Sport Hunting

[Pestix]

Sport Hunting

Even though it can be completely legal.. I am against it.

Why? Because the idea of killing something when you don't have to disgusts me.

Thoughts?

This is brought up by the recent stuff going viral Melissa Bachman going to Africa to hunt a lion. And by hunt, she took a guided tour to "stalk" this lion.. which is in a van. Hunting a lion isn�t very hard. To kill a lion you have to be a coward. Lions sleep on average 15 - 20 hours a day. Male lions don't even hunt (thanks ladies!). And lions are at the top of their food chain therefore they don't really worry about anything (hence them being okay being around trucks). The do not have a flight response. This woman literally pointed a gun and shot. Absolutely disgusting.

I cannot be against hunting animals if there is a legitimate need for food, and if there are plenty of them. However, this "sport" for the sheer fun of taking down an exotic animal reeks of human stink. I don't want to be classified in with humans when they do such things.

Why not just kill a dozen or so house cats? Same thing, both in terms of effort and moral correctness. Plus, instead of one big rug, you can make slippers!

[Mod]

I agree with OP and was to echo her reasoning.



Killing other intelligent life for pleasure is cruel and unnecessary. We already farm enough livestock for such purposes in first world countries. Back in the day, it was required to survive, but now it's just sadistic, yet its acceptable as long as you pay for a "license to kill" (007, pew pew). The governments just want a cash grab on anything they can.

If a species existed that were more intelligent than us on Earth, I sure wouldn't want them to chase me down and shoot me up for fun.

Just as species evolve over generations, so should society and culture. Sport hunting is no longer a rite of passage. If people really have a 'bloodlust' to satisfy, they should join their militaries as soldiers and pick up their guns to fight against their enemies (humans themselves). Not pussing out by using modern, advanced-tech equipment and guns to chase lesser animals just wanting to live another day. Don't kill unless you're willing to die, if hunters want a true "rite of passage", then do it on equal terms.

[Pestix]

I agree with OP and was to echo her reasoning.



Killing other intelligent life for pleasure is cruel and unnecessary. We already farm enough livestock for such purposes in first world countries. Back in the day, it was required to survive, but now it's just sadistic, yet its acceptable as long as you pay for a "license to kill" (007, pew pew). The governments just want a cash grab on anything they can.

If a species existed that were more intelligent than us on Earth, I sure wouldn't want them to chase me down and shoot me up for fun.

Just as species evolve over generations, so should society and culture. Sport hunting is no longer a rite of passage. If people really have a 'bloodlust' to satisfy, they should join their militaries as soldiers and pick up their guns to fight against their enemies (humans themselves). Not pussing out by using modern, advanced-tech equipment and guns to chase lesser animals just wanting to live another day. Don't kill unless you're willing to die, if hunters want a true "rite of passage", then do it on equal terms.

I think you would enjoy this entry :

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[Miri]

Lol yesterday I was at bass pro with my little brother looking at all the bows and the gnarly arrow tips talking about how we're going to go hunt when he's 16 in 4 years.

I don't see an issue with hunting, I've never even hunted before unless you count catching lizards that came into the house as hunting. I see that hunting has it's benefits, like for deer populations, boar is especially bad and invasive, and things like pythons here in FL. Even recently they auctioned off the tag to kill a rhino, but the rhino in question was one that was old af and preventing younger males access to females. So the preserve gets $$ and they cull a specimen that was hampering breeding. I guess it depends on the context of the hunt.

[Skarl]

I won't date a hunter. My exhusband was lucky that he had never hunted when it came time for me to consider marrying him.

Like Miri, I was quite the indoor lizard catcher... but I always released 'em living. :P Though I will not hesitate -- unless from fear -- to kill a roach or some other creepy/crawly that's worked it's way into my house.

This ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) went viral. Have you seen it?
One of the commenters wrote, "deer and duck don't mourn their dead. Elephants are smart, sensitive animals - like humans only smart and sensitive."
I don't know if deer/duck mourn or not, but I do remember being taught in school that elephants won't abandon their sick/eldery.

When I think about all of the meat on shelves that spoils, much like the vegetables that turn rotten, it seems evident to me that there is plenty available for us to eat without unnecessary slaughter. We're supposed to be civilized. What has made us into zealous abattoirs? :(

[baileaf]

Skarl, I saw that picture last weekend and it made me so sick. I don't see how anyone can take enjoyment from killing an elephant or an animal that is so much like a human. My dad went to Thailand a few months ago and one day he got to spend a whole day with a few elephants. They were super playful, intelligent and gentle. There was even a baby that was a bit of a troublemaker and completely adorable and super smart. I'm sure this elephant was no exception. Hell, he was EATING when they killed him. Completely defenseless. And they're smiling in the photo like it was an accomplishment. Disgusting. I hope karma comes back to bite them in the asses. I hope their friends and family recognize them in that photo and give them so much shit about it. They are animals themselves.

