I'd like you're thoughts on the "hunters are evil" mob.

[KaiTheIronHound]

Pretty much as the title says. I'm a hunter, and i know many others here are aswell. I find quite frequently that i run into abuse for being barbaric, or for killing for food when i can just go to a store. As far as i am concerned i have nothing to be sorry for, i hunt because i like to know whenever i can exactly how an animal has died, and that it has died clean. People who tell us we are wrong or bad or evil and still eat meat dont seem to understand that thinking your hands are clean because someone else kills it for you are fools.

I'd like to know the thoughts of the community. Hunters and non-hunters are perfectly welcome, everyone has a legitimate view!

[Shewie]

I don't have a problem with hunting for food, it's the trophy hunting I don't agree with. I think anyone who eats meat should be sufficient in dispatching and butchering their own, not that we do, we just go to the supermarket and buy it these days.

I used to follow a chap on youtube who was out in the Canadian bush making some really good films, when he started shooting black bears and trapping big cats for fun I unsubscribed, that's just a bit too raw for my liking.

[FishyFolk]

I've got nothing against it. I used to hunt myself and would like to get into it again. The only reason I stopped was that I moved away from here, and could not hunt where I was.
I too got a beef to pick with trophy hunters. And I do not like farmers that kill wolves in Norway. But I do understand that some animals need culling, or they would just be more than what would be sustainable. So in those cases I agree with that form of hunting too.
Else her ein Norway the rules and regulations on hunting is very strict, and demands a pretty high level of knowledge, specially for big game. For example it is illegal to use anything but a
rifle or shot gun. You have to prove your shooting capablilly each year, with the rifle you will use for hunting. You have to pass a written exam to prove you have the theoretical knowledge, safety and laws etc. And for big game you also need to prove that you have access to a tracking dog, if you wound an animal etc.

Hunting with sling shots, bows, sticks and the like is illegal here. And snaring only allowed in a few municipalities

[JonnyP]

Just tell them you prefer organic meat that is wrapped in natural bio-degradable materials.
People like that who are ignorant of how meat is produced have not got a leg to stand on if they think hunting for food is wrong. Only vegetarians and even more so, vegans have a valid argument and that is their choice, but if God did not want us to eat meat, he would not of made animals out of food..

[KaiTheIronHound]

JonnyP, i couldnt agree more. Humans are designed to eat everything that is edible. Animals fall under that catagory!

[KaiTheIronHound]

And i also agree with peoples problem with trophy hunters. I dont get going out and shooting something just so you can hang its head on your wall. If you eat the thing aswell, then i guess its ok, but killing for a shiny trinket to show off to your mates is just wrong.

[paulthefish2009]

Or given us a different set of teeth. No problem with hunting provided it's done humanly and it's for the pot.Got a real problem with people that shot stuff just for fun.Few guys i work shoot,mainly pheasents and seems to me half of what they shoot ends up in the skip,I do have a slight problem with that to be honest. Paul

[AL...]

Aint we kinda goin down the same road as the anti's here?
I hunt with Air rifle and Catapult for the pot but I have no problem with folks who Trophy hunt eather.
Most of them do take the meat too as well as mount the head/ horns cape/ pelt. On the wall Thats there thing and all the best to them.
They do put a fair amount of money into the coffers of the country where they are hunting/shooting.
I have a wee problem of ranch hunting like they have in the States but there again Im not one to judge. Some folks might only have that one chance to get there dream buck and want to make sure its there waiting.
Its just a case of each to there own . If ye want the trophy or if ye hunt for the pot . Go for it.
At the end of the day for me its being out there.

Cheers
AL

[f0rm4t]

I challenge any "Hunter's are evil" mob, to watch one of the below videos which, while extreme, are not uncommon in this sector, then tell me they think personal hunting and humanely dispatching, ethically selected food is still barbaric, and would continue to defend their belief.

Unfortunately everywhere in life you will come across bigoted people, people who back their belief to the death, because that's the only belief they've been taught or otherwise acquired. The classic example of this is an individual's religious orientation. But that is a provocative subject and off topic!

WARNING! These video's show animal cruelty.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN_YcWOuVqk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T83ewTeF5wY#!

