A good read on the ethics behind hunting

[TxAg]

Saw this and thought it was worth the short read:


Five Reasons Why Hunting a Wild Animal Makes an Ethical Dinner: Lily Raff McCaulou


1. Hunting has a light environmental footprint

No antibiotics, artificial hormones, pesticides, herbicides, or unnatural feeds were used in raising this meat. Unlike farmed animals, a wild one doesn't contribute to soil erosion, water pollution, or the displacement of native plants in favor of a monoculture. No land is tilled to feed a wild animal, so additional carbon isn't released into the atmosphere.


2. Wild animals aren't subject to factory farming

My venison was never confined, castrated, or branded the way most farmed steers are. My duck was never caged, de-beaked, or toe-clipped the way most domesticated poultry is. Wild animals, unlike many domesticated ones, aren't bred, fed and medicated to achieve rapid weight gain so that they can be killed at just a few weeks of age.


3. None of the meat is wasted

After I shoot an animal, I gut it and butcher it myself (or, in the case of an 800-pounds bull elk, with some help from friends). This way, I know the meat was handled safely. I don't have to worry about listeria or trichinosis. And I'm confident that as much of the animal as possible is used. To hunt and butcher an animal is to recognize that meat is not some abstract form of protein that springs into existence tightly wrapped in cellophane and styrofoam. Meat is life. So I seek out recipes that make the most of it. I cook it with care. I share with friends and family. I make sure eat every bite gets enjoyed.


4. Hunting pays for conservation

To hunt for elk this fall, for example, I've already bought an Oregon hunting license for $29.50, paid $8 to enter a lottery for the right to hunt in a particular spot, and purchased a $42.50 tag. That means I've already paid $80 toward wildlife research and habitat protection in my home state. Bird-watchers and hikers haven't paid anywhere near that much.

With approximately 12.5 million hunters nationwide, we're talking about real money. Proceeds from the Federal Duck Stamp – a required $15 annual purchase for migratory waterfowl hunters – have added more than five million acres to the national wildlife refuge system. And federal excise taxes on hunting equipment and ammunition garner more than $200 million a year for wildlife management and the purchase of public lands.


5. Hunting promotes conservation

To hunt is to participate in the ecosystem rather than just watch from the sidelines. When I track an animal, I use all of my senses to take in my surroundings, as if I were a wild animal myself. So by the time I actually shoot something, I've developed a deep connection to the species and to the land. I considered myself an environmentalist before I started hunting. But back then, all of my reasons for conservation were theoretical. Now that I hunt, I have a real-life, vested interest in seeing places – and wildlife populations – preserved in the long-term. Someday, I want take my son hunting in all of my favorite spots.

[Killdeer]

Excellent, well thought-out list.
If we acted on logic, instead of emotion, it would be a no-brainer.  We (and they, you know, them!) act mostly on emotional provocation and reward. Such is the human animal. Somewhere in between the arguments is a balance, which each faction fiercely strives to move toward their own side. I hope that eventually, the middle ground is struck. Hunting will then re-attain its honorable and pragmatic place in the human experience.

Killdeer

[Fidelios]

Spot on!

[maineac]

well stated!!

[huntingarcher]

 Nice!

[Orion]

Right on.  Though with food plots, baiting, QDM and game farming, points 1 and 2 aren't quite as emphatic as they once were.

[House]

Excellent, well stated list...and excellent reply Killdeer, I couldn't agree more!\\

Travis

[mmisciag]

Amen brother and sister!

Martin

[stujay]

My sentiments too!  

[Green]

Great post Jeff!

[LONGSTYKES]

Jeff, Very well said. Thank You and have a great 4th.

[Shedrock]

[TxAg]

Guys just an FYI,this was written by Lily Raff McCaulou. It is noted above, but in case yall missed it - didn't want anyone to give me undue credit.

[Easykeeper]

Well said.  I'm afraid it's a logic some will never see though.

[sweeney3]

While I am an agriculturalist, and have worked on a feedlot in the past, and have an undeniable fondness for working with domestic livestock, and can and will readily refute many of the common claims that are made regarding the commercial production of food and fuel, I also cannot that intensive management has its definate disadvantages.  I prefer wild meat.  It won't feed everyone, but it's certainly a viable means to feed those who are willing and able to collect it, and it should be avaliable free of guilt.  Good thoughts here.

[Tim]

Great read....Jeff and Kathy both!

[PaPa Ron]

It's stiil a good post Jeff:)

[Terry Lightle]

Exactly

[BOWMARKS]

   

[thump]

I printed it; I think ill post it on the bulletin board at my local grocery store.