Misconceptions in Hunting.

[firehuntfish]

Let me ask you. How can a person (having intellect and cognitive thoughts) enjoy giving life and at the same moment enjoy taking life?

That's the conundrum..... I read a qoute in an article once that said "man is the only animal that can show kindness and affection to his dinner." I'm not sure if I can explain it, but I the human being is capable of showing kindness, affection, and mercy to animals, while at the same time possessing the capability to take it's life when the time comes.... I liken it to the example of a rancher having the capability of nursing a sick calf back to health, all the while knowing he will probably be dispatching that same animal to it's doom one day for the purpose it was intended....

So yes, it's perfectly natural in my opinion that precisely because of our ability to have intellect and cognitive thoughts, we are capable of a wide range of thoughts and feelings including the abilty to be both a facilitator of life and a killer....However, I don't know if we would be capable of having both thought processes simultaneously as you suggest....

 

[iamyourhuckleberry]

Firefishhunt,

While I agree that every human has within his or her DNA a tenacious code to kill, I also believe that aggressive urge for domination is routinely suppressed or redirected. This attribute in many cases is need driven. A person needs to kill to eat (in the absence of support and stores). A person needs to kill to defend/protect. A person needs to kill when the timing is right (conservation). When the need is satisfied, the urge goes away

I also surmise that somewhere in our DNA there is a code which allows us to cherish life over death. We extend this to those things around us-people, trees, bunnies, etc. Perhaps this is the reason we consistently fight forest fires (depleting resources) verses letting them burn? Perhaps this is reason why many of us re-nest a fallen baby bird? Why do we drive around wildlife on roadways rather than drive through it, discounting any thought of physical/costly damages? The need to save/preserve takes precedence over the need to destroy.

I do not believe an enjoyment for life can be switched on and off, like a light bulb, for an enjoyment of death. I believe death only comes when there is a need and subsequent events have not filled that need. Going further, IMO, the highest emotional response to death should be one of satisfaction for a job well done-quick and as painless as possible.

I will enjoy giving life, but I will never enjoy taking it (I guess I should never say never). I liken it to a doctor who advises a family to pull the plug. He remorsefully understands it is the right thing to do because subsequent events for life have left no other hope.

I salute the man who embraces tough decisions and has the fortitude to see the right thing through. That's what set hunters apart.

 

[huntingbigun]

My thoughts have always been simple,

I enjoy hunting and fishing period, my family has been doing it in Florida for 5 generations.

I have friends that share my passion, impossible to express all the emotions we have during a hunt at least for me, a fellow hunter understands and we can share the moment, appreciate the other person achievement and understand his joy of a successful hunt

To debate with a anti is fruitless, most will never agree with the taking of a life human or animal be it n sport or war. Most of the same folks would like to see all private ownership of firearms banned as well. Some folks I shared my pictures with of my Africa Hunt did not care for the Lion or Zebra, I just moved on no point in discussing it. These where fellow hunters, so even in our own ranks we do not all agree, heck Lets talk about Fair Chase, not

In the past in Florida we fished & hunted freely than as more folks moved to Florida they do not understand our traditions and strive to change us, they have banned our black bear hunting, regulated where we can fish (Feds have miles of our oceans as no fishing zones) push our hunting with dogs to near extinction be it fox, coon or deer and tried very hard to ban our airboats.

At first we tried to compromise and meet halfway but as we lost more and more of our freedoms we had to change and stand up for our way of life it is called Tradition and is principle on what our country was founded on. We have pushed back and made small inroads to regaining our freedom.

SO to make it simple, I am a sportsman that is proud that I love to hike, take pictures, hunt, fish, chase game and yes kill animals no I do not take them, I kill them, no way to sugarcoat it, I love the chase and kill, sure when I look at the magnificent animal there is a small part of me that has remorse but that is overpowered by joy of a successful hunt which includes a kill. Same joy I felt hiking rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, they are all my achievements and proud of them

 

[firehuntfish]

I do not believe an enjoyment for life can be switched on and off, like a light bulb, for an enjoyment of death. I believe death only comes when there is a need and subsequent events have not filled that need. Going further, IMO, the highest emotional response to death should be one of satisfaction for a job well done-quick and as painless as possible.

I will enjoy giving life, but I will never enjoy taking it (I guess I should never say never). I liken it to a doctor who advises a family to pull the plug. He remorsefully understands it is the right thing to do because subsequent events for life have left no other hope.

I salute the man who embraces tough decisions and has the fortitude to see the right thing through. That's what set hunters apart.


I want to impart a couple of more final thoughts, and then I think I will have said everything I can say on this subject...

Iamyourhuckleberry... I think you are taking the "enjoyment of life/disdain for death" discussion to a level way beyond how it pertains to my view of hunting and killing....I would like to believe that most of us who hunt have a supreme respect and reverence for the life of the animal that we take. That being said, I thinks it's perfectly natural and reasonable to enjoy every aspect of the hunt including the actual kill. And let me define "enjoy"....By that I mean to feel the rush of adrenalin and heightening of my senses, and an unexplainable sense of confirmation of my place as a predator in nature.....But, by no means, does that imply that I relish the kill or death of every kind merely for the sake of killing something. The concept of death and the kill is completely unique as it pertains to us as hunters...

For any hunter who feels a sadness or remorse for the animal they have taken might need to take a very introspective look at why exactly it is that they hunt... Personally, I don't think I would continue hunting if I had to carry around remorse and guilt as part of the package...The only sense of remorse that I have felt as a hunter are the few occassions when I have lost an animal that went unrecovered. That reponsibility weighs heavy, and I think it is the definitive motivator for me to take my responsibility as hunter very seriously...

Huntingbigun, I, like you, grew up hunting and fishing in South Florida.. No one can relate to the very valid points that you made better than I... The ongoing loss of our hertitage, and right to hunt & fish is a crime. As much, as I loved South Florida, I am counting the days until I can leave it for good. My biggest fear is that this trend is spreading like a cancer all over the world. I'm not sure anyplace is safe from the perils that we are suffering in South Florida.

 

[huntingbigun]

Huntingbigun, I, like you, grew up hunting and fishing in South Florida.. No one can relate to the very valid points that you made better than I... The ongoing loss of our hertitage, and right to hunt & fish is a crime. As much, as I loved South Florida, I am counting the days until I can leave it for good. My biggest fear is that this trend is spreading like a cancer all over the world. I'm not sure anyplace is safe from the perils that we are suffering in South Florida.

Heck I get down there to run the glades when I can, heck used to have a camp in the glades, so I hear ya loud a clear, the NPS stole our camp and now no one can get to it unless you hike ughhhhhhhhhhh, I agree with ya 100% Maybe see ya around sometime :alligator:

My wife say's I am just a natural born killer lmao

 

[observe]

well said Jaco!

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