[f0rm4t]

Aint we kinda goin down the same road as the anti's here?
I hunt with Air rifle and Catapult for the pot but I have no problem with folks who Trophy hunt eather.
Most of them do take the meat too as well as mount the head/ horns cape/ pelt. On the wall Thats there thing and all the best to them.
They do put a fair amount of money into the coffers of the country where they are hunting/shooting.
I have a wee problem of ranch hunting like they have in the States but there again Im not one to judge. Some folks might only have that one chance to get there dream buck and want to make sure its there waiting.
Its just a case of each to there own . If ye want the trophy or if ye hunt for the pot . Go for it.
At the end of the day for me its being out there.

Cheers
AL


I'm usually with you on most topics Al, I must say. But on this one we differ.
For me personally, my opinion is based around the end-game of hunting.
Hunting to eat is one thing, hunting to put an animal head on your wall as a trophy is another.

We (The bushcraft community) are passionate about LNT as a mind-set, and also the ethical use of the natural resource around us.

For me taking down an ancient oak with an axe for the *primary* purpose of proving to myself I can, or to lay it across my lawn to show others I did, is *exactly* the same as taking a stag or other animal for the *primary* purpose of trophy.

I'm sure you and anyone on here would read with disdain, should I have done & posted the former, so why should our standpoint be different for the latter?

Everyone is naturally entitled to their own opinion, and far be it from me to question anyone else's, but there is mine none the less :D

[fish]

i hunt to eat and for my family to eat,infact few meals here arent hunted,as for hunting for trophys ,well thats a hard one,i have killed things i would not eat,killing animals isnt just for food,ive shot hundreds of crows for pest control wouldnt dream of eating them any more than eating a lion i suppose.
vegans and vegies have the blood of animals on their hands and are not in the least squeaky clean,deer used to live in the woods that were cut down to grow their lentils,and infact millions of animals are killed as pests on said farm land.

[Roadkillphil]

infact millions of animals are killed as pests on said farm land.

Like Badgers?? ;) :tongue:

[FishyFolk]

I'm usually with you on most topics Al, I must say. But on this one we differ.
For me personally, my opinion is based around the end-game of hunting.
Hunting to eat is one thing, hunting to put an animal head on your wall as a trophy is another.

We (The bushcraft community) are passionate about LNT as a mind-set, and also the ethical use of the natural resource around us.

For me taking down an ancient oak with an axe for the *primary* purpose of proving to myself I can, or to lay it across my lawn to show others I did, is *exactly* the same as taking a stag or other animal for the *primary* purpose of trophy.

I'm sure you and anyone on here would read with disdain, should I have done & posted the former, so why should our standpoint be different for the latter?

Everyone is naturally entitled to their own opinion, and far be it from me to question anyone else's, but there is mine none the less :D

I think trophy hunting just to take the trophy, and leave the other parts of the animal to rot is one thing. But can't fault a man who does both.
if I kill a moose again. The horns and part of the scull will be taken as trophy and mounted on a wall somewhere. That is a given. Well, it will probably be a cow of a calf...but in that case the hide will be taken.
And the meat will be taken care of and used...

And as long as the latter is case, I see no wrong.

[OakAshandThorn]

I believe that there is nothing wrong with hunting for food, but like Shewie, I am firmly against hunting for sport.
It seems to me, though, that many people of the "hunters are evil" mob are hardcore vegans. Nothing wrong with being vegan, but they are completely oblivious to the fact that our ancestors hunted game animals for sustenance for many thousands of years. Are our ancestors therefore "evil"? Are the Native Americans and other primitive peoples "evil"?

[fish]

Like Badgers?? ;) :tongue:

guess first pints on me then? lol

[FishyFolk]

I believe that there is nothing wrong with hunting for food, but like Shewie, I am firmly against hunting for sport.
It seems to me, though, that many people of the "hunters are evil" mob are hardcore vegans. Nothing wrong with being vegan, but they are completely oblivious to the fact that our ancestors hunted game animals for sustenance for many thousands of years. Are our ancestors therefore "evil"? Are the Native Americans and other primitive peoples "evil"?

All modern hunting has an element of sport in it. If not, far more effective methods than stalking game with a rifle would be used. Our ancestors used them to such great effect that they made many animals extinct. If it where not for the sports element in hunting, I'd wager that most who hunt today would not do it for humane reasons, and we would have lost far more species than we allready have.

