I don’t hunt and have never felt any inclination to. So I’m skeptical about the existence of a “hunt-drive”. It seems more like an acquired taste.
But I support hunters, mainly because I’m an environmentalist and don’t want to alienate a possible member of the coalition. (Handgun and “assault rifle” regulation is a separate issue.) Plus I care a lot more about species than individual critters. (More info: I’ve never owned a mammal, so my sentimentality for non-primates fairly limited).
I have met hunters who claim that hunting isn’t about killing. Ok. I have also met hunters who say they enjoy, “Picking off squirrels”. So there appears to me to be a range of opinions in the hunting community.
So here’s my question for hunters: why not track wild things and take photos of them? You get to go camping, tracking, standing under a blind if you like that. You even get a trophy and an indicator of your skill.
I know, it’s not the same. But -seriously- why wouldn’t it be the same? Is it an issue of difficulty? Is it the post-killing ritual? Is it a culinary issue?
Hunting helps to thin the population. It is a neccesary part of the environment to nail a few deer. Otherwise, they starve from overpopulation. Hunters sometimes want to help the environ around them, and a way to do this that does not waste much is hunting.
I like eating squirrels. I think also I like occasionally acquiring my own meat rather than buying it from the supermarket. I don’t consider it to be some sort of act of cruelty, but I’ll accept the legitimacy of someone having that perspective if they also deplore eating meat purchased at the local Piggly Wiggly. (Folks who decry hunting as somehow cruel yet still shop the meat department for veal chops have no credibility).
Ok, I find that argument plausible for ecosystems which lack apex predators (e.g. the Northeastern US). But in a true wilderness, hunting may (partially) displace grizzlies, wolves, pumas and other creatures, depending of course on its extent.
In Arkansas the whitetailed deer population when it was not ‘managed’ was horribly diseased and starving. The game wardens or whatever they had in the 1920’s had to go out and kill them.
When they are hunted and limits observed (although I think they are able to kill more every year) they do very well.
If they aren’t hunted they become overcrowded, sick and starve.
As much as I deplore hunting, I find it is a necessary evil, the ecosystem aside, to do stuff I do enjoy, such as the preserves. Hunters pay fees for licenses and, I guess, they pay various amounts of other monies, which help support the nature preserves I go birding and walking in.
My info comes from my husband, who grew up in south Arkansas.
While hunting licenses aren’t too expensive, assuming the hunter bags a deer, the fees that (s)he must pay to the landowners of the leased land, which is often the only hunting land available, are outrageous. If the deer hunter doesn’t actually kill the deer, (s)he wastes hundreds of dollars.
And venison and wild boar meat are delicious, btw. Most hunters I know love deer meat.
If taking pictures was the goal, then there would be a whole skill to be learned on how to take the best picture. As someone pointed out already, we call guys who enjoy that photographers. You wouldn’t expect all photographers to shoot still photos in a studio all day would you?
There is a desire among (some) shooters (bow hunters) to put the skill of shooting into a practical application. So while eating and thining the herds are correct answers, there is also a part of shooters who want to see if THEY are really that good. Hunting is kinda like taking pictures out in the real world instead of the studio.
Carnivorous, I’m sure Welfy was probably talking about fat content and such. Plus, its the rare deer I see in GNC taking hormones and supplements like they give most feedlot cattle
Anyway, my dad hunts for the meat (venison - yum!) and to keep the deer population on his land controlled.
He is starting to get some of the larger predators on his land (wolf, bobcat, lots of bear [black - more omnivorous than carnivorous]) but the herd still needs management.
Not that I care one way or the other for hunting… I don’t eat game or venison so I would not go out to kill something just for the sport. (For the record: beef, chiken and bacon are high on my list of yummy foods).
Still, the argument that says hunting is necessary for population control is quite lame. Nature is pretty adept at controlling itself. Overpopulation of deer leads to lack of food, followed by famine, followed by death. The result is less animals to procreate and an end to overpopulation. Deer don’t need hunters to shoot them in order to maintain their population.
To make hunting more interesting I’d like to see the animals armed and shooting back. Now that would be a real sport. Care to speculate how many hunters would lose their taste for venison if that were to happen?
