Talking to my fiancee about hunting and such. She has grown up hunting with her family and dad and I more or less am getting into serious hunting. Not saying rabbit hunting is not serious because to me it is. I love my rabbit hunting. Non-the-less, She feels that there are some animals that we should not hunt for whatever reason.
I said I only hunt something I am willing to eat or something that is killing off my chickens or ducks. Her statement about these are if we really cared about our animals then we would put them up every night. She feels that there are animals that we hunt for food, such as deer or pigs, turkeys, and bird hunting, and there are animals we shouldn't or it is not necessary to hunt even if we do eat them. more so something to look at its beauty and let it be.
being that i love her dearly I have been trying to think about her point of view, but on the other side to me everything has its taste and i like trying stuff. I have had raccoon that wasn't cooked right so not very good and don't think i will do that again. As well as love rabbits and squirrels, tasty.
What do yall feel her beliefs about hunting certain animals?
If I don't intend to eat it I sure won't shoot it. The only exception is an occasional coyote and I don't always shoot them. Much as I love to hunt I really do believe that every living thing in the wild has a purpose in its existence and that God made man a steward of all of these things. And, with stewardship comes responsibility.
I realize that this is only my opinion and that others will disagree and will kill things for the pure pleasure of it but to me the irony of the blood sports is that while I enjoy everything about hunting and all of its fruits, there is always sadness in the death of a creature.
So, to answer your main question, let me say that I agree with your fiancee about caging your chicks and ducks at night to safe guard them from predators. Heck, I have to watch my young puppies while they are out in the yard to keep them from being hit by hawks and owls....and I live in a large city.
I also agree that if you want to kill an animal and eat it to see if you'll like it, that's fine. After you've done that a few times you'll probably start letting them walk and concentrate your efforts on the game you really care for, which will probably end up being deer, elk, bear and small game.
I have no problem killing certain animals with no intent of eating them. Coyotes, raccoons, opossums, ferrel cats and dogs are all in the cross hairs. Coyotes...no need to explain. Raccoons and opossums are egg eaters and eat and kill game bird eggs and young. Ferrel cats and dogs are basically abandoned to the wild and are very destructive. I usually shoot ground hogs in the summer and leave them for the buzzards too.
I kind of have a thing about geese. I shot one one time and the mate circled and honked for a good hour. I always felt bad about that. Sooooo I would kill a goose in a survival situation but not just to kill one. Same thing with elephant. I would never kill an elephant. But thats just me and I certainly do not look down on goose hunters or elephant hunters. However I can understand what she is saying. Just don't go there with deer, elk, moose, sheep, ect or we in deep ,
God Bless, Steve
I say it is up to her as to what she wants to do who am I to say? If you ask me, I like to eat what I shoot.I will shoot a fox once in a while.It is all about balance.A hunters job has many task one of them is balance.I am no big bear hunter however bears need to be hunted.to each his own.
I don`t hunt waterfowl, because I don`t eat them. There are lots of other hunters to buy licenses to protect them and manage their numbers.
Some animals such as `coons, possum, skunks, and coyotes become cumbersome if not controlled through hunting. I will kill these animals and take their hides, but I will not eat them. The alternative is the mange, or rabies. Either of which will render even the hides useless.
The Ruffed Grouse here in Michigan, is a game bird, with a scheduled hunting season. Some years their numbers are so low, I personally believe they should be protected. Maybe not in all areas, but at least in some. I choose to recognize this, and I do not shoot them. I love the taste of pan fried Grouse, but to kill one when I feel they should be protected is wrong.
All we can do as hunters is what we feel is best within the law. I am aware...I am part of the ecosystem I love so much.
I don`t know about your chickens, but mine would rather choose a roost themselves, rather than me close them in the coop at night. In the summer, they choose when there is enough light to begin foraging. Varmints beware.
Good girls are hard to find. Happy wedding!
I generally kill spiders that are in the house but let those outdoors be. Sometimes I capture jumping spiders and release them outdoors. Fascinating little hunters to watch.
Mosquitoes I kill indiscriminately. House flies and wasps I even kill over bait.
I kill weasels, raccoons, opposums and, if I am far enough away, skunks if they are in or near the chicken coop or in the barn. Did you know a raccoon will get a hold of a chicken through chicken-wire if it can and eat whatever it can off the chicken if it can pull it close enough while holding it through the wire? Skunks seem to prefer the head and leave most of the rest. And weasels will kill and kill - aparantly just for the blood.
I have no compunction about killing and not eating certain things.
On the other hand, I don't think I could ever bring myself to kill a mountain lion. I'd just love to see one. If it threatened me - that would be different. But then I'd shoot a human that was threatening me; but probably not eat one. ;-)
I kill mostly to eat the game I am hunting. But also in that is the responsibility we hold as mankind to the environment. That means that somethings just must be shot for balance.
I never pull the trigger or release the string needlessly.
Wow. Pretty much exactly what Stumpkiller said.
Not sure about her beliefs but I have eaten a porcupine. How was it, you ask? Well, if you are lost in the woods and REALLY hungry then eat one. If your not very bad off yet you should wait.
Bisch
I always find it interesting that people want to draw lines at pretty animals or something they don't think should be hunted for a variety of reasons. I respect their right to feel and hunt the way they want.
My view is that if your willing to kill one animal there is no difference in killing another type of animal. If it is a legal game animal in your state then I would feel free to hunt it at will. Hunting is not just about food. For those who embrace the inner predator, it feeds the human spirit. For those who love the outdoors it is a great reason to get out in the wild. It provides stress relief. The list is long.
I eat the majority of what I kill including mountain lion which is delicious. I don't eat coyotes, badgers, or other varmints but I have put my share of them on the ground. Hunting is in my blood. It is part of human nature. I would no more deny it by refusing to hunt when and where I can, than I would choose to stop breathing.
I appreciate what all have said so far and what others will say. I respect what your hunting situations are and what you choose. I am probly going to be the same way as try certain things and i will hunt them if I like the taste. Along with others I will not choose to hunt because I believe that if you shoot it you should eat it, unless it is attacking you or animals getting into my chickens or ducks that I will hopefully have one day.
I love my girl so much and I'm just working to respect what her views are as well as keep up my hunting year round if possible.
Thank you all for your input and for future input.
QuoteOriginally posted by heydeerman:
I have no problem killing certain animals with no intent of eating them. Coyotes, raccoons, opossums, ferrel cats and dogs are all in the cross hairs. Coyotes...no need to explain. Raccoons and opossums are egg eaters and eat and kill game bird eggs and young. Ferrel cats and dogs are basically abandoned to the wild and are very destructive. I usually shoot ground hogs in the summer and leave them for the buzzards too.
My thoughts exactly! I ain't eatin no coyote or possum, but I do like rabbits and turkeys they are tasty. So the possums and coyotes need to be kept in check so I have more of the tasty game that goes well with mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits! :thumbsup:
We all need to do our part to keep the nuisance animals in check and that my fellow hunters is just good Stewardship!
Tatorbones- Show your wife a wildlife video of a fuzzy little rabbit screaming it's guts out while a house cat or a coyote is eating it alive and then ask her if it's ok to hunt coyotes. That may explain the circle of life a bit better than over analyzing it.
QuoteOriginally posted by Stumpkiller:
I generally kill spiders that are in the house but let those outdoors be. Sometimes I capture jumping spiders and release them outdoors. Fascinating little hunters to watch.
Mosquitoes I kill indiscriminately. House flies and wasps I even kill over bait.
I have no compunction about killing and not eating certain things. ;-)
:biglaugh: :laughing: :deadhorse:
I don't like killing something unless it will be put to use.
I don't like squirrel, but I will kill them for people I know who will utilize them.
I however have no reservations about killing a coyote or an opossum. The coyotes give us too much headache with our cattle, and opossums carry a parasite that is detrimental to horses plus they are nasty vile sob's
I can understand to some degree. I personally would not want to shoot an elephant, giraffe, lion, zebra or gorilla and a few others. Just my personal preference on those. Everybody has some thought on it. Including those that would kill every single living thing in bow range.
You can say things that make plenty of sense and often times it still won't change the other person's point of view.
All that being said, you two will find your balance.
I would love to hunt Elephant and if I ever win the lottery I would spend 6-8 months in Africa doing just that. In many places hunting is the only reason there are any animals left at all, especially in Africa. As many have said though it is a personel decision based on an individuals beliefs and desires. One thing I would like to say though is that everything dies and if in it's death it provides resources that ensure the future of it's kind and environment that is a good epitaph. Joseph
I used to kill anything that moved.. funny I really get more enjoyment out of seeing most things living and breathing these days.
Notice I said "most",, I think age plays in here to some degree
I think we need to look at thing from a broader point...
As humans we changed the face of the 'wild' as it was , most of the predators have been managed to the point that humans are the only predators...