It is the same in fishing. Why on earth use the least effective method there is for catching trout, the fly rod, when we could just catch it with a net?
The reason is the sport element.

So please do not confuse the sport element in modern hunting with pure slaughter of animals "just for fun"...

[AL...]

This is what makes this fourm so good bud ..
We may not agree and thats fine I have no problem with that at all .
But atleast we are not afraid to say how we feel on a subject and talk it through like adults and not 7 year olds in a playground!! This is what I like about the fourm and the folks in here! (AL hiding the rock behind his back) :D

Cheers
AL

I'm usually with you on most topics Al, I must say. But on this one we differ.
For me personally, my opinion is based around the end-game of hunting.
Hunting to eat is one thing, hunting to put an animal head on your wall as a trophy is another.

We (The bushcraft community) are passionate about LNT as a mind-set, and also the ethical use of the natural resource around us.

For me taking down an ancient oak with an axe for the *primary* purpose of proving to myself I can, or to lay it across my lawn to show others I did, is *exactly* the same as taking a stag or other animal for the *primary* purpose of trophy.

I'm sure you and anyone on here would read with disdain, should I have done & posted the former, so why should our standpoint be different for the latter?

Everyone is naturally entitled to their own opinion, and far be it from me to question anyone else's, but there is mine none the less

[Roadkillphil]

guess first pints on me then? lol

Sweeeet!! :D

[f0rm4t]

(AL hiding the rock behind his back) :D

I gotta tell ya Al, this one made me give a proper belly laugh bud! :happy-clapping:

[AL...]

haha!! :D

Cheers
AL

[treefrog]

I guess we have it pretty good here in rural Ontario; EVERYBODY hunts and nobody would dare to bitch about it!
I think all the anti-hunters in this country must live in downtown Vancouver or something...
As that loon Ted Nugent says: 'Kill it 'n grill it'.

[FishyFolk]

I guess we have it pretty good here in rural Ontario; EVERYBODY hunts and nobody would dare to bitch about it!
I think all the anti-hunters in this country must live in downtown Vancouver or something...
As that loon Ted Nugent says: 'Kill it 'n grill it'.

They very seldom make it this far north as well. Ha ha, when I bought my first shotgun, I picked it up from the shop during lunch break. I was still in school. carried it straight trough town, in what was obviously a gun case. And kept it under my desk fro the remaining school day, before hopping on a bus home. NOBODY as much as glanced twice at me. And my teacher wished me good luck. It was friday and he new I would go straight into the hills....lol

Had this been in the south of the country, they would have locked me up and thrown away the key + I would have been front page news for days, while serious men wearing ties would have discussed how it could happen on prime time tv....

[OakAshandThorn]

All modern hunting has an element of sport in it. If not, far more effective methods than stalking game with a rifle would be used. Our ancestors used them to such great effect that they made many animals extinct. If it where not for the sports element in hunting, I'd wager that most who hunt today would not do it for humane reasons, and we would have lost far more species than we allready have.

It is the same in fishing. Why on earth use the least effective method there is for catching trout, the fly rod, when we could just catch it with a net?
The reason is the sport element.

So please do not confuse the sport element in modern hunting with pure slaughter of animals "just for fun"...

Sorry for the confusion. :ashamed:
I'm just against the trophy aspect of hunting, which around where I live, is a synonym for sport hunting. It seems as if Europe and the US have very different meanings for "sport hunting".
Again, I apologize for the confusion.

[ANGOF]

Good thread :), I hunt and fish for food and ive spent my working life as a farm hand so i know how badly stock animals have it. The blame dosnt lie with the farmers but with the supermarkets. When i worked on a chicken farm the farmer made 2p per chicken !!! Thats the only reason why they have huge sheds with 100,000 chickens in.
Thats why i started hunting. The quarry has had a good free life a heathly diet and a humane death.

[KaiTheIronHound]

ANGOF, seems we come from similar backgrounds, working on farms and such.

[comanighttrain]

I'd like to know the thoughts of the community. Hunters and non-hunters are perfectly welcome, everyone has a legitimate view!

I respectfully disagree with them and if they are respectful then I leave it at that.