[Miri]

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More perspective on the picture.
Why are people especially mad about the elephant eating, deer are hunted while they're eating too. My favorite levels in hunting unlimited 20xx were the elephant levels. A lot of times I died
What made us into zealous abattoirs? We've always hunted as long as we existed, nothing suddenly made people interested in it.

[Skarl]

We've always hunted as long as we existed, nothing suddenly made people interested in it.

I agree that we've hunted since the beginning of our time. As a vegetarian, I even (surprisingly) agree that people need to eat meat to be healthy. What isn't necessary, to me, is hunting for sport. As I mentioned before, our shelves are filled with hundreds of pounds of meat that spoils each month. Unlike vegetables, this spoilage represents lives that were taken away that could've been -- at least -- prolonged until a more opportune time for their death for consumption.

If our grocery stores and other meat markets already have a plethora of goods available, I don't think there's a necessity for hunt. For that reason, the hunt has become sport... and if I were to spend my time tracking another creature to kill, I'd much rather it be a human. I realize that with deer and other critters a population reduction is often justified (and don't know the statistical data to disagree with that reasoning), but I think that those that then hunt the deer should be like Honey Boo-Boo's family and consume every piece of their kill.

Seeing images like this on the internet frustrates me:
9851
Meat is necessary for health, but hunting -- as indicated by the topic title -- is now a sport.

If the human race is so evolved as to prolong it's life through medical science and live in a shelter with controllable air temperatures throughout the year at will, surely other aspects of society should progress, too.

[Poem]

Following the elephant picture, I found a whole gallery full of them:
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Look at these poor animals, those lions sprawled on mounds of sand :( Poor, poor things.

[Blazingchampion]

I actually favor hunting over slaughter houses.

In some states, its necessary due to a lack of predators and an over abundance of food. Humans are predators, and as long as we make it fair and balanced then I see no problem with it. Animals deserve our respect, and don't deserve to be tortured or breed specifically to be eaten.

I would much rather hunted meat or vitro meat (meat produced in a lab) than that of a cow/chicken that has lived a terrible cramped life in a warehouse.

[Skarl]

Animals deserve our respect, and don't deserve to be tortured or breed specifically to be eaten.

So long as all edible parts of the hunted critter are consumed, I'm not opposed to hunting. It's when it becomes a sport to have taxidermied heads on a wall that bothers me.

[Mod]

hunted critter

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[bsbgales]

I think is cruel :(

[vampyd1977]

if you wanna hunt for sport, make it sporting. i reckon hand to paw is fair, the animal might weigh 400lbs and have razor sharp claws and teeth but its all good fun. lets see how many want a trophy rug/head then.

[Katie]

I understand hunting for the necessity of culling an out of control population or if you're going to eat the animal after you kill it.

But like the title says, this is about hunting for SPORT. If it's literally just for the size of the prize, I don't see why people can't be satisfied with hunting with tranquilizers or something along those lines. Why is it not good enough to hunt, shoot with something that sedates rather than kills, run in & take your picture, and leave it at that?

[Shinji]

It's my personal belief that we shouldn't just kill animals for sport. I mean if someone is going to kill an animal and eat/use most parts of it, I'm totally fine with that, but when you have people like this bitch ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) I just think it's more of a pathetic exertion of force for no reason other than for "fun."

However if a human applied the same behavior to people they would be considered a threat to society, but when it's an animal people care less because it doesn't directly affect them. I mean there are dolphins who kill other dolphins for fun, but I think that's different than someone shooting things for the "fun" of it.

[Misha]

Having worked for a pig farm, I would say I condone the idea of hunting for meat. The barn I worked in had 2400 females and 5 males. The whole operation was breeding females, putting them into a small crate when they are ready to give birth, sorting the male and female babies out by gender, and sending those piglets off to be raised for slaughter. Not much of a life if you ask me. On top of that, if we had a male that was too aggressive for us to put on a collar to walk around the barn, or a female who looked like shit or couldn't produce more than 8 piglets per pregnancy, we took a "bolt-gun" that was essentially a .22 pistol that took a blank round and shot a 10 inch bolt into the brain of the pig.


