Is hunting wrong?

I don't like it myself. In fact, I think it is evil.

To kill a wild animal which is a beautiful thing to behold and with wildlife at risk in many areas, I find it morally reprehensible to aim a gun at an animal from a great distance and pull the trigger.

What makes it worse is these hunters celebrate their masculinity as their fat guts hang over their bull-horn belt buckles.

So really this thread isn't going to change anyone's minds, it's just an opportunity to spout about how disgusting I find hunting in all it's forms.

In the UK we have fox hunting which is so barbaric it makes Game of Thrones look like kids tv.

So you hunting people, you have an important part of your brains missing and that is the empathy circuits.

PS. This includes fishing.

PPS. This does not exclude if you eat it, unless you require it for survival, which I doubt many have the skills to do as butchery from this stage is a highly skilled and lengthy process.

Hunting for subsistence is a very smart thing to do, especially given the price of meat these days. Most hunters use every part of the carcass and nothing goes to waste. If you think it's evil, you should close your eyes to 99% of human history.

@foxhound_fox: Your username is eerily related to this topic. Hot dang, thats alot of comments, nearly 97k!

I meant for sport and I meant modern day, ie since the advent of husbandry and farming, supermarkets, the supply chain made hunting unnecessary many hundreds of years ago.

Most hunters use every part of the carcass and nothing goes to waste.

I doubt many hunters actually eat what they shoot. I can't believe this to be true and to say it's a cheap option is pretty silly.

Hunting should be only for eating animals and yes, us Humans hunt for food to survive, so this is acceptable. Unless you were only doing it for Sports and not gonna eat the animal you hunt with, then this becomes a problem.

You should talk to some actual hunters rather than relying on your fantasy about what they actually do. People posting images on Facebook with a lion in Africa are probably 1 among 10000 hunters who actually use all the carcass.

I have in laws that feed their entire family (5 kids, all teenagers) without relying on any grocery stores for an entire year with a few hunting trips. Hunting for food is a more reliable and MUCH cheaper way to feed a family, and is becoming resurgent because of the cost of food going up substantially and crazy amounts of growth hormones in meat these days.

And fishing is just as bad? What are you smoking?

What happens is society breaks down and people need to rely on nature to survive?

@foxhound_fox: What happens is society breaks down and people need to rely on nature to survive?

Wildlife populations will plummet overnight.

I just don't see why you can find enjoyment in the suffering of another being.

I am not talking about 'harvesting' animals.

I guess it depends upon what your motivation for hunting is. Do you live in a part of the world where hunting is crucial to both you and your family's survival? Then yes, I'd say it's justified. I love animals, but I also eat meat, and accept the fact that it's an important part of a healthy human diet. It would be pretty hypocritical for me to condemn person who hunts for their own meat, when I pretty much get the same stuff from a supermarket.

Now having said that, anyone who hunts for sport has sadistic tendencies imo. Killing an animal just because you can, with your friends at the weekend is something I'd disagree with. It honestly makes me disappointed in humanity when you see people with animal heads mounted on the wall, photos posing with dead exotic animals on safari hunts or bizarre traditions such as fox hunting. You can still treat animals with dignity, even if we use them as a source of food.

If it's for survival purposes, and the animal doesn't suffer, then it's acceptable I think (although it does still irk me a little).

What I think is really despicable are people who kill animals for "sport", and/or "trophy hunting". It's disgusting. And when I hear stories of "hunters" who get attacked by wild animals, like that story the other day of that hunter who got eaten by a lion/s, it definitely brings a smile to my face.

I don't find enjoyment from suffering. I don't hunt, but I would like to learn.

And again, you should talk to some hunters that actually do it. A bullet to the heart isn't going to cause any suffering. It's a quick death. But what would you know, you are emotionally reacting to what you think happens.

@mandzilla: You can still treat animals with dignity, even if we use them as a source of food.

This is my position. However, I feel bad buying meat because of the poor standards the animals are forced to live in and are often not humanely or properly slaughtered.

I am not a fan of the meat industry and am not far from becoming a vegetarian. In fact, I've been building up my recipe repertoire recently and it wouldn't be much difference if I went vegetarian at this point. Not that that will help the meat industry be more humane. It is cultural for alot of countries and people to not regard animals as worthy of compassion.

As an interesting side note, India is largely vegetarian and I believe this stems from a king, who before a great hunt, where they would, gather, then beat out thousands of various animals, had some kind of vision and from that point on never killed another animal and banned the hunt. (Citation needed).

@foxhound_fox And fishing is just as bad? What are you smoking?

Fish have a hard time, they don't even get into Catholic heaven when cats and dogs do. How is fishing different to any other kind of hunting. Fish are amazing, except lampreys, they are aliens and should be destroyed.

If it's some jerkoff in pretend wilderness Afrtica shooting an lion so he can feel like he is one with nature i.e. a huge dong yea.