To be honest most of them claim to be in touch with nature, taking pictures of themselves draped on a tree which is in a lay by but are probably scared of the dark

[moontanboy]

As long as the animals being hunted are not endangered or at risk of becoming so then hunting for food is fine in my book. I don't agree with hunting for trophies in general, but also appreciate that breeding animals for trophy hunting can as a by product increase numbers of wildlife. For example would there be so many specimens of Red Deer in Scotland without the hunting industry ?

[FishyFolk]

I wonder what you folks classify as hunting for trophy?

I do not think there are many moose or deer hunters for that matter that has not taken at least one set of antlers and hanged them up on a wall.
But the rest of the animal is either sold or used by the hunter and the hunting party he bellongs to. If some foreign people comes and pays to shoot a moose just for the antlers, that ain't a catastrophe either.
We have so many that the hunters simply can't shoot enough to manage the population.

[Old Guard]

Anyone who eats meat, must accept that a 'death' was involved, so how can they say hunting (for food) is wrong !!

[KaiTheIronHound]

Old Guard, you'd be surprised how few non-hunting carnivores are unwilling to accept that line of reasoning. Also nice to see someone from near where i was born! About a half hour drive between Bridgend and Pontypridd i believe :)

[Old Guard]

Old Guard, you'd be surprised how few non-hunting carnivores are unwilling to accept that line of reasoning. Also nice to see someone from near where i was born! About a half hour drive between Bridgend and Pontypridd i believe :)

bang on old chap T^

[Badger 73]

Take only what you need , no probs at all with that . I love fly fishing and used to do a bit of shooting . But upsets me when last year when on hols in cornwall a guy was walking around the campsite trying to give away a carrier bag full of mackarel cuz he had taken to many. Dont get me wrong i did take a couple for the barbie but why did he kill more than he needed ? Makes no sense to me. :confused:

[FishyFolk]

Take only what you need , no probs at all with that . I love fly fishing and used to do a bit of shooting . But upsets me when last year when on hols in cornwall a guy was walking around the campsite trying to give away a carrier bag full of mackarel cuz he had taken to many. Dont get me wrong i did take a couple for the barbie but why did he kill more than he needed ? Makes no sense to me. :confused:


Easy to be carried away with the mackerell. I fish for them from my boat using six hooks. And often have 5-6 fish coming up in one go. 3-4 casts like that and you have a bag full in a few minutes. I never eat them. They go for bait, so I freeze them whole. Up here we don't eat mackerell. You can't buy them in the shops. We send it all south. This is due to an old tradition. The old people call them corpse fish. They say the mackerell eat the drowned. And being islanders, we have lost our fare share of people to the sea...

Anyway, the mackerell is excellent cod and hallibut bait for shore fishing :-)

[DaveLimaPapa]

I don't have a problem with hunting for food, it's the trophy hunting I don't agree with.

I totally agree, although I would add add pest control to not having a problem with. Where I used to live we used to have a rat problem, just wished I had an air rifle back then haha

[Opal]

It's the total cruelty I abhor, I'd love to kick shyte out of the cow handlers who were kickin' the poor things in the video.

Nothing against the hunter who has a brain, I've eaten tons of fish I've caught over the years, dispatched straight away unlike some who just throw them on the ground flapping away :(

[Tommy]

I have a confession to make. I use to shoot animals for no reason other than target practice. It would be in the hundreds of animals. I know people who it would be in the thousands.

About ten years ago I had a change of heart. Now days if I'm not going to eat it, I don't shoot it.

[Fraser]

For me I kill to eat and I kill for vermin control (Rats, Corvids, Pigeons... whoooo just happen to be damn tastey too). I have no issues with anyone who kills for a good reason. I do however have a problem with these people who just seem to like killing things.... I just don't understand that mindset. I abhor cruelty to anything and strive for a quick clean kill in all my shooting. I don't like rats or corvids but I would want to make them suffer..... just emmm... die :guns:.
The anti hunting mob I think see 'us' as blood thirsty maniacs who just like to hurt cute wittiw cudiwy animals. Most are townies and I'd wager that the meat eaters amongst them buy blood soaked 'meat' in plastic from tescos et al. This has no link to the poor beast it came from or the history of that poor beasts unnatural life. For the vegies and vegans.... well fair enough they have their opinion and i have mine and never the twain shall meet/meat.
I think 'education' is the key. Although there are a lot who just like to be 'up in arms' against something. Anything.

