a banner season for me this year in Wa.and Id. I hope it was same for any other hunters out here too.