But stuff like hares and deer are fine (here) since they breed alot and do damage. As long as you're doing it humanly, not a fan of the dudes catching them with dogs (which I think is legal in the UK), at least with hares.

Hunting for pure sport is pretty much a joke. It’s for pussies that want to shoot a living thing but were too scared to join the military where those living things shoot back.

I think the TC bases his entire knowledge of hunting and the meat industry off of what he sees on Facebook and the outrage videos/pictures he sees.

hunting for sustenance i have no problems with whatsoever.

trophy hunting imo is fucking stupid. congrats. you went out with specialized tools to kill an animal that had no awareness you were trying to kill it and had no means to defend itself so you could decorate your house. good job dipshit.

@foxhound_fox: But what would you know, you are emotionally reacting to what you think happens.

This is true. But what I actually have in mind is a few years ago I watched some documentaries on places that set up hides to make shooting animals easy and the guy had his son with him. The reporter couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. Some of these irresponsible hunting companies set up hides and this is not exaggerating, within 5-6 feet of a pond where deer were drinking. That is so lame and weird.

If you miss the heart the animal will suffer alot and I've seen lots of times where the hunter misses but blood is spilt and the animal escapes but would probably die from infection some weeks later.

In terms of culling I can understand it, but that is more likely a result of the animal being introduced for hunting purposes in the first place as in Scotland where her maj like to peel of a few from time to time.

In some cultures, hunting is very spiritual. Take the native americans. Why dont you go up to one of their reservations and tell them that they are evil for hunting. Im sure it would go well.

If I could give this a thumbs up or heart, I would.

I enjoy hunting.

As opposed to having someone else do your dirty work and kill a domestic farm animal for you? About maybe a third the meat I eat I've hunted myself, and about one other third is meat I've raised myself (Beef at any rate)

That said I'm not really a fan of sport hunting.

Has the tc ever seen animals hunt?

Humans are the most gentle hunters on the planet.

Many animals eat their prey while it's still alive, and screaming.

I don't like sport hunting though - hunting is for food, or to reduce the population of a species that has become too populous..

Killing animals must be not that bad at the end. I hope.

It's awesome to make threads about things you have ZERO facts about and just resort to complete bs to come to your conclusions. Most hunters don't eat the meat?!? What planet are you living on? I'm from the middle of nowhere PA, hunting is a part of life for a lot of people I know and they ALL eat what they shoot. Get your head out of your ass before making a thread next time.

It's evil. I've been trying to pass legislation that would make it illegal for lions to hunt antelope, wolves to hunt deer and foxes to hunt mice.

But damn if they'll listen...

Well I can't hunt them with my hands, can I?

You probably need to go vegetarian before you can make this thread considering amount of suffering from being raised for food is higher than being hunted. Now if you say you eat no meat then sure, you're already taking steps to lessen animal suffering and then you can "morally" stand against hunting as well.

People have this strange attachment to meat (I did too) and it's really hard to convince them otherwise. People are willing to accept high levels of animal suffering for the convenience of having meat on their plate; sure, deep down most feel bad but will come up with a lot of excuses to ease the guilt; "animals do it too", "you need meat to stay healthy", "animals raised for food probably don't have that bad of a life as people say", "can't help it that my body needs meat"...change needs to come from within and I think that for a lot of people who are now vegetarians something clicks at a point where you say "F it...meat just isn't worth it" and normally it has nothing to do with morality.

@foxhound_fox:

You should look into what fox hunting is. It's a fucked up sport played exclusively by sadistic psychopaths. It's nothing like regular hunting.

So you're fine with killing the shit out of farmed animals. Animals that don't stand ANY chance of survival and quite possibly live their entire lives in sub-par if not flat-out inhumane conditions. And to top it off, with these farms potentially encroaching on natural habitats and thereby hurting wildlife in that way. Have you not heard anything about cattle farms contributing to the deforestation of rainforests and the extinction of entire wild species? How is that not something that you've heard about by now?

By contrast, many hunters are actually the biggest contributors to wildlife preservation. Which actually makes a hell of a lot of sense. People who like hunting want to be able to keep doing it so MOST of them try to do it in such a way as to make hunting sustainable.

Not that there isn't an argument to be made that it's wrong to hunt except out of pure necessity. The problem is, the same argument could be made about buying pre-killed farmed meat. The fact is that we kill way more animals than we NEED to, even when they're consumed and regardless of if they are farmed or hunted. So stating that farming makes hunting unnecessary is a bullshit justification. In most cases, buying farmed meat isn't necessary either. In any case, it's just kind of hard to take such an attitude seriously from someone who just buys their meat from Wal-Mart.