[Tommy]

I do however have a problem with these people who just seem to like killing things.... I just don't understand that mindset. I abhor cruelty to anything and strive for a quick clean kill in all my shooting.

I wasn't trying to be cruel. It was just thoughtlessness on my part. I was honing my skill without thinking of the animal.

It change for me one day when I shot a squirrel. The bullet severed the spinal cord and disembowel the creature. It proceeded to crawl away on its front legs dragging its hind legs and intestines behind it. I thought to myself, I'm already a good shot I don't need to do this anymore. I felt sad for the squirrel.

[Fraser]

I wasn't trying to be cruel. It was just thoughtlessness on my part. I was honing my skill without thinking of the animal.

It change for me one day when I shot a squirrel. The bullet severed the spinal cord and disembowel the creature. It proceeded to crawl away on its front legs dragging its hind legs and intestines behind it. I thought to myself, I'm already a good shot I don't need to do this anymore. I felt sad for the squirrel.
My post wasn't aimed at anyone in particular man. I'm sure most of us have done some stuff without thinking that in hindsight wasn't a good idea. We learn from this and we develop as people, some for the better and some for the worse.
Several years ago I worked machines (360° excavators); our foreman was nothing but a child in a man’s body. While we were working he would drive around in his van shooting anything that moved with an air rifle. He was an abysmal shot and left a trail of maimed rabbits which I would kill. It was heart breaking to see these wretched animals dragging themselves along with various wounds. I will never forget looking into their eyes. It left an indelible mark on me.

[Tommy]

My post wasn't aimed at anyone in particular man.

:oops: :Sorry:

[Fraser]

No need to be sorry mate. :wink:

[Tommy]

No need to be sorry mate. :wink:

I just don't want a misunderstanding to lead to a fight.

Peace

[Wardy]

I have no issues with hunting for food it's an age old tradition for us to eat and survive its been happening for years, there are laws in this country to protect animals endangered and such there are seasons for other animals if you follow those and eat/use what you shoot I see no problem, I shoot rats on a local farm as they destroy the place and there are thousands if them, this is pest control (and a challenge) I also don't see an issue with this form of hunting. I have heard of people that think hunting is bad and that you should go and buy meat from a super market because that way no animals are harmed. Basically most people that kick up a fuss have a massive lack of understanding (I believe) and Gould be shown how animals are "prepared" for them

[freedom]

I think there is to much argonce these days about hunting, I spoke to a guy yesterday who was a deer stalker at the Taramack help the heros event. He explained in great detail of his passion for his work, he said he would send long hours in all types of weather observing Roe deers the way they interacted with their envoirment, when the deer is feeding they dont graze on open pastures but pick out individual plants and the calls of other animals which warn them of danger.

His knowledge of his work was unqestionable when it came to the welfare of these animals when he has to cull them, even down to where he would shot these animals for the best humane why of killing them. His work is important in keeping a diverse enivornment and health population of deers. It was excellent experience meeting this guy, I was that interested I dont even ask him his name but I will be taking more notice of my enviornment and whats going on around me when I am out in the woods in future

[rawfish111]

A great thread I hadn't seen before and I agree with most points made having shot most pest species here as well as a lot of edible ones (and some which are both) As long as there is good reason then the kill is justified to me.

I also plan to do a BDS course later in the year and do some stalking and learning. A nice deer will make a lovely contribution to the freezer for winter. If it were to be a 'trophy' animal then I wouldn't waste the pelt/antlers.

I feel that animals are food, yes, but as with all of nature respect for the environment and the resource that we are harvesting (which is what it is lets face it) has to be paramount.

I have no time however for those types of people who would prefer rabbits to balloons just because when you stick a pin in a rabbit it doesn't burst.

