Today a Co-worker expressed a disgust in me because I hunt.

I expect this reaction from people from time to time but it never prevents me from discussing hunting in public.

I calmly asked her why she despised me for hunting?

She said, " I dont agree with your killing animals".

remaining calm I mentioned that I found it peculiar that she hated the fact I am a hunter.

She looked at me like I had 2 heads.

I explained there is a difference between the act of hunting and the act of killing.

I still had 2 heads in her eyes.

I explained the difference between hunting and killing. I told her I enjoy the pursuit of animals and trying to get as close as possible.

I told her I found it a little short sighted, she hates all hunters based on the assumption they are all also killers.

At this point mentioning I am also a killer if given the best responsible shot opportunity and if you choose to hate me that is your prerogative.

I asked her if she would like to hear why everyone alive is a killer weather intentional or unintentional?  

She politely said no! but her response was shocking.  "I never thought of it that way", she said.

Made my day that I actually could discuss this with someone without butting heads.

I think having discussions can go a lot further than an anti hunting bashing seminar.  If the other party is not open to conversing, then its not the time or place to force ideas.

Well done. It's rare, in my experience, that you can reach a rational point of discussion with people coming from such an emotional position.

I usually don't bother trying to engage when I run up against that, especially when I can tell they're looking to get a reaction out of me. I simply take solace that these people will be the easy fodder when the zombie apocalypse happens.

Good for you Charlie......but as you get older ,you will find it's harder to tolerate idiots.      

your a good man Charlie, myself well lets not go there...

well done

Wonder if she feels the same way about her local butcher when she buys a chicken or burger or steak!

I usually tell people if they eat no meat and have never had anything made of leather they can say whatever negative thing they want about hunting. Otherwise they are just paying someone to do it for them. All I'm doing is cutting out the middle man.    


Rob

 We're not always prepare to face antis and explain our point of view,especially when itS aggressive. Well done.

A little patience goes a long way in some situations. Way to open her eyes, even if it was just a smidge...

Some still think any killing is wrong or unneeded. Boggles the mind sometimes.

Ron, lets not forget where I work!  Although You may be right, I will find it difficult to retire from there.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rob W.:
I usually tell people if they eat no meat and have never had anything made of leather they can say whatever negative thing they want about hunting.

While somewhat true, many fail to understand that even vegetarians use compost from beef and dairy farms.

Nice job CR.

I hear ya.....I guess I'm becoming an old curmudgeon....lol! I may be already there    

QuoteOriginally posted by DGF:

While somewhat true, many fail to understand that even vegetarians use compost from beef and dairy farms.

And that agriculture has, more than any other human activity, been the single biggest disruptor of native habitat and species. Think about that next time you order a veggie burger.

 well done  

I couldn't do it. I would have told her in a far more rude manner to keep to herself (far rude....with some foul language thrown in).

If you dont agree, dont join the conversation. If you want to argue, join a debate.

I've turned several people around completely the last few weeks. After they expressed a very negative opinion of hunting I commented that I assumed they were in favor of reintroducing Wolves and other dangerous predators back into the area, which means of course you won't be able to let your kids and grand-kids out to play alone.

When they asked what that means I explain how the animal population maintains a healthy balance in nature, between predators and prey.

Then I explain how the deer herd is managed to keep it healthy and how taxes on all hunting related sales go to wildlife conservation.

I felt good about how they replied that they never thought of it that way and it changed their mind on it. I can tell right away the ones that don't want to hear reason, and simply change the subject.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rob W.:
I usually tell people if they eat no meat and have never had anything made of leather they can say whatever negative thing they want about hunting. Otherwise they are just paying someone to do it for them. All I'm doing is cutting out the middle man.    


Rob

Bingo!

my replies to a woman who "hates seeing those cute animals get killed by barbaric hunters".
part of her pitch were statements from the dalai lama and froude.

"Killing animals for sport, for pleasure, for adventure, and for
hides and furs is a phenomena which is at once disgusting and
distressing. There is no justification in indulging is such acts of
brutality.
~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama"

he is careful not to include the killing of animals to sustain human
life.  he talks only of animal killing for profit - either ego or money.
he may have been a vegan, but he fully understood the need of the
overpopulated middle east's need for protein, or the world for that
matter.
   
"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the
torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.
~ Froude (1818-1894)"

this truism has nothing to do with hunting but with how man treats man.  
i doubt froude was a vegan.    

what these "great minds" fail to consider is that the act of the hunt is
an innate, genetic survival factor that hasn't yet been eradicated from
the human gene pool after millenniums.  to disregard this core human
truth is lying to oneself.  it's the same truth that can be observed in
all carnivore pet animals, who exhibit a strong desire to hunt and kill,
even though they're well fed by their human caretakers, and yet they do not
consume their kills.  

in this century, some humans do hunt for "sport", without regard for the
creatures they stalk and kill, use inappropriate weaponry, and do it for
all the wrong, inhumane reasons - mainly for the "trophy" and for the
ego.  they do not esteem the creatures they hunt and kill, they are not
careful to kill in a humane manner, they do not use that killed animal
to sustain life, be it for human or animal consumption.  they do not
understand or act in the manner of the old, ancient ways - which go back
only a century or so with the american indian, and then further back to
just afterprehistoric time.    

some humans hunt in an ethical, humane manner that is far more
considerate and respectful of the creatures they prey than the manner of
animal death delivered in commercial slaughterhouses for animal, fowl
and fish.  instead of grocery shopping the easy way, they choose the
harder way, and the game they efficiently kill are used to sustain life
in the same manner as buying meat at the local butcher shop.

in the modern act of "hunting", for the ethical hunter the kill is
ancillary and not the ultimate goal, and the reason why that hunter
fails to kill most of the time when hunting.  there are other attributes
to the hunt to be considered, including the connection to nature, the
order of the universe, and the ancient ways.  this becomes far more
apparent with the hunter's choice of hunting weaponry.    

if a human does not consume, or utilize in any manner, animate creatures
- animals, fowl, fish - their personal crusade for promoting only a
vegan attitude towards human survival is quite rational.  maybe in some
millennium that will be true for all humans.  however, if that is not a
human's profile, someone had to kill those creatures for that human to
eat and use.  there is no moral validity in a "human partial vegan",
that's just another form of hypocrisy.

Well said Rob.