I have never liked Elaphant hunting but the numbers have to be controled in some places to give other animals and humans a chance at making a decent living, it as to be done, Crocodiles in certain places as well...nature used to take care of it, now we have to.
Saying all of this I dont like trophy hunting but wont stop those that do...Sable antelope would have dissapeared long agao if it was not for hunting so its never an easy question to answer.
I know from reading here that wolves are hated in the States but surely have a purpose too?
I still eat what I shoot but can see why some shoot what they dont eat.
As long as you can hold your head high at teh end of the day...
I think they should all be respected kinda the same. There isnt any one animal that should be held over any other just because its prettier. They are ALL alive and all of them fight to survive.
Who is to say one should be hunted or not because of what it looks like? Having ones own opinion for one's self is what it is all about. But you cant knock someone else's decision if it differs from yours.
What if suddenly someone running the show decided that no cows can be killed because of their sad eyes? I think tomatos are cool looking, and you dont HAVE to eat them. So they shouldnt be picked anymore then right?
Good topic, congrats on the marriage!
But, what about the pests, like mice? I can't imagine eating 'em, but the darn things sure need to be kept under control. And they sure do value their own life and fight to stay alive.
A story about that. I have a small, outside shop and one summer night I was putting out sticky traps to catch mice. Well, living in the desert we also have Gerbils. I set a sticky trap down outside to go inside the shed to fix a spot for it. I came back out to find that a Gerbil (aka 'Dippy') had mangaged to get caught by one hind leg and part of his tail onto the sticky trap.
I picked up the Dippy and went to try to free it. It hissed and growled at me! I didn't know a Dippy could do that!! with some help from my daughter, and a small stick to keep from getting bit, we managed to free the dippy from the sticky trap and it careened off into the night, seemingly no worse for the experience. So, what about these little rodents?
I do understand your girlfriend, as lots of folks today don't seem able to understand how you can like animals and hunt animals. They don't understand how (or why) some are killed and some aren't. And, it's not always easy to put into words the reasons for what we do!
I would hope that someone who loves shooting frogs would respect my decision not to. Not because of their flavor, their looks, or the texture of their skin, nor their usefulness in the environment. They were one of my doorway critters, who invited me into the outdoors. I have a pact with them and doves.
Emotional arguments always are silly. Can't hunt this because it's pretty, can't hunt what you can't eat, can't eat that because it is ugly, pretty soon, if you adhere to all the arguments, you can't hunt anything, which is what some people wanted all along.
Marriage requires respect, both ways. So does coexistence among hunters.
Killdeer
"Marriage requires respect, both ways. So does coexistence among hunters." -Killdeer
Amen!(translation-"So be it") Kathy
God bless,Mudd
Although its not my reason for hunting, if you leave the pretty animals alone there will soon be none left to gawk at. I think most animals are beautiful especially coyote and deer but someone or something has decide that I have to kill them when the time is right. Yeah I said it, you can't convince me that there's a critter alive that a prime winter yote can't beat in a beauty contest but its hard to find anyone that has great reservations killing them.I respect your ladys opinion though. :thumbsup:
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Some things I wont kill but that is my personal preference, I try to use what I kill. I judge no one else for their actions.
Well said Killy, and I don't shoot frogs or doves anymore either, mainly cause if I were depending on shooting either of those 2 creatures for survival I would surely starve!
I can't hit neither one. :rolleyes:
I guess I haven't been completely honest?
I have no desire to hunt any African species unless it's something that taste like a whitetail deer or a turkey. Ostrich may be in trouble if they taste like turkey! :saywhat:
I also might enjoy hunting a few of the exotics they have on ranches in Texas I'm sure. I've never had any oppurtunity to hunt any so it's hard to say what I would like?
I'd love to go after some Javelina, that would be awesome.
I know many people do it and love it, but I have no desire to kill a bear. It may sound stupid but after seeing one skinned out it looked too much like a person and sent chills up my spine.
BUT......I would never hold anything against anybody for killing anything that's legal, including bears. If there's a legal season for it, then it's your right to hunt whatever you want to.
My dream is to hunt Elk someday, so I'll give up my one lifetime elephant tag if I can take a bull elk with my bow. :pray:
I think hunters go thru stages of life and like everything else your point of view changes as you age. When I was a kid I killed anything "targets of opportunity" would be a good description.
Now I'm almost 60 and only kill deer and edible game birds.
I never kill them without feeling a pang of regret, if I ever lose that respect for life I will quit hunting.