[OakAshandThorn]

Back in December 2012, my nearby friend called me to tell me that three poachers had chased a deer into his backyard - apparently one of them shot it with bow and arrow, but the deer ran off, so they followed - where they beat it to death with a 2x4. He heard the commotion, ran outside and confronted them whilst his mom called the police. The police only wrote an "incident report", even though they wore nothing flourescent orange (a felony charge) and were trespassing on the property, and left it at that. We later learned that they were looking for an all-white buck often seen in the area so they could shoot him and sell the antlers and hide, which is also a big no-no. The police were still unwilling to do anything, so my friend and I went around the block telling folks about the incident and that they should be aware of any poaching activity in area.
Things quieted down for a few months, and then in March this year, as I'm walking in the park across the street, I find a 12 gauge shotgun shell close to 2 deer paths. I take the shell and give it to the park's executive director, who told me she would inform police - any form of hunting (except fishing) in the park is strictly prohibited. The problem is that the police don't patrol there - they only occasionally bring over a squad car with an officer or two and stay by the main entrance (there are 4 other entry points).
For now, there's nothing anyone can do until someone catches these b******s in the act and prosecutes them to the fullest extent of the law.

[rawfish111]

Not wearing high vis?.... be a shame if they caught a round wouldn't it?!?..... Not vindicating anything just an opinion.

[paulthefish2009]

Not wearing high vis?.... be a shame if they caught a round wouldn't it?!?..... Not vindicating anything just an opinion.

T^

[BJ]

Having read through this post it is definitely the case that hunters and people who kill animals are at least as compassionate as non- hunters about hurting the animals and would be up in arms if there was any cruelty involved. So whilst there are opposing views on hunting there certainly is a common consensus on cruelty. I have seen a "hunter" with moist eyes as a little blue tit that had flown into a window died cradled in his hands. So I have great respect for the hunters who have great compassion.

[OakAshandThorn]

Having read through this post it is definitely the case that hunters and people who kill animals are at least as compassionate as non- hunters about hurting the animals and would be up in arms if there was any cruelty involved. So whilst there are opposing views on hunting there certainly is a common consensus on cruelty. I have seen a "hunter" with moist eyes as a little blue tit that had flown into a window died cradled in his hands. So I have great respect for the hunters who have great compassion.
T^


Not wearing high vis?.... be a shame if they caught a round wouldn't it?!?..... Not vindicating anything just an opinion.
It would be a real shame if the round was fired from one of them.

[Tommy]

Back in December 2012, my nearby friend called me to tell me that three poachers had chased a deer into his backyard - apparently one of them shot it with bow and arrow, but the deer ran off, so they followed - where they beat it to death with a 2x4. He heard the commotion, ran outside and confronted them whilst his mom called the police. The police only wrote an "incident report", even though they wore nothing flourescent orange (a felony charge) and were trespassing on the property, and left it at that. We later learned that they were looking for an all-white buck often seen in the area so they could shoot him and sell the antlers and hide, which is also a big no-no. The police were still unwilling to do anything, so my friend and I went around the block telling folks about the incident and that they should be aware of any poaching activity in area.
Things quieted down for a few months, and then in March this year, as I'm walking in the park across the street, I find a 12 gauge shotgun shell close to 2 deer paths. I take the shell and give it to the park's executive director, who told me she would inform police - any form of hunting (except fishing) in the park is strictly prohibited. The problem is that the police don't patrol there - they only occasionally bring over a squad car with an officer or two and stay by the main entrance (there are 4 other entry points).
For now, there's nothing anyone can do until someone catches these b******s in the act and prosecutes them to the fullest extent of the law.

Around here the penalty for poaching is very sever. Everything used to commit the crime of poaching is confiscated, permanently!

So that new F150 that you are making payments on GONE! That antique rifle your granddaddy gave you, GONE! The pack of condoms in your back pocket you can probably keep. On top of that the fines are in the tens of thousands of dollars, even over a hundred thousand dollars sometimes.

As a result of such stiff penalties some poachers have taken to killing game wardens. There are game wardens who went into the woods and who never came back. People camping in the back country have gone missing too. Poachers don't like witnesses anymore than they like cops.

Poaching around here is real serious business.

[rawfish111]

As a result of such stiff penalties some poachers have taken to killing game wardens. There are game wardens who went into the woods and who never came back. People camping in the back country have gone missing too. Poachers don't like witnesses anymore than they like cops.

Poaching around here is real serious business.

Never thought about this from a Canuk point of view but have often thought that down in the sub continent/asia the next move may end up being poacher hunting safaris.

Crawling around the bush with an expert guide (retirement jobs for HMAF pers) with the objective of a clear 'stop it' to those who would further reduce already endangered species by means of a .762 instant messaging system.

