Ask Lemmy

I actually kind of dont like it as a past time. Its just very time consuming. Its an early morning activity if you want to maximise your chances. It takes a lot of focus too, which i can struggle with.

Doing it with friends and family, getting to immerse myself in the less tended to parts of the land, and getting food for me and everyone is what makes it worth it to me. Its also a little humbling if you are doing it legally and being a good sport about it, which is good chance to respect our other brothers and sisters as they are and not just as objects or fiction.

From a ecological managment standpoint, taking of areas so an herbavore herd can safely graze on non-crops and help maintain that part of the ecosystem is really cool to. Not everything can be industrialized (in fact i think we should deindustrialize a lot of the food industry, but that is a tough path), but also not space for wildlife can be kilometers away from any human structure (though more space would be good for our planet too).

Hunting for food is OK, as long as proper technique is observed (safe, humane, environmentally responsible).

Hunting for fun is a sociopath's pastime.

I've never wanted to do it myself, but am very appreciative when hunter buddies share the carcasses of their victims. :)

We fucked up the wolf populations so its our moral imperative to control deer populations.

I live in an area with an out of control whitetail deer population. I don't have it in me to hunt, but I'm all for people deer hunting to curb the population. Most folks I know who hunt also eat their kills or give away/sell the meat, so it isn't wasted. A lot of local craftspeople use deer hide and antlers for knife making and stuff and there's soooo many taxidermists. Almost every butcher shop around offers deer processing, too.

When I was a kid way out in the boonies, the wild coyote population boomed and the pack actively started hunting me and other small kids and killing livestock like crazy. The folks in the surrounding areas thinned the pack when the game commission wouldn't do something about the problem. I was totally fine with that hunting too because I didn't like coyotes stalking me and preventing me from playing outside.

I know some people who pheasant hunt and it's never bothered me because, again, the corpses aren't wasted.

My grandpa crow hunted and he took me with him once and II had researched crows beforehand because I was excited. I learned how smart they are and refused to let my grandpa shoot them. We just sat there and watched them hang out and figure out the decoys we had set up.

From Europe, I share your Arguments although I am vegan. I would however prefer to get natural predators back and not controlling populations by hunting so they fit into the modern agricultural understand of "enough".

I never was really interested, though plenty of people in my family hunt. In Arkansas while I was in secondary school, we did all have to take a mandatory Hunter's Safety course. And, in the area were I live right now, I'm sure there are families that benefit from the additional caloric supply, maxing out their tags during rifle season.

I have mixed feelings around the other points you raise, that I find it hard to articulate. But, I don't have any better solution to overpopulation.

I've been present at killing, cleaning, and (later) butchering of rabbit, deer and cow. But, I do try to get as few calories from animal products as I can. I was vegan at home for many months, tho not currently.

I don't think the solution to the predators being gone is for humans to fill the gap, rather to let the predators make a return.

Here in Sweden we're looking to shoot most of our wolves for no good reason. That is after a considerable effort to stabilise the population and bring genetic diversity back to it.

Hunting for sport and trophies is bad, but hunting for meat is a hell of a lot more ethical than industrial meat production. Interestingly I’ve known people that were Vegan due to the ethics of commercial animal handling, but were also hunting and would eat meat from animals killed in the hunting team.

I live in Sweden and hunting is pretty common here, even though I’m not personally involved. There are limits on when and how many animals you may shoot and when to make sure the population is healthy.

Hunting with a valid reason (for food, population control, etc.) is acceptable and/or a necessity.

Hunting for funsies only - including all the BS safari hunting that are essentially glorified high tech fishing trips - is disgusting

Shooting a deer that’s lived wild and free, making every effort to make the kill as quick and painless as possible seems like just about the most ethical way to get meat that I can think of. And especially in areas where the deer population is too high, it’s really important for managing the ecosystem. Plus, ammo and equipment sales get taxed specifically to fund conservation, which is important.

I also feel like if you can’t stomach the process of killing and cleaning an animal, maybe you shouldn’t eat meat at all?

By and large, I think hunting for food is a great way to get more in touch with where your food comes from, one of the most ethical ways to acquire meat, and a nice excuse to sit quietly in the woods without interruption. Trophy hunters can fuck off tho.

I've worked in wildlife conservation, and I'm all for it. With a few caveats.

• Be a fucking good shot. Practice. Don't slop and wound. Humane kills to the greatest extent possible. Know what the fuck you're doing.
• Eat the meat. Venison is delicious. Harvest, don't just take a trophy.
• No spears. Holy shit, please. See point 1. Why is this still a thing? Even a niche thing, but still.
• Don't scoff at tag prices. Be proud of your contribution. Donate to the crunchy granola hippies that ensure you have game to hunt.

If humanity subsisted off hunted food, we would eat the last wild animal before the first afternoon of the first day. Hunting is a selfish, needlessly cruel, unsustainable practice.

I won't cry if anyone dies while hunting, but i do love venison

Instead of killing, try a trip just to photograph the animals. Then compare your experiences. The killing may not be what you enjoy about your hunting trips.

It is a perfectly fine thing. Humans are part of the ecosystem. We are predators and fill that niche. So long as we do so with attention paid to ensure it is done sustainably then there is nothing wrong.

I won't shame somebody who would otherwise literally die of starvation if they hunt, buther, cook, and eat non-endangered animals for food.

That's about as understanding as I'm gonna get. I suppose I may disrespect slightly less someone's regular meat consumption if they went through all the time and effort themselves.

Population control is a copout. We should reintroduce the predators that were preventing overpopulation in the first place.

Except as I'm typing this out, I remember the dog who lives with us and how wr feed him meat based dog food since that's what his biology requires. So I'm rather selective and inconsistent about meat sourcing here, so I don't quite know how to conclude this comment at this point so I'm gonna just send it

I'm pretty simple.

Hunting to eat it? Great. I love me some deer sausage.

Hunting to chopoff its head and mount it on your wall like some ghoulish asshole? Go fuck yourself.

I feel like trophy hunters don't show any respect to the animal, while hunters for eating do.

Hunting for food is fine.

Hunting for trophies is not.

hunting for food is ethical, over killing, killing for profit, killing for sport are not.

It's awful.

if I couldn't handle killing and gutting an animal I shouldn't be eating meat

I had this exact line of thinking. But for me that means I don't eat meat anymore. Killing really turns my stomach, and I don't actually need meat to be healthy.

But I love hiking and camping, I just bring my own food instead of a gun or fishing pole.

not the answer you're looking for, but: i haven't eaten meat in five years, am the healthiest I've ever been, and no longer feel guilty about eating

Depends on the type. Hunting pests like rabbits possums pigs, inseason game like ducks, pheasant and deer is all great. I dont like hunting rare endangered animals or helicopter hunting with a machine gun except if its a pest culling like feral pigs.

For the activity I really enjoy it. Its a great outdoor activity to do with friends and family. I like getting up early and heading out across the paddocks in the crisp morning and seeing the sun come out. I dont like butchering because im pretty odd about textures and smells but i'll do it when i have to. I dont find it to be inhumane at all.