Hell, even to a far lesser extent...I'd wager that most hunters simply enjoy nature. I've never hunted and I've rarely fished, but I've known LOTS of people who were really big on that kind of stuff. And most of them would tell you that even if they spend an entire day out and don't get a single kill, the experience of being in nature is what matters most to them. Hell, if they see a deer but don't get the chance to shoot it, they're just happy that they were out in nature and they saw a deer.

Granted, that isn't to say that there aren't total asshole hunters out there. But dude, even with "trophy hunting" I don't have an inherent problem with it as long as they're doing it in an environmentally responsible manner and adhering to all existing conservation laws. There's a big freaking difference between "trophy hunting" and "poaching".

Regardless, I'm generally far more willing to take morality lessons on the killing of animals from someone who actually has the balls to actively do their own killing rather than just pay someone else to produce a "product". I mean, that's the thing about meat from the grocery store. I never saw the animal when it was alive. I never had to kill it and watch it die. I never had to gut it and clean it. All I do is go to the store and buy a "product". I'm entirely distancing myself from the fact that I'm paying to having living creatures killed.

I'm fine with that from a convenience standpoint. I mean, I'm somewhat lazy and I'm willing to pay someone else to do the dirty work for me. But on moral grounds? If I'm not MORALLY fine with seeing a live animal and personally snuffing out its life before I butcher it, then I probably shouldn't be eating farmed meat either. I'm not thinking of lives being snuffed out every time I buy a can of chicken noodle soup, but I most certainly AM thinking of an animal's life every time I take a live chicken and turn it into meat. The second that I have a MORAL objection to hunting is the second that I have to become a vegetarian.

Just to add to this, what about invasive species here in UK we have American grey squirrels and wild boar. You can pay a dude to snag you one. In Japan there is a jellyfish that blooms in huge numbers they kill a fishermans catch and clog machinery.

Because animals hunt does not justify it for humans. Animals do it out of instinct. They don’t do it to bolster their egos.

If you like nature and go out on a hunting trip but are happy just to see an animal, why not photograph it instead. Then you will be able to appreciate it forever providing a computer shop doesn’t format your hard drive without asking or backing it up. (Thanks Gadget Shop 24 hour repair service).

Hunting has decimated endangered species in many occasions. A bird migration path somewhere in murca was cut down to almost nothing from the annual shoot and literally millions were massacred. Marlin stocks off the west coast of the US, wiped out, you don’t find them any more. The small brown bear (think Paddington), an endangered species is hunted at certain times of year in certain American states. Hunters like nature providing they can shoot it.

It is a culture which has nothing to do with necessity, but machismo (think Sarah Palin).

I think you can eat meat and disagree with hunting but also disagree with the poor treatment of animals during the slaughtering process or during their brief miserable lives. This is the real evil, hunting is a drop in the ocean compared.

Eric Schlosser’s book on the fast industry was quite the eye opener on this subject.

Norway is evil too. They and Japan are the last two countries to hunt whales, a process so traumatic if you see it, it will give you nightmares on top of the fact that most whale populations are still in the balance since fishing in the 70’s introduced techniques like trawling and boats were capable of longer trips and refrigeration tech matured etc.

Oh, I'm familiar. Yes, it's horrible, but as the TC is doing, he's throwing all hunters under the bus with the fox hunters.

@jackamomo: all real hunters eat what they shoot. It's not like they run around in the woods with MAC-10's and rocket launchers...

Love deer hunting

@jackamomo: to op. I’m not even a hunter but my dad was.

Even I as a teenager could field dress, hang, and trim a deer for meat.

It’s not hard at all.

To answer the question. To just kill and leave something yes.

To hunt for meat or for a purpose no.

I do have a problem with the people who pay to shoot animals that enclosed in an area with only 1 source for food and water. This is the type of bullshit people like Ted Nugent call hunting.

Hunting for food I could understand, but hunting for sport I don't agree with.
I also don't agree with hunting animals to extinction either or with trying to control their population.

To eat the animal, no problem. Much better than the meat industry which is one of the most horrible crimes in history.

yes

I don't eat meat and I don't think there's anything wrong with hunting for food. If anything, it's way kinder and more ethical to kill an animal with one precise shot than torturing it through all of its life and then giving it a death that's far from clean or humane.

Trophy hunting, on the other hand, is for men with micropenises.

It's a proven fact that hunting is necessary for healthy populations. Providing everyone follows hunting laws but that's the reason why you can hunt some animals at certain times of the year.

As long as its sustainable hunting and done in season. Its not much different from fishing. Definitely not cool with overhunting.

Hunting also produces the highest quality meats. Since the animals eat their natural diets. Unlike the unsanitary conditions and questionable procedures of the meat industry

Hunting should be only for eating animals and yes, us Humans hunt for food to survive,

It's basically:

Hunting animals for display, games, and poaching = NO
Hunting animals to survive = YES

The lions eats the rabbit so what's wrong with humans eating a dear or any other edible animals? Remember that Evolution made us omnivores for a reason.