I stumbled upon this thread and read about three or four pages and had to post something. It probably has been said somewhere in these 160+ pages but...
When I was young (i am 33 now) my dad always complained about how "animal" lovers treated their pets and so forth. We are hunters so we are very ethically minded but my dad just didn't get the "spoiled pet" thing. (I don't either but...) When I was 18 I brought home a dog that eventually became my dads dog. He was a pug and basset hound mix. Red in color and big like a basset with a pug face and tail. He owned the dog for about 5 years before the dog developed complications due to diabetes that was to be fatal. My dad, who always complained about "these dumb animals", could not euthenize the dog himself, he couldn't bring himself to do it. I actually took my dad and the dog to the vet so he could be put down and my dad bawled like a 7 year old girl for three days. All this from a man who lived on a farm in his younger years and never had a problem with butchering his own food: deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, pigs, cattle...you name it he killed it for food. Strange how the tables turn.
I know it's a little different than killing and eating chickens. My story goes similar: I raised 12 leghorns which 6 turned out to be cockerels. I knew they would have to be butchered and never had an issue with it. When the day came my children all helped with the deed. The hardest part for me was the first bird. Having to put it in the cone and make that first cut took a little pep talk to myself but once I did it I was okay. The kids never had a problem with it because they new from day one that the boys were to be dinner one day. I do wish I was able to keep one of those boys because they were very beautiful and would have been great roosters. They did taste very yummy though.
I think it is similar to what I read earlier in this post. I can shoot any wild animal with a bow or gun without a second thought, but when the knife is in your hand and the actual action is inches from you, the implications become much more amplified.
When I was young (i am 33 now) my dad always complained about how "animal" lovers treated their pets and so forth. We are hunters so we are very ethically minded but my dad just didn't get the "spoiled pet" thing. (I don't either but...) When I was 18 I brought home a dog that eventually became my dads dog. He was a pug and basset hound mix. Red in color and big like a basset with a pug face and tail. He owned the dog for about 5 years before the dog developed complications due to diabetes that was to be fatal. My dad, who always complained about "these dumb animals", could not euthenize the dog himself, he couldn't bring himself to do it. I actually took my dad and the dog to the vet so he could be put down and my dad bawled like a 7 year old girl for three days. All this from a man who lived on a farm in his younger years and never had a problem with butchering his own food: deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, pigs, cattle...you name it he killed it for food. Strange how the tables turn.
I know it's a little different than killing and eating chickens. My story goes similar: I raised 12 leghorns which 6 turned out to be cockerels. I knew they would have to be butchered and never had an issue with it. When the day came my children all helped with the deed. The hardest part for me was the first bird. Having to put it in the cone and make that first cut took a little pep talk to myself but once I did it I was okay. The kids never had a problem with it because they new from day one that the boys were to be dinner one day. I do wish I was able to keep one of those boys because they were very beautiful and would have been great roosters. They did taste very yummy though.
I think it is similar to what I read earlier in this post. I can shoot any wild animal with a bow or gun without a second thought, but when the knife is in your hand and the actual action is inches from you, the implications become much more amplified.
