First off I am a hunter. I have lived on a farm my whole life and that is just a way of life here for the most part.
Honestly, I wish we didn't have as many farms as we do and that more people would resort to hunting wild animals such as boar, deer, birds, and even animals like crocs. These animals have actually lived freely and have had better lives than those in most farms. But I also understand that we consume way more meat than would ever be found in the wild. So I guess I just wish people weren't so opposed to hunting (humane hunting, quick kills, not beating and shit) as long as there were strict laws about what could be killed. Nothing that is even close to being endangered, for instance. Or below a certain age and possibly not during times where mating is occurring, just to ensure we don't wipe everything out.
You cant say that animals that grow up on farms have not had good lives. Granted, they may not be AS free as if they were in the wild...but they wouldn't survive in the wild probably anyways. Have you ever heard of someone letting a domesticated animal and letting it go into the wild?? Sometimes it lives but...
Also, there is a BIG difference between a farm and a slaughterhouse. From the sounds of it you are definately more referring to slaughterhouses. Which, 99% of the meat that you buy in the store...is from slaughterhouses probably. Hence, farms = good meat/animals....slaughterhouse= baddd.
bah..hunting is ...idiotic? I don't know..At one point it was fine since it was for consumption..in an animal world its predator vs prey. Now its trophy crap..Too much hunting goes on and when stuff like this happens it just makes me wonder why to hunt?
Hunting is anything from idiotic. It still is for consumption. Some animals are hunted for trophies, but most are just hunted. Okay, I will admit, there are quite a few 'trophy' animals out there. Deer, Bears, Turkey to name a few. BUT what about Pheasant, Dove, Quail, Rabbit?? There are just as many animals out there that are not trophy animals as there are trophy animals. Besides, if you are a real hunter...and not just some big game person...even if you get the 'Big Buck' you are still going to eat every part of it like you would a smaller animal.
That being said, we actually go for smaller dear(1-2 years old), as they tend to taste much better
.
As for hunters being part of the culling...I doubt they know which weak and sick animals to go afer...Usually the Predator can keep a population in check..but usually all these hunting areas have been so screwed up the whole ecosystem is in shambles....
Deer, you don't need to know 'which ones to go after' to cull them really. They ARE a pest if they get thick. They ARE a nusiance. I live in an area that is sometimes VERY populated with deer, and the county's actually give out 6 tags at a time during off season times to go kill Doe's. If the county's are doing that then you know there is a large number of the animals. There are hundreds of wrecks in my area each year caused by deer.
Example: My mom hit 10 deer in 6 months *shakes head* , the retarded thing is that my mom literally drives 30-45 mph EVERYWHERE SHE GOES. on a 65 mph road, she'll go 45, haha.
If you live in an area that doesn't have much wildlife, I can see you having these view about the ecosystem being in shambles...come here, you'll see that where most people hunt, it is not.
I figure that either one--hunting or farming, serves a different purpose:
Hunting is usually practiced nowadays for mainly sporting/entertainment, not for food. The latter's more or less an incentive, since if you're thinking of game meat as something that's being hunted for I'd doubt it -- it's probably farmed.
Hunting is for sporting/entertainment, but it is definitely for food. I wouldn't hunt if there was no sport in it. I know I know, gun boom..what sport. First off, you hit a bird that gets up in front of your feet and shoot it down before it flies off. >.<. Secondly, ever shot a bow, tell me that isn't sport.
As you can tell though, I am in favor of hunting. I have never in my life had to go to the supermarket to buy a pound of beef (that's right never). All year round we either have deer meat, or when we run out of that, beef from one of our cattle.
On a side note I am NOT someone who cares about how large an animal is that I shoot. Period.
Edited by Fayt, 24 August 2010 - 09:49 AM.