Found this on another forum. Wanted to see where it went here, and if anything like this has happened to anyone here? "I went over to one of my freinds house and met his new girlfreind. she was one of those tree hugging hippies that are all anti hunting. she emediatly got into my face and started to tell me how hunting deer is cruel. as she started to quote the all so famuse bambie i couldnt help but think about how big that bucks rack got. when i finaly came out of my dream i relised that she was scarfing down a hambergure. i asked her why she thinks hunting a deer that has a chance to be free and live the life to its fullest and yet she can scarf down a burger that can from a cow that lived in a small pen and sometimes they dont even see the light of day. dont get me wrong i love burgers like the next guy but arnt i right? needles to say she shut up. so what do you think is hunting cruel??? I would love to have someone tell me hunting is cruel while that are eating a damn fat sandwich. Just so I could tell them the process of that other animals life. I dont see how its cruel when many times our kills are quick and they didnt know what hit em. Thoughts?
Most of the time when confronted with something like that it's better to let them go and not respond. Although I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I don't see it as being cruel at all. There's worse things that happen to the livestock where the meat in the store comes from. Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
Yes, hunting is cruel. Running a carbon arrow with a razor sharp tip on it through the chest of a deer is cruel. But they die in seconds. Being eaten alive by coyotes, choking to death with EHD or starving to death during the winter is worse. Nature is cruel. But one critter has been killing another critter for food since the beginning of time. And this fall I'm going to kill as much stuff as I can
This comment is so good I liked it twice. Life in general is cruel, I rationalize hunting and taking deer as a part of life and the fact that I will only take mature deer that have lived a full measure of life and do it as cleanly as possible. Nature is anything but humane when it comes to natural deaths, watch five minutes of any national geographic show about predators and you'll see how rawnchy death in nature can be. We're part of the system of this planet, we can't avoid being an integral part of it and ultimately it's a frivolous and irresponsible approach to try to avoid playing our role as managers, hunters, life and death.
The grammar and spelling in that quote is cruel. I cringe when I see guys crying all the time about how hunters have a bad reputation of being stupid and/or slobs. It takes about 2 seconds to browse anywhere online and see stuff written like this representing us to the world. Sure some of it's planted and I don't expect everyone to be a well spoken Harvard grad but a basic grasp of the English language isn't too much to ask. My iPhone is smart enough not to type that mess.
I'll tell you it's cruel while eating a venison sandwich that I made from the deer I killed. Necessary and cruel are not mutually exclusive. I've killed a lot of deer over the years and EVERY single one has left me with twinge of regret and sadness when I get to the end of the blood trail. Ending a life prematurely is not something I take lightly. You honestly believe that deer appreciates your quick ending of his life?? I'm sure if he had a vote he'd prefer you just left him alone. You also stated "many" times it's quick. Well, many times it's not. Thoughts?? Killing something that's out for a stroll is a lot of things, many of which are admirable but don't be a hypocrite and act like there are no rough edges that many may find hard to accept.
I must live a sheltered life, I live in the country and am not exposed to people who try to push their anti hunting beliefs on others.
Couldn't agree more. Fair or not, you (and we as hunters) are judged partially by how we present ourselves both in person, and often, online. As to the original question, yes it's cruel. I get absolutely no enjoyment in the act of killing. I know it's necessary that all living things we consume musy die to actually be consumed, so it's really part of the cycle. The other poster made a good point about the quickness of the death. That is true in many cases, but a simple scan of the forums during the season and you will find many instances of why many outsiders view this sport as cruel. Bad shots happen unfortunately, and again, the suffering that is inflicted is often what makes the most caring hunters sick to their stomachs. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4.
I explain it to people like: what would they choose? The chance to live to be 100 but since birth you are in a maximum security prison with no chance to escape. You get meals and a bed, that is it. Or, would you rather live a free life, able to work, have kids, hobbies, ect... But one day in your 30-40's get in a sudden car wreck and die on the scene. The car wreck is like hunting and the prison is like the beef industry. Most people don't have a good reply and I feel get it a little better.
I had a hard time reading through that without feeling disgusted. Where do these hunters get their education? The act of taking another life is cruel, but it's needed for balance. While our ancestors had to hunt to survive - we now hunt to control, conserve, and for food. With every animal I take, I feel a sense of pride but also regret. Proud that I went out, put the time in, and supplied food - regret that I had to take such a beautiful animal. Instead of calling those people stupid or ignoring them, I wish hunters would take the time to explain. A lot of people against hunting aren't aware of how we feel about it, they just go off of what they see on TV or by some other anti. The animal, even though it's the objective, is still just a part of the equation. Hunting is not always about killing. At least that's how I feel and express that to others that look down on it.
Somebody mentioned bad shots. I rationalize that as part of the prey/predator relationship. Sometimes the prey gets away and dies a slow death. Sometimes it gets away and recovers. We aren't the only predator that sometimes makes a "bad shot". In my life I've seen all kinds of critters that have been mangled but escaped, from something with teeth and claws. I'm sure most of you that spends any time in the outdoors has seen it to. What we don't see is the ones that get away and don't recover. What I try to do as limit the amount of times the prey gets away with a mortal wound. I don't HAVE to kill a deer to eat so I can pick my shots. I don't HAVE to kill ducks to eat so I let them get in close to maximize my kill and minimize my wounding. But it happens, and I always feel horrible about it. But its part of the cycle that has been happening since the beginning of time.
Nature is neither cruel nor soft. Nature is fair, in the truest sense of the word. There are no favors granted, no do-overs, no practice runs. We are predators. We eat meat. We have no desire for an animal to suffer needlessly - because we have compassion. But that doesn't make hunting cruel, it is just part of life.
Ive not been a member on this site for a long time but I have been here long enough to see how critical some of you are about freaking grammar. This is a hunting site and believe it or not some people don't have the same education level you expect them to have. So who cares if the grammar was bad or if they spelled a couple words wrong, you understood what they were saying didn't you. That's why people are so afraid to post on here, because they are afraid of the critique on their writing rather than the subject they are writing about. It happens all over these forums and that is what disgusts me. RANT over