Years ago a former buddy of mine and I talked about this to death when we were about to PVR but dismissed it as far fetched.

[Tommy]

Never thought about this from a Canuk point of view but have often thought that down in the sub continent/asia the next move may end up being poacher hunting safaris.

Crawling around the bush with an expert guide (retirement jobs for HMAF pers) with the objective of a clear 'stop it' to those who would further reduce already endangered species by means of a .762 instant messaging system.

Years ago a former buddy of mine and I talked about this to death when we were about to PVR but dismissed it as far fetched.

"poacher hunting safaris" ... "dismissed it as far fetched"

I think due process would get in the way.

Poaching in places like Africa is done by poor people struggling to survive. Do you really want to tell them to stop with a 7.62? Canada is different, nobody needs to poach here.

[rawfish111]

Poaching in places like Africa is done by poor people struggling to survive. Do you really want to tell them to stop with a 7.62? Canada is different, nobody needs to poach here.

Well I'm not sure that the guys who poach in Africa ARE struggling to survive by any means when you look at the set ups they use in many cases. The Canada references were meant to be tongue in cheek....... Mostly..... :confused:

[shepherd]

Pretty much as the title says. I'm a hunter, and i know many others here are aswell. I find quite frequently that i run into abuse for being barbaric, or for killing for food when i can just go to a store. As far as i am concerned i have nothing to be sorry for, i hunt because i like to know whenever i can exactly how an animal has died, and that it has died clean. People who tell us we are wrong or bad or evil and still eat meat dont seem to understand that thinking your hands are clean because someone else kills it for you are fools.

I'd like to know the thoughts of the community. Hunters and non-hunters are perfectly welcome, everyone has a legitimate view!

i was called barbaric and cruel recently because someone found out i raise chickens for meat (as well as eggs) and they hated the fact i dispatched them myself, prepared and cooked them too.. she said it was unhygenic.. this is the same person who flipped out when i said i shot rats that used to attack my chicks, goslings etc and eat all their food... i enjoy hunting... i mainly do pest control.. i have no issue with people disagreeing with what i do.. but i do feel they should atleast try to understand my ligitimate reasons for shootings things like rats and foxes at lambing time.. as they dont see the damage they do. foxes could wipe out my flock... plus if they ever saw a full grown ewe walking about with no eyes because a crow ate them im sure they would feel slightly differently about the need to control 'pest species'

[Tommy]

The Canada references were meant to be tongue in cheek....... Mostly..... :confused:

:Sorry: for any miss communication.

Without hearing voice inflections or seeing facial expressions it's sometimes hard to tell when someone is joking (at least for me it is). Anyway I'll laugh now. :happy-clapping:

[OakAshandThorn]

i was called barbaric and cruel recently because someone found out i raise chickens for meat (as well as eggs) and they hated the fact i dispatched them myself, prepared and cooked them too.. she said it was unhygenic.. this is the same person who flipped out when i said i shot rats that used to attack my chicks, goslings etc and eat all their food... i enjoy hunting... i mainly do pest control.. i have no issue with people disagreeing with what i do.. but i do feel they should atleast try to understand my ligitimate reasons for shootings things like rats and foxes at lambing time.. as they dont see the damage they do. foxes could wipe out my flock... plus if they ever saw a full grown ewe walking about with no eyes because a crow ate them im sure they would feel slightly differently about the need to control 'pest species'
These are people who will only buy meat from the supermarket, yet refuse to acknowledge the cruelty animals go through in big commercial farms. They wouldn't know what to do if they had to hunt and trap game to sustain themselves. Fools, the lot of them.

[OakAshandThorn]

Around here the penalty for poaching is very sever. Everything used to commit the crime of poaching is confiscated, permanently!

So that new F150 that you are making payments on GONE! That antique rifle your granddaddy gave you, GONE! The pack of condoms in your back pocket you can probably keep. On top of that the fines are in the tens of thousands of dollars, even over a hundred thousand dollars sometimes.

As a result of such stiff penalties some poachers have taken to killing game wardens. There are game wardens who went into the woods and who never came back. People camping in the back country have gone missing too. Poachers don't like witnesses anymore than they like cops.

Poaching around here is real serious business.
:shocked: Dang...over here, we don't even have game wardens outside of state and national parks.
That's just nuts...I sure hope the wardens are armed.

