Last night I found myself standing over a dead 8 point whitetail. He had just been pulled out of a ravine, he was wet, and I proceeded to dress the deer before bringing it home. This buck was hit by my brother’s car just a few hours earlier. I didn’t have anything to do with the death of this deer. This buck died for reasons beyond my control. However, I have been in this situation before. Standing over a fallen deer with an arrow in it’s side from the bow in my hand. Thoughts racing through my head about how moments before, this deer was innocently wandering through the peaceful countryside only to have it’s life ended in one brief uncontrollable moment. I’m holding back the emotions, sadness, and remorse I feel so that I can get on with the task at hand and take care of the remains of this whitetail.
It is difficult to process these conflicting emotions. What is a person like myself, who claims to care about the environment, social issues, and the value of life supposed to think about hunting? On one hand, it doesn’t seem right to kill for sport, just for the sake of killing. But on the other-hand, in general, archery hunters seem to care more, and are personally attached to nature and the environment then their non-hunter counterparts. And what about that whole ‘overpopulation’ argument for hunting?
Working through this subject is far more difficult for me than one would think (from either side of the issue). It’s easy to be for or against hunting given only a little information. I have found most people, including myself to be in this category, an ignorance of sorts. In addition, I don’t think there really is a hard and fast right answer. There are extremes that are easily classified as wrong. And there are basic morals which most people will agree are right. But how these all work together can get pretty complicated (at least to me).
A few assumptions I have during this post are as follows… You will most likely not agree with me completely. I realize and am OK with this. I think it would be too difficult to write something like this if I were fixed on being ‘right’, and assume that what I have found is the ultimate truth. I would be cautious, and highly skeptical of anyone proclaiming this to be true about them-self. Another assumption is that you believe God values all life and creation, and has entrusted us to be the caretakers of this planet. Valuing our environment just as our maker does.
As I have mentioned, there are many areas of discussion surrounding this topic, and I’ll attempt to discuss the ones below, all the while getting into smaller areas of discussion along the way.
What is meant by the humane treatment of animals?
Many people don’t know the orgin of the beef or other meat that we consume. And as americans we eat far more meat that what is really necessary from a dietary standpoint. Beef, and other meats just happen to be the cheapest, most readily available food we have at our disposal. While there are certainly exceptions, a majority of the cattle in this country live in what I would call inhumane conditions. Because cows are so domesticated its difficult to imagine what the perfect living situation is for a cow. But so called ‘factory farming’ is hardly ideal. Massive farms farming massive amounts of animals with little or no care for the individual animals themselves. Between 10 and 20 percent of animals raised for consumption don’t make it to the slaughterhouse. But rather die from illness, injury, or stress. Most animals forces to live in crates barely larger than their own body. In addition, hormones are used to maxmize the benefit of each cow, but do more harm that good to the overall health of the cow. Not to mention the effects of these hormones and drugs on the human consumer.
So how does this relate to hunting? Lets assume for a minute that the vegetarian debate is off the table, and assumption is made that for this given person, meat is part of his or her diet. The origins of what we consume is not common knowledge. Society has been sanitized to a certain degree not requiring someone who purchases leather, or any other animal product or bi-product to actually know how it arrived on the market. So is it then better for a man to respect, and feel the remorse of what life they are taking if they choose to consume meat. I would argue, at least in my mind that hunting exposes man to know what is being sacrificed. This then giving he or she the right to decide for themself whether they want to continue eating meat.
Need for violence, or respect for nature?
I’ve argued before how our culture in particular has suffered from the glorification of violence. So how does this effect the hunting population? Certainly there are many hunters who find pride in the taking of an animals life. Along with the glorification of violence is the desire for a gun. And what better way to rationalize owning a gun than taking up the sport of hunting. Let’s face it. Weapon are glamorous. They imply power, control, and authority, and these are quite appealing to the average man. With that said, many hunters undoubtably fall into this category, but there are exceptions. While I won’t condemn someone for rifle hunting, I have personally chosen to only hunt with bow for some of the reasons explained above. Not that archery is free of all the negatives that associated with a firearm. But it is difficult to be around people who are in love with guns. It kind of freaks me out, the way they hold, and praise this piece of steel. ‘The great equalizer’ gives men this kind of authoritative personality, and I find this a little annoying.
Wildlife Management
Still to write about…
And the issue of gun control.