Hunting and the argument against it.

[RichnSteph]

Not to get into too much detail here but I'm planning on hunting this year to provide meat for the table and freezer and when I mentioned it a family member got very agitated and after a few angry mutterings blurted out "Why do you have to shoot things? Just go to the store and buy meat that no one killed like a normal person!"

This same family member believes that the label on an organic chicken "naturally raised and processed" means that the chicken died of "natural causes". Of course when I said cutting the head off of a chicken naturally kills them it was met with less than laughter.

I would guess that the majority of you on here are hunters/harvesters of game and am looking for a little advice on how to let this person know that hunting is a natural way to harvest quality meat and that hunters have put billions of dollars into conservation over the last 20 years to ensure that the sport is ethical as well as sustainable.


A little help or am I just wasting my time?
RichnSteph

 

[sourland]

If it were me, I would simply avoid this discussion. Evidently this person is so far removed from the reality of our food sources that no discussion is going to be effective. Hopefully they are young enough to eventually get the message. Yeah, meat just appears on the store shelves in those little Styrofoam packages.

I fully support hunting. It provided many a meal for our family as I was growing up. Much of the rest was raised and harvested/processed by us. My children are fully aware of the nature of our food sources - my grandchildren not so much. It's a sad reality of modern life.

 

[Blooie]

I agree....trying to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent is an exercise in futility so do what you planned to do with no further discussion. You don't owe anyone an explanation. When a young lady found out that I'm an avid hunter (for table, not for the wall) she was shocked! "How can you look into a deer's big brown eyes and kill it?" Well, deary, it's easier than looking in to my kids' big blue eyes and telling them all we have in the freezer is a package of withered beets and half a bag of frozen french fries!

I leaned to skin a deer when other little girls my age were playing with Barbie dolls. The rule - if we ain't gonna eat it, we don't shoot it - applied when I was growing up, when I started hunting myself, when we taught our kids to hunt, and now when I take my grandkids out. Some days we get nothing, but we always see something interesting or beautiful when we go out. We process the meat from start to finish, and I know it's been properly cared for in the field and it's clean.

 

[sourland]

It's that plain and that simple - "If you don't plan on eating it, don't shoot it."

 

[Godsgrl]

Has the person in question ever hit a deer? I changed my tune regarding hunting when I hit two in 6 months, with numerous close calls. Now I want everyone to go out and hunt, take all they can. I don't hunt-yet- but I sure respect those who do. As long as it's done respectfully, and with full intention of eating or donating the meat, of course.

 

[Bunnylady]

This same family member believes that the label on an organic chicken "naturally raised and processed" means that the chicken died of "natural causes."

Oh, sure. The farmer goes out to the barn every morning, picks whatever died during the night up off the floor, processes it and sells it . . . .

I'm reminded of the person who becomes a vegetarian "because I'm against eating living things." Come again? I suppose a salad is some type of rock formation?

I'm with Sour. This person is living on a different planet. Their frame of reference is so skewed, they really don't understand even the most basic facts about the food they eat. It must be nice to be so distanced from the gory reality of meat and where it comes from, but they most likely won't see it your way no matter how much you try to explain it. Best to just avoid the subject.

 

[donrae]

Not to get into too much detail here but I'm planning on hunting this year to provide meat for the table and freezer and when I mentioned it a family member got very agitated and after a few angry mutterings blurted out "Why do you have to shoot things? Just go to the store and buy meat that no one killed like a normal person!"

This same family member believes that the label on an organic chicken "naturally raised and processed" means that the chicken died of "natural causes". Of course when I said cutting the head off of a chicken naturally kills them it was met with less than laughter.

I would guess that the majority of you on here are hunters/harvesters of game and am looking for a little advice on how to let this person know that hunting is a natural way to harvest quality meat and that hunters have put billions of dollars into conservation over the last 20 years to ensure that the sport is ethical as well as sustainable.


A little help or am I just wasting my time?
RichnSteph

This. Nothing productive will ever come from this discussion. If you're the type that enjoys debate, go at it. If you're the type that doesn't like disagreement, just don't discuss this topic.

 

[donrae]

Oh, sure. The farmer goes out to the barn every morning, picks whatever died during the night up off the floor, processes it and sells it . . . .

That image right there is sure enough to put one off store bought meat, isn't it?

 

[Rosa moschata]

Many people prefer a beautiful lie over an ugly truth -- and not by any means just on the subject of hunting or meat. So before any of you criticize someone else for believing something you think is ridiculous, think of things YOU believe that you know others find ridiculous -- and imagine how YOU'D feel if someone tried to "enlighten" you with the ugly truth.

;-)

 

[Pinkaboo]

I personally couldn't kill anything
But I don't see anything wrong with hunting for food
Now fox hunting is another matter!