[Tommy]

:shocked: Dang...over here, we don't even have game wardens outside of state and national parks.
That's just nuts...I sure hope the wardens are armed.I believe they are armed with glocks in 9mm and a variety of rifles and shotguns.

This is a picture from their website showing them at shooting practice.

http://www.gamewarden.ab.ca/photos/Lshoot.jpg

[rawfish111]

These are people who will only buy meat from the supermarket, yet refuse to acknowledge the cruelty animals go through in big commercial farms. They wouldn't know what to do if they had to hunt and trap game to sustain themselves. Fools, the lot of them.

+1

[shepherd]

+2!!

[HillBill]

I have no problem with hunting. But i find trophy hunting illogical. You see, trophy hunters will take the largest and strongest quarry they can find. Thus weakening the gene pool for future generations, ruling out natural selection, and basically fecking up the natural order of things. Its pointless. I don't agree with killing for fun or sport, unless on an organised shoot. Where the only reason the animals are there is because they have been bred and raised by people to do just that, thus the population is higher than it should be. I worked on a pheasant shooting estate for a few months a few years back and this is how it was then.

I'm a food on the table type of hunter and i only hunt with an air rifle. So i only shoot vermin species that have a high capacity for reproduction so numbers are not effected. I don't shoot much these days. I'm a live and let live kinda guy.

[JonnyP]

I do not understand people who are meat eaters and will happily buy plastic wrapped sterile meat from Tesco, but are totally against hunters shooting for food, or home steaders rearing their own meat. Are they that ignorant that they do not know where their chicken came from, that the chicken probably never saw the sun and never tasted grass and the only thing it had to scratch was sawdust and all the other birds mess.
If that person complaining is vegan or vegetarian, then they have a point of view and I respect that, as I hope they respect my point of view.
I would love that every meat eater would have to go through the whole process of killing and prep, to table. What an eye opener that would be eh.
I bet there are many people out there that do not even know where milk or eggs come from.

[jus_young]

Unfortunately that is all too often the case Jonny. My kids know exactly where there food comes from but then when you have a father that drives along, sees a lamb jumping in the fields, and says 'thats going to make a lovely roast dinner one day' then they can't help but get educated on the matter.

[JonnyP]

Unfortunately that is all too often the case Jonny. My kids know exactly where there food comes from but then when you have a father that drives along, sees a lamb jumping in the fields, and says 'thats going to make a lovely roast dinner one day' then they can't help but get educated on the matter.
I bet you shout "mint sauce" at them too Justin, don't you..

[rawfish111]

Unfortunately that is all too often the case Jonny. My kids know exactly where there food comes from but then when you have a father that drives along, sees a lamb jumping in the fields, and says 'thats going to make a lovely roast dinner one day' then they can't help but get educated on the matter.

:happy-clapping: funny that I bet most of us on here do the same. At the rare breeds farm in Totnes with the kids last weeks as they were fussing the lambs I was explaining where the different cuts come from lol

[Al21]

:happy-clapping: funny that I bet most of us on here do the same. At the rare breeds farm in Totnes with the kids last weeks as they were fussing the lambs I was explaining where the different cuts come from lol

Spot on RF. A few years ago, my neighbouring allotment holder had hens for laying, as they ran to us to get bits of grass poked through the wire my youngest would shout at them, Chicken Nuggets! :)

Al

[cave dweller]

I find quite frequently that i run into abuse for being barbaric, or for killing for food when i can just go to a store.

I find that attitude ridiculous; the animal died for food whether you killed it or it was killed in an abatoir. In my experience most hunters are way more responsible and respectful in the way they treat their quarry than the average meat processing plant (and I've worked in several - not my favourite jobs!). I think many of the protesters would have a much more complete view of the world if they were a little closer to the food they eat than the tin can or plastic packet many are used to these days.

Trophy hunting is a whole different ball game, but hunting for food or for responsible wildlife management is not a problem for me.

[OakAshandThorn]

I believe they are armed with glocks in 9mm and a variety of rifles and shotguns.

This is a picture from their website showing them at shooting practice.

http://www.gamewarden.ab.ca/photos/Lshoot.jpg
I see they're having a bit of fun ;).
It's good to know they are able to defend themselves.