I’m interested in hearing what Lemmings think about hunting. I started hunting deer years ago because I wanted to be a part of the process, like if I couldn’t handle killing and gutting an animal I shouldn’t be eating meat. IMO, it’s much more humane than what factory farmed animals endure. Less suffering overall than most natural deaths. Overpopulation causes disease and starvation and we killed off their predators, so we kind of owe it to nature to fill the ecological gap.
Also, I fucking love it. I watch the sun rise, think, record birds I’ve seen, think, watch squirrels play, think a bit more, and sometimes, I get some food.
Idk. I’m not looking for approval or trying to change your mind, just wondering what people think.
Hunting for food is OK, as long as proper technique is observed (safe, humane, environmentally responsible).
Hunting for fun is a sociopath’s pastime.
I’m a little concerned about his comment “Also, I fucking love it”. But I’m also confused about the next sentence where he talks about watching squirrels play.
We fucked up the wolf populations so its our moral imperative to control deer populations.
We should bring the wolves back.
Im trying but they city keeps sending animal control to stop them from huntinh the neighborhood. /s
Just messing with you. It is cool to see there reintroduction into wilderness areas but there is a reason people killed or domesticated the apex predators living nearing people, pets, and live stock.
I think its fine for animals whose population has to be controlled through hunting. The absolute worst way of consuming meat is through mass production. Best case would be we remove ourselves (humanity) from the chain, but thats a long process and cant be done without properly reintroducing predators etc.
I don’t think the solution to the predators being gone is for humans to fill the gap, rather to let the predators make a return.
Here in Sweden we’re looking to shoot most of our wolves for no good reason. That is after a considerable effort to stabilise the population and bring genetic diversity back to it.
Not practical in most places. Wolves have a huge range and deer are everywhere. Nobody wants wolves in the suburbs.
Thing is, we’re twice the size of Germany, with like one sixth of the population. Germany has around 1600 wolves throughout, and we can’t cope with 350?
I highly doubt it. The problem is that we have a bunch of farmers that don’t care to properly secure their livestock so they whine really loudly and then the wolves get it.
The goal is to reduce it to 170.
I’ve never wanted to do it myself, but am very appreciative when hunter buddies share the carcasses of their victims. :)
“If we weren’t supposed to eat animals, they wouldn’t be made of meat.” – Socrates, probably
I live in an area with an out of control whitetail deer population. I don’t have it in me to hunt, but I’m all for people deer hunting to curb the population. Most folks I know who hunt also eat their kills or give away/sell the meat, so it isn’t wasted. A lot of local craftspeople use deer hide and antlers for knife making and stuff and there’s soooo many taxidermists. Almost every butcher shop around offers deer processing, too.
When I was a kid way out in the boonies, the wild coyote population boomed and the pack actively started hunting me and other small kids and killing livestock like crazy. The folks in the surrounding areas thinned the pack when the game commission wouldn’t do something about the problem. I was totally fine with that hunting too because I didn’t like coyotes stalking me and preventing me from playing outside.
I know some people who pheasant hunt and it’s never bothered me because, again, the corpses aren’t wasted.
My grandpa crow hunted and he took me with him once and II had researched crows beforehand because I was excited. I learned how smart they are and refused to let my grandpa shoot them. We just sat there and watched them hang out and figure out the decoys we had set up.
Hunting for sport and trophies is bad, but hunting for meat is a hell of a lot more ethical than industrial meat production. Interestingly I’ve known people that were Vegan due to the ethics of commercial animal handling, but were also hunting and would eat meat from animals killed in the hunting team.
I live in Sweden and hunting is pretty common here, even though I’m not personally involved. There are limits on when and how many animals you may shoot and when to make sure the population is healthy.
hunting for food is ethical, over killing, killing for profit, killing for sport are not.
Instead of killing, try a trip just to photograph the animals. Then compare your experiences. The killing may not be what you enjoy about your hunting trips.
I tried that once but the photographs tasted aweful.
It is a perfectly fine thing. Humans are part of the ecosystem. We are predators and fill that niche. So long as we do so with attention paid to ensure it is done sustainably then there is nothing wrong.
It’s awful.
From Europe, I share your Arguments although I am vegan. I would however prefer to get natural predators back and not controlling populations by hunting so they fit into the modern agricultural understand of “enough”.
Yes, wolves in the suburbs is a great idea, nobody will be upset about that
the impact of hunting for food is so far below the impact of industrial agriculture and other things, it’s fine
I never was really interested, though plenty of people in my family hunt. In Arkansas while I was in secondary school, we did all have to take a mandatory Hunter’s Safety course. And, in the area were I live right now, I’m sure there are families that benefit from the additional caloric supply, maxing out their tags during rifle season.
I have mixed feelings around the other points you raise, that I find it hard to articulate. But, I don’t have any better solution to overpopulation.
I’ve been present at killing, cleaning, and (later) butchering of rabbit, deer and cow. But, I do try to get as few calories from animal products as I can. I was vegan at home for many months, tho not currently.
A lot of people bring up the moral problems with eating meat, but I have barely any such issue in regard to wild animals, especially those overpopulating areas.
Of course, if a company ever made a big product out of reselling venison, we’d probably get perverse incentives where someone would start trapping and farming them. So, it ends up just being a homey domain of hobbyist hunters and all their family friends - but one I respect a lot.
There are already deer farms that sell venison and “guided hunts”. Most hunters are disgusted by them.
