Hunters Are Awesome

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I certainly don't feel good about eating anything that has to be killed. If I lived out in the wilderness and I had access to fruits, vegetables, streams with fish, cattle, chickens, grains, nuts, etc., and I had to fend for myself, I wouldn't have the heart to kill a chicken or a cow. I would force myself to catch some fish. I wouldn't like it but I would force myself. As I said before, I don't think it's very healthy to be a total vegan.

I live in a city, so I obviously don't have to find my own food. I can go to the store or to a restaurant. When you think about it, I am basically hiring someone to get the food for me. I know I am being somewhat of a hypocrite in occasionally eating meat, since I wouldn't have the heart to kill a cow myself.

I will tell you one thing. From everything I have heard, the conditions and the way animals are treated in slaughterhouses is supposed to be horrific. This is an area where I think the government should be even more stringent in terms of making sure the animals are treated in a humane way.

the only difference between you and a hunter is the hunter cuts out the middle man. i think people have lost touch with certain things because they go to a store and buy sanitary packages of 'meat'. it's beef, not cow. or pork, not pig.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the only difference between you and a hunter is the hunter cuts out the middle man. i think people have lost touch with certain things because they go to a store and buy sanitary packages of 'meat'. it's beef, not cow. or pork, not pig.

I agree with you. When a person buys a hamburger, they are basically hiring someone to kill a cow for them. Most people don't really think about that. When you're sitting there eating a hamburger, you're not thinking about a cow being killed (often times in a horrible way) in a slaughterhouse.

As I said before, I can't knock someone hunting for food. Unless a person is a vegan, I think they are being a hypocrite if they criticize someone who hunts for food.

I'm not going to be critical of someone who hunts for food. But what percentage of hunters hunt for food? I doubt the percentage is all that high. A large percentage of hunters simply do it for fun. It's awfully hard for me to defend killing an animal for fun.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I agree with you. When a person buys a hamburger, they are basically hiring someone to kill a cow for them. Most people don't really think about that. When you're sitting there eating a hamburger, you're not thinking about a cow being killed (often times in a horrible way) in a slaughterhouse.

As I said before, I can't knock someone hunting for food. Unless a person is a vegan, I think they are being a hypocrite if they criticize someone who hunts for food.

I'm not going to be critical of someone who hunts for food. But what percentage of hunters hunt for food? I doubt the percentage is all that high. A large percentage of hunters simply do it for fun. It's awfully hard for me to defend killing an animal for fun.

So you established that you have no idea what percentage of hunters eat their kill. If you have no idea then how can you then say "A large number of hunters simply do it for fun"? Personally I know about 30 hunters and 100% of them eat what they kill. All of them not 29 of 30 , ALL of them. The line I hear over and over from them is "Don't kill what you won't eat".

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by jms62

So you established that you have no idea what percentage of hunters eat their kill. If you have no idea then how can you then say "A large number of hunters simply do it for fun"?

Whether it is 10% or 70%, there are tens of thousands (at the very least), who do it for fun.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Whether it is 10% or 70%, there are tens of thousands (at the very least), who do it for fun.

You specifically stated that a large percentage of hunters do it for fun. Please show me your evidence supporting your position that a large percentage of hunters do it for fun. Don't simply pull more numbers out your ass.

[Danzig]

'for fun'.

not sure how one would decide if it's purely for 'fun'. can people buy food instead of hunt? sure. but they choose to do it on their own. and i'm sure there are many reasons for deciding. i know the last few years i haven't bothered to go. it's a lot of work, and i guess i just decided it was more work than enjoyment.
and i have to say, it's the act of being outside, seeing things you never see if you're not out there that's fun. the act of shooting isn't fun. and for most it's the same way. people like their venison, or whatever they're hunting. and it's not easy to get the stuff from the grocer.
besides, much like other hobbies, it's not incredibly enjoyable. people like to work on their cars, but they could certainly pay a mechanic. it may not be fun to do some of the work, but it's nice to have that sense of satisfaction, that you can do it all yourself.
when we take a deer, it never leaves us. we take care of it from start to finish. lots and lots of work. it'd be a lot easier to just buy a side of beef.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Danzig