You have a girlfriend who is ok with hunting? Sounds like a keeper. Marry her!
You can still hunt rabbits just skin them and quarter them away from home. Eat them when she is not home! -Purely out of respect for her.-
I spent years trying to make my wife understand the importance of hunting for my soul. She gets it now but we had a few arguments over the years.
There is nothing you will say to her that will change her viewpoint. There are better things to do with your time, like hunt! ;)
Oh and to answer your question, I never kill and let lay unless it is a diseased animal. I always find a use for them even if only for the pelt.
We kill stuff everyday like bacteria and insects. Some of those are beautiful. What one calls "beauty" is not a good argument for killing or not killing.
We have been given a mandate to care for resources. Some of that involves killing; some for food, some for management. All things live and die. What we kill at the end of an arrow or bullet is minimal.
Dan in KS
Tatrer: You need to rethink shooting raccoons. We lost 15 chickens to them. They are ruthless killers at times. In addition, our local animal control officer asked me to shoot as many as I could just to keep rabies in check. I have little regrets taking out feral cats.
Strange how a man's ideas about hunting will evolve over time.
I once kept every editable fish, big enough to fillet. Now all the bass & smallish flounder go back while I keep all Crappie for the frying pan.
I once decided to hunt/kill only large antlered deer. Now I kill does for food & could care less about antlers.
I'm an avid Quail, Dove & Woodcock hunter but would never dream of shooting a Robin or Jay. In fact Woodcock have those big doe like eyes. My dog knows I'm not much of a shot, so she forgives my many "misses" on Woodcock.
I kill all the mice I can catch but the Chipmonks in the back yard have a home forever.
Rabbits are my favorite wild game animial to eat but they have those big rabbit doe eyes, So unless I'm out of meat I'd rather watch em run and listen to the dogs than kill them.
I'd have a hard time pushing the button to execute a condemned man but no problem killing the same man to prevent his crime.
I'm sure we all have several unexplainable ideas about killing. Even if we don't understand someone else's way of thinking we need to accept and respect them.
Remember. Nothing in nature goes to waste.
I've got this possum that keeps getting in my trash. He likes to climb up in the can and kick back. He seems to be hiding in there everytime my wife takes a bag out. She screams, runs inside, then points out the window at him and yells at me to do something about it. This has been going on for a month. I like that possum... :archer:
There are several animals in North America that I have no desire to kill, bear and mountain lion to name a couple, simply because I don't want to, no other reason. One, bobcat, I would give up a dear piece of my anatomy to kill with my longbow, because of the challenge and the beauty of the creature.
It is the responsibility of each hunter to abide by the laws governing their area and to abide by their own personal code that lives within them. Violate the first and you could face a penalty of fines and or jail time, violate the latter, and suffer a much greater penalty. This is where mutual respect for our fellow hunter comes into play, we don't all have the same personal code and just because the next hunter may not have the same code as me doesn't mean that I am better or they are worse.
I live on a dead end road near 3 cemeteries and it's a constant battle to keep up with unwanted pets being dumped off at these cemeteries. We are the nearest house with a light on out front and it's the most obvious place to go. It breaks my heart that people do this and that I sometimes become the executioner at the end of the road. I don't like it one bit, but I can't keep them all and the cats especially quickly become wild again and breed like rats. Without some form of control I wouldn't have a single rabbit left.
There is no animal control in our county so it's my responsibility to keep things in check. It's just a necessary evil when you live where I do and I really don't have a choice in the matter. I have given some of the dogs homes and found homes for them a few times, but rarely does the outcome turn out that pleasant. I'm a dog lover and it tears me up inside when I'm left with no other choice. If I could, I would put surveillance cameras around the cemeteries and prosecute the people who dump their unwanted pets to the fullest extent of the law, but then they would just take them somewhere else.
Sometimes killing isn't by choice. Just something to think about.
The only creatures I have a desire or willingness to dispatch are those that are free ranging and have all faculties and senses in tact. However, having said that I once shot a little y-buck that had an injured leg to "do him a favor". The guys I was hunting with said "he would have been fine". After skinning we discovered gangreen in the leg. I still think I did him a favor and would do so again if I could.
Hunting for me gives me a sense of accomplishment. I have felt lower coming back from a hunt by lowering my objective mid-hunt than coming back empty handed and sticking to my goals. I for example have decided that at this point in my life I would rather shoot nice doe over a small but legal buck. My goals may differ from other hunters, but that doesn't make any others goals less meaningful. If another's goal is to take a legal animal. I will be glad for that hunter if they complete what they set out to do.
