Monday, May 04, 2009
Hunting is for food. Not just meat.
I have never understood trophy hunting personally. The only thing I have shot and not eaten was a Bobcat. I wanted to mount it, and it sits on my T.V. today. I like it but not $250 worth. So since then I have consumed everything I have hunted for and this feels fulfilling to me. I get a strange sense of accomplishment by being able to feed my family without any one's help. I even get a thrill when hunting Morel's and finding a patch. or spotting some blackberry briers while berry hunting. I find my thrill comes from extracting food from nature. Most people would starve to death with out a grocery store. I think all people should learn how to garden, slaughter, and forage. I think people would appreciate food much more if they were responsible for getting it just once. Don't get me wrong I love trophy hunters, they spend tons of money on outdoor products and licenses. I don't care why people value wildlife as long as they value it. I am not going turkey hunting this weekend but I am going on what I call a pre-hike. Before I take my cub scout den to hike House Mountain I will hike it to mark any interesting flora or geology along the way so I can be prepared to share with the den. I will be just as excited to find a common morel as I would have to get a shot at a turkey.....yeah I am weird like that. Next time you see a cuddly animal think of me and remember cuddly = tasty.
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I think we share the same thinking. I to never understood trophy hunting and I to take accomplishment that I can provide food for my family.
ReplyDeleteI'm on board with you. I'll watch a hunting show now and then or read a trophy hunting mag and sometimes it just disgusts me. What are these people after? I'll release a fish now and then, but most of them get eaten. I NEED this interaction - sometimes it's hard to explain. Usually I can only say - "I'm a meat hunter (or fisher)." And I mean it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Wandering Owl about not being able to expain it. I think it is an instinct like a beagle chasing a rabbit. Trophy hunters don't disgust me I just don't get it. I have friends that are trophy hunters and the give me their kills alot which I put in the freezer. I don't get not wanting all that beautiful meat but it just means more for me. I only killed one deer myself last year, but thanks to my buck shooting friends I put 7 in the freezer!
ReplyDeleteNothing weird about it at all, brother. My wife doesn't understand why I can go fly fishing all day, release everything I catch, and come home happy. What's not to like about spending the day in a high country canyon where mule deer and bears come to the river, the water is cleaner than glass, and the smell of the woods fills my senses? I don't even care half the time whether I catch anything or not!
ReplyDeleteBut I definitely like to eat what I hunt. Which is why I find rabbit hunting as fun and fulfilling as mule deer hunting. We own a cabin in the Sierras, and I often think about what we would do if the "big one" hits -- that's Californian for the killer earthquake we're all waiting for. But I know the answer. We would head for the cabin and we would eat what we could catch, kill, gather or grow.
I completely agree.
ReplyDeleteI think people are way out of touch when it comes to where food comes from. It doesn't come neatly wrapped in a cellophane wrapper; it has to be acquired before that can happen.
I honestly believe if people - at least once - experienced getting food for themselves that this world would be a better place.
Amen to this post.
I am really loving the theme/design of your site.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever run into any browser compatibility issues?
A couple of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome.
Do you have any ideas to help fix this issue?