'for fun'.

not sure how one would decide if it's purely for 'fun'. can people buy food instead of hunt? sure. but they choose to do it on their own. and i'm sure there are many reasons for deciding. i know the last few years i haven't bothered to go. it's a lot of work, and i guess i just decided it was more work than enjoyment.
and i have to say, it's the act of being outside, seeing things you never see if you're not out there that's fun. the act of shooting isn't fun. and for most it's the same way. people like their venison, or whatever they're hunting. and it's not easy to get the stuff from the grocer.
besides, much like other hobbies, it's not incredibly enjoyable. people like to work on their cars, but they could certainly pay a mechanic. it may not be fun to do some of the work, but it's nice to have that sense of satisfaction, that you can do it all yourself.
when we take a deer, it never leaves us. we take care of it from start to finish. lots and lots of work. it'd be a lot easier to just buy a side of beef.

You make a good point. There could certainly be some crossover in terms of doing it for necessity but also enjoying the satisfaction, etc.

If a person told me that instead of going to the store to buy his meat, he prefers to hunt because the meat is much healthier, and he also gets some satisfaction out of it, I wouldn't have a problem with that. In reality, that is probably a much better death for the animal than an animal in a slaughterhouse would have.

I just don't like the people that think it is fun to shoot an animal and take its life. Could I tell you the percentage of hunters who fall into that category? No, I couldn't but I know there are a lot of them. I haven't talked to hundreds of hunters but I've talked to enough of them to know that there are plenty of them out there. They usually won't admit that they enjoy killing the animal but it isn't too hard to figure out. Practically none of these people have told me that they hunt because the meat is healthier and they use this meat in place of buying meat.

Now it is possible that hunters from big cities hunt for a different reason than hunters who live in rural areas. I don't deny that.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by jms62

You specifically stated that a large percentage of hunters do it for fun. Please show me your evidence supporting your position that a large percentage of hunters do it for fun. Don't simply pull more numbers out your ass.

I just clarified what I meant by a large percent in my last post. It doesn't matter whether it's 10% or 80%, there are people out there doing it for sport. Do you dispute that? There will never be a way to know anything close to a precise percentage because not everyone who simply hunts for sport will admit that it is just for sport.

There aren't a ton of hunters who live in Los Angeles, so I can't claim to knowing a lot of hunters. But I have met some. A good friend of mine (who happens to be a very successful pinhooker) is a hunter. He lives in Ocala. I talk to him about once a week on the phone. I will often give him a hard time about hunting. He usually uses a cross-bow. I think he eats a lot of what he kills but he pretty much does it for fun. Like most hunters, he likes the challenge, the outdoors, the camaraderie, and that type of thing. I tell him to go play golf instead and he will still have the challenge, camaraderie, etc., but he won't be taking a life.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I just clarified what I meant by a large percent in my last post. It doesn't matter whether it's 10% or 80%, there are people out there doing it for sport. Do you dispute that? There will never be a way to know anything close to a precise percentage because not everyone who simply hunts for sport will admit it that it is just for sport.

There aren't a ton of hunters who live in Los Angeles, so I can't claim to knowing a lot of hunters. But I have met some. A good friend of mine (who happens to be a very successful pinhooker) is a hunter. He lives in Ocala. I talk to him about once a week on the phone. I will often give him a hard time about hunting. He usually uses a cross-bow. I think he eats a lot of what he kills but he pretty much does it for fun. Like most hunters, he likes the challenge, the outdoors, the camaraderie, and that type of thing. I tell him to go play golf instead and he will still have the challenge, camaraderie, etc., but he won't be taking a life.

What does that mean? Does he kill things and not eat them or give them to someone who will?

[Rupert Pupkin]

Speaking of deer, here is a good story about a stray dog and a deer that became good friends.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/motherle...032652172.html