I mostly hunt for meat but understand respect and believe in management and conservation and feel proud if I have contributed to the effort.
I respect others opinions whether I disagree or not. I will offer knowledge to those that seem ignorant of facts I am aware of. I will listen in order to continue to learn.
I take a moment to reflect and honor any creature i dispatch.
I will live so that I can respect myself and one day I will die. In the meantime I will hunt alongside any that has respect for the living creatures they hunt and wish a good hunt for all whatever that may mean.
QuoteTatrer: You need to rethink shooting raccoons. We lost 15 chickens to them. They are ruthless killers at times. In addition, our local animal control officer asked me to shoot as many as I could just to keep rabies in check. I have little regrets taking out feral cats.
Any animal that is destroying personal property needs to be stopped by any legal means.
Well thought out responses here. 7 lakes-great comments. Killy-as usual, great thoughts in concise packaging.
The thing that always strikes me about these conversations is the thought by some that man is somehow an artificial participant in the predator/prey relationship. As a species we hunted and gathered long before we farmed and ranched. Somehow that fact escapes many people today.
As capable and thinking human beings we have the responsibility to make informed choices about the way we manage our resources. Science should be the leading contributor in our decisions. As we evolved as a species we forever changed the face of the planet. The old predator and prey relationships were often disrupted leaving only man as the dominant predator. As such, we have an inherant responsibility to fulfill that role. There really is something to the old adage, "eyes in the front, born to hunt; eyes on the side, born to hide." It is in our DNA. Unfortunately many of our modern peers are conditioned to ignore the instinct.
There is someone near you that will happily take the game animals that you shoot if your bride-to-be is not interested in eating them. We share the bounty of our harvest with local families all of the time. Trust me when I say that there are many people that will enjoy the taste and financial relief that such a contributiion provides. That goes for hogs in Georgia and Elephants in Africa.
Your girl is very lucky that you so obviously love her and respect her point-of-view. I am sure that if she iss half the girl you think she is that she will do the same for you.
Crash, man, lol...I know you realize the contradiction in your zeal to kill a bobcat and reluctance to kill a mountain lion! ;) I understand and respect your choice and your following comments.
In re-reading through these posts I can't help but notice that the animals that most people say that they would not shoot are not in their back yard. It seems that we are most likely to revere and romanticize animals that are somehow exotic and foreign to our experience. If we have never seen one it is easier to believe that they are somehow scarce or sacred.
Good to see clear concientious thinkers. If I don't eat it I don't kill it...other than flies & mosquitoes & roaches & rats. 6 Canadians on the lake this morning. Glad I don't eat them.
My wife's views are very much like your girlfriend's. She was more "anti" until a couple of frightening and damaging encounters between her car and deer. She now is more understanding of the need to control animal populations when appropriate.
Ortega described the stages that a hunter goes through, from whack 'em and stack 'em to rarely taking an animal. My wife thinks I'm weird because I will kill a game animal for food or trophy without compunction, but I'll catch crickets in the house and release them outside. When the local population of raccoons got out of hand, I live-trapped them and relocated them miles away. I moved 16 of them before they quit coming to my deck and the bird feeders. Not a bleeding heart, I just didn't want to kill them and have to dispose of the carcasses. I couldn't have eaten that many coons in the rest of my life!
Killing is an emotional thing for a normally adjusted person, and as such breeds wildly differing and contradictory opinions. Bottom line, animals must die to support humanity. Our species is just one of many predatory ones on the planet that depend on prey species to provide food and other sustenance. I will readily kill to eat or correct an imbalance in nature caused by mankind, but these days I have no desire to hunt some animals just for the experience. Thirty years ago I would have hunted anything I had the chance to pursue.
QuoteOriginally posted by gregg dudley:
Crash, man, lol...I know you realize the contradiction in your zeal to kill a bobcat and reluctance to kill a mountain lion! ;) I understand and respect your choice and your following comments.
In re-reading through these posts I can't help but notice that the animals that most people say that they would not shoot are not in their back yard. It seems that we are most likely to revere and romanticize animals that are somehow exotic and foreign to our experience. If we have never seen one it is easier to believe that they are somehow scarce or sacred.
hahaha
Dont even go there, my kids and wife started nameing the deer in my back yard and that ended my hunting career around the house till the kids moved away. If I brought poor little "barney" home and skinned him in the yard I would of had a revolt of tiny little daughters....I would rather fight all of you guys with my bare hands ;)