# When a hunter says "I eat what I kill" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 30, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611 "2015-07-30T22:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/101 "2015-08-01T03:06:32Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I live in Pennsylvania where they close down schools for the opening of deer hunting season. I have yet in my life to see venison in any restaurant or any grocery store. I’ve had venison jerky once which was dreadful. So if hardly anyone in the deer hunting capital of the world won’t eat it, why pat yourself on the back dumping this crap on the homeless? I’m not sure if it is in your area, but in other states, venison is far from crap. Louisiana even has deer farms (and they hunt them too)! There are other game I may consider lower quality or not try it (opossum, squirrel). But deer? Nope, deer is the high-end for game meat. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/102 "2015-08-01T03:08:40Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I’d rather drop off a corn cob for a homeless person to eat than deer meat. I see corn on he menu all the time. I see it at grocery stores. Never have I seen venison. There are a lot of issues in offering wild game meat for sale at a grocery, that’s why it’s rare. You probably haven’t seen fugu for sale at your local grocer, either, but that doesn’t mean it’s garbage. > [@](#): > > Price aside, because I’ve been to $100 a plate restaurants and haven’t seen it there either. So…? > [@](#): > > In our area, it’s not considered a normal food. So why humiliate homeless people by making them eat it? Venison used to be reserved for nobility and kings - you admit the only way you’ve had it is as jerky, which is hardly representative of how it can be prepared. It’s an extremely lean meat, which means without additional fat or oil added it doesn’t taste very good. That’s why Natives used to blend it with fat and berries to make pemmican rather than eating just plain deer jerky. _Beef_ jerky tastes pretty wretched, too, without spices and flavorings. That’s why common preparations of deer include sausage and ground meat, it’s easy to blend in some additional fat. And maybe YOU find it “humiliating”, but I’d be happy to accept any venison someone wishes to give me. Around here it is, in fact, considered perfectly acceptable food. Hey, some people think sushi is disgusting, others find it gourmet, same sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/103 "2015-08-01T06:01:10Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > That was a well worded articulate response. I’m not sure to what degree we are in agreement or disagreement. My only major objection to what you say is that, even if I don’t buy that steak at the grocery store, someone else most likely will. If a hunter does not shoot that particular deer, there is a good chance that deer will live another week/month/year. > > As to killing and eating animals in general being immoral, I agree that it is and I admit I am wrong for doing it. Why is eating an animal immoral? I think every creature needs to do what it needs to do to survive. Eating is part of surviving. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/104 "2015-08-01T06:10:36Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Animals have no moral value, killing them to eat is intrinsically not immoral. The only scenarios in which something done to an animal can be immoral are if it hurts a person (i.e. you are damaging their property) or if it causes you to _debase your own human dignity_. Interesting statement. Would you say all animals have no moral value? I’d disagree strongly with that postulate. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/105 "2015-08-01T07:15:15Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So…? So . . . if its such a prized delicacy as my counters are saying, why don’t I see it in restaurants or grocery stores? And if deer meat is so much more expensive than beef, as I think one poster is implying, hey, why not dig down deep and drop off some Omaha steaks to the local homeless shelter, instead of the dead deer carcass? Oh no, you see, its too hard to prepare and cook. But somehow, homeless shelters have 5 star chefs who specialize in deer meat working their soup kitchens. It just doesn’t add up. > [@](#): > > Venison used to be reserved for nobility and kings So did LOT of things. Double chins used to be accepted as a sign of wealth and power, too. > [@](#): > > And maybe YOU find it “humiliating”, but I’d be happy to accept any venison someone wishes to give me. Around here it is, in fact, considered perfectly acceptable food. Hey, some people think sushi is disgusting, others find it gourmet, same sort of thing. Like I said, knock yourself out and chow down on as much Bambi as you wish. No one I have ever met eats it, and I live in deer hunting Disneyland. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/106 "2015-08-01T10:51:22Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > So . . . if its such a prized delicacy as my counters are saying, why don’t I see it in restaurants or grocery stores? Because there are a lot of regulations regarding selling wild meat in the US. Hunters basically aren’t allowed to sell it, they either eat it themselves or they are allowed to give it away. And I wouldn’t call it a “prized delicacy”, I mean, it’s not Kobe beef or caviar (which latter, by the way, I personally think is vile but obviously some folks like it). There are other perfectly find foods you don’t often find at a grocery store, which are going for the lowest common denomiator in most cases. > [@](#): > > And if deer meat is so much more expensive than beef, as I think one poster is implying, hey, why not dig down deep and drop off some Omaha steaks to the local homeless shelter, instead of the dead deer carcass? Oh no, you see, its too hard to prepare and cook. But somehow, homeless shelters have 5 star chefs who specialize in deer meat working their soup kitchens. Where did you get this notion you need to be a “5 star chef” to cook venison? You just need to know how to properly prepare it. Different meats need different cooking. This isn’t rocket science. > [@](#): > > Like I said, knock yourself out and chow down on as much Bambi as you wish. No one I have ever met eats it, and I live in deer hunting Disneyland. Oh, so your personal experience defines reality for the rest of us, right… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/107 "2015-08-01T21:45:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Oh, so your personal experience defines reality for the rest of us, right… :rolleyes: Yes, NOW your getting it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/108 "2015-08-01T22:08:46Z")
I think hunters who eat their kills are behaving ethically. I do not hunt, but I fish-and I want to eat what I catch (I do not see the fun of “catch and release”). As for venison: it depends on how you cook it. i have had farm raised and wild, and frankly, farm raised tasted better. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/109 "2015-08-02T05:25:07Z")
Just speculating here, but “I eat what I kill” carries an extra level of implied toughness. The claimant isn’t some dilettante who can aim a rifle, pull a trigger, pose for some pictures and leave a rotting corpse. A _real_ man has the grit to plunge a knife into a deer’s belly and spill its guts to the forest floor, then lift it to his truck and haul it away to carve it up for its meat. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/110 "2015-08-02T05:46:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Just speculating here, but “I eat what I kill” carries an extra level of implied toughness. The claimant isn’t some dilettante who can aim a rifle, pull a trigger, pose for some pictures and leave a rotting corpse. A _real_ man has the grit to plunge a knife into a deer’s belly and spill its guts to the forest floor, then lift it to his truck and haul it away to carve it up for its meat. I made the remark that inspired the thread, and I’m calling bullshit here. I don’t think I’m necessarily tougher than trophy hunters or even non-hunters. I only kill things I intend to eat (or in the case of wild turkeys, give to my sister’s family to eat), because trophy hunting violates my ethics. Also I am afraid of polar bears. I don’t hunt boar for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/111 "2015-08-02T05:55:10Z")
I will add, however, that while I’m not necessarily tougher than a randomly chosen non-hunter, I think I am more HONEST than a meat-eating person who eschews hunting out of “morality.” We are both sustaining ourselves from the life of another animal; I just admit it and do not hide from it. The meat-eating person who buys his beef and so forth from Kroger is paying others to do his dirty work, and if he contends that makes him morally my better, he is being either disingenuous or delusional. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/112 "2015-08-02T18:39:29Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I’ve had venison jerky once which was dreadful. Venison jerky is fantastic. It makes more sense than beef jerky: jerky should be lean, and it’s a waste of good lean beef steaks to jerk it. But when you have a whole lot of deer meat to process, jerky makes great sense. I wonder what was wrong with what you tried. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/113 "2015-08-02T18:48:47Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > So . . . if its such a prized delicacy as my counters are saying, why don’t I see it in restaurants or grocery stores? And if deer meat is so much more expensive than beef, as I think one poster is implying, hey, why not dig down deep and drop off some Omaha steaks to the local homeless shelter, instead of the dead deer carcass? Oh no, you see, its too hard to prepare and cook. But somehow, homeless shelters have 5 star chefs who specialize in deer meat working their soup kitchens. > > It just doesn’t add up. > > So did LOT of things. Double chins used to be accepted as a sign of wealth and power, too. > > Like I said, knock yourself out and chow down on as much Bambi as you wish. No one I have ever met eats it, and I live in deer hunting Disneyland. This is a joke, right? Venison isn’t available in grocery stores because it’s legal to hunt it but not legal to sell it. (You can sell the farmed stuff, but there isn’t a market for farmed deer because people can just go and hunt one). I know a _lot_ of people who hunt and eat deer, most people I know who have eaten both prefer it to beef, and I know substantially more who would eat it if it were available for sale. (I am not a trained hunter and don’t own a gun, so I obviously can’t procure it, but I would if I could). I don’t eat beef for cultural reasons and generally prefer not to eat factory farmed animals, but I strongly support deer hunting (both as a source of meat and for population control purposes). ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/114 "2015-08-02T18:51:32Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Also I am afraid of polar bears. I don’t hunt boar for the same reason. I’d go after polar bear with an AC-130 … I’m not _always_ against trophy hunting, if someone wants a long string of puma tails around here, they could find plenty of “nuisance” animals to take. But that drifts into the management role hunting serves, so it’s more like trophy hunting within a management framework. I don’t think I’d eat a puma. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/115 "2015-08-02T19:53:58Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Besides eating your garden or shrubs how do deer harm people/property? They poop EVERYWHERE, and the noise used to scare the crap out of my dog late at night. They also ruined my grandfather’s garden back in the day. Oh, and they piss all over the place during mating season and it stinks. (Much like when you have cats spraying) Ever heard of Lyme disease? You get it from – that’s right – deer ticks. My grandfather had it. It’s not like getting bitten by your garden variety mosquito – Lyme disease can do some pretty serious damage. Deer have also been known to carry rabies. (Not as frequently as raccoons or bats, but it can happen) As you can probably tell, I’m not a big fan of deer. They’re not pretty, happy creatures – they’re disease carrying nuisances. Pennsylvania is over run by the damned things. It’s gotten so bad they’re considering having deer culls. (The meat would then be donated to food banks.) I have a lot of hunters in my family, and they can tell you that shooting a deer is usually (if the hunter is skilled), a fairly quick, painless death, compared to animals raised in factory farming. Also, if you don’t keep the deer population down, the ones that do survive will die of starvation – that’s probably far, far worse than a quick death by gunshot. > [@russian\_heel](#): > > I have no problem with deer hunting, but I snicker when hunters brag that they donate deer meat to homeless shelters. Gee, how big of you to donate shitty meat no one else wants so the poor can have some scraps to feed on. Every Republican of you. Venison is “shitty meat”? Hell, my uncle used to make deer jerky and it was pretty good. (I haven’t had venison steak or roast since I was a kid, though) ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/116 "2015-08-02T19:58:05Z")
Armadillos must [**make for good eatin’**](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/31/us-usa-texas-armadillo-idUSKCN0Q52KR20150731). Up there with grits and hog jowls. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/117 "2015-08-02T22:28:25Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Venison is “shitty meat”? Hell, my uncle used to make deer jerky and it was pretty good. (I haven’t had venison steak or roast since I was a kid, though) Cows are bred and raised to deliver a product of consistent quality to your grocery shelves; shooting a deer out in the wild, well not so consistent. I’m sure the experienced hunter can tell a good tasting deer on the hoof, but I think it’s still a gamble. One really doesn’t know until the deer is dead, dressed and cooked whether it tastes good or not. Maybe you just got served some not-so-good venison. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/118 "2015-08-03T00:46:32Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Venison isn’t available in grocery stores because it’s legal to hunt it but not legal to sell it. (You can sell the farmed stuff, but there isn’t a market for farmed deer because people can just go and hunt one). Huh. That explains a lot. Of course, in the UK deer hunting isn’t a thing so there’s more of a market for farmed deer. That said, you can buy pheasant and other game from some butchers ( **not** the supermarket) that comes with a warning that it may contain buckshot. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/119 "2015-08-03T01:13:21Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Cows are bred and raised to deliver a product of consistent quality to your grocery shelves; shooting a deer out in the wild, well not so consistent. I’m sure the experienced hunter can tell a good tasting deer on the hoof, but I think it’s still a gamble. One really doesn’t know until the deer is dead, dressed and cooked whether it tastes good or not. Maybe you just got served some not-so-good venison. Did you mean to quote somebody else? Because I said that the deer jerky I had WAS good. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611/120 "2015-08-03T01:23:50Z")
Pronoun procurement issues… “Maybe one just gets served some not-so-good venison.” Oh, I’ve had good venison before … [wolfish grin] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-hunter-says-i-eat-what-i-kill/726611.md?page=7)