I'd much rather hunt a deer and eat some venison than watch a large company raise 15,000 piglets every 3 months to produce pork for Tyson/Hormel/Wal-Mart.


Oh, and when there were piglets that weren't "good enough" to send out the door (i.e. they had a bad leg or a ruptured intestine or were just plain "too small") we would have to essentially smash their head onto the concrete flooring to "put them out of their misery".


Shit was cray cray.

[Lyric]

Sport Hunting - Absolutely don't agree with it. I get it's the adrenaline of the hunt, the excitement of possibly dying because the animal can attack you instead, but it's still not okay to take a life for fun. Now, I know it's absolutely illegal to hurt or kill a human, and that animals are not on the same level as humans, but what if tables were turned and humans were hunted for sport? Not cool at all.

I know this isn't technically hunting for sport, but if you hunt to feed your family because you have no other means to feed your family, I'm okay with this. Take care of your family. Just don't purposefully pick up a gun, head into the woods and start searching for the biggest buck to show off. That doesn't make you the best hunter because you shot the biggest buck.

I'm in the deep country and pretty much every male in my family is handed a gun at a young age, taken into the woods and taught how to hunt and field dress. I might not agree with it but they don't (most of them) do it for sport, and they actually care about the animals they are hunting.

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[Banannie]

I don't like sport hunting when it happens to animals that are going extinct and need protection, and unfortunately a lot of animals die very painful deaths when they are shot and escape from inexperienced hunters. But I grew up as a small child in Arizona, and had family in Idaho, and there was always a snake skeleton or deer antlers hanging somewhere. My uncle used to collect pelts. He had a skunk, a vew raccoons, some deer hides, and I have to admit that I really love looking at taxidermy and trophies and whatnot. They're pretty fascinating!

I actually have been starting a skull collection from skullsunlimited.com and I find taxidermy and all of that to be very artistic and beautiful. I'm hoping to get an articulated cat and dog skeleton in May so that I have a poseable base to look at from life, to draw from.

Hunting for sport makes me sad, and there are problems with it, but there are problems with the animal trade in every form. Most of the animals that we eat come from horrible conditions, and have much worse lives than the wild deer a hunter shot. I have had to kill a few of my chickens in the past, and I ate one recently so that I could understand what it's like to 'get closer to my food'. I had a lot more respect for the life of the creature I had raised, and mourned a little at the loss of life, but it needed to be done. People have no problems buying meat from a grocery store, not really paying attention to how those animals are treated. But raising my food, killing and preparing it, gave me more of an appreciation for the birds in my care and it was also helpful in understanding the 'soul' behind my food.
If that makes sense...

It isn't just sport hunting that causes problems, everything to do with the way we treat and manage the animals on our planet is wrong. I work at the Humane Society, I take care of the cats there, help people find the pet they'd like to adopt, ect, and I've worked with and bonded to sooo many pets that are absolutely perfect but we just don't have the room for. And they are put down after being in a cage, confused and scared, and that's how they end their lives...

If you ever want to look into the lives of the people working at meat processing plants, or tanneries, or things like that, it isn't any better. A lot of the people are treated like animals in their own right.

Sport hunting can be a terrible thing, but it is one small piece of pie in a much larger and more problematic society.

I'm hoping someday that I can live off of some land, chickens, rabbits, ducks for meat. They would be treated well and have wonderful lives.
But I also might go deer hunting one day and keep the head as a trophy, use the rest for jerky, the bones for mixed media art projects. And if a coyote is prowling my land trying to eat up my cats and birds, I will def. trap it (if possible, they're really smart...) and have it removed, they don't relocate, I don't think. They put down wildlife like that if it gets too close to people's property.

Dunno, my opinions are kind of split down the middle... the trophy animals going exinct aren't even as important as the little creatures with a lot of environmental impact disappearing. But they aren't cute or relatable, so they don't get as much press.
Even when it comes to saving creatures, people are still enamoured with the pretties...
All the same shyit.

[Hawknyr]

The exotic sport hunting the OP is eluding too isn't really all that dangerous. It isn't even much of a challenge. They usually have a professional tracker help them track it, and they snipe the animal from a fair distance away without it ever knowing it was in danger. It then proceeds to run away and slowly bleed to death. You may as well be in your back woods trekking around then shooting at a target then drown some kittens in a nearby river. The most dangerous part of the affair is the camping bit as a wild animal could wander up to them or they could get bit by an insect...

Hunting by itself is useful and is needed to curb animal populations before they become pests. As many have stated of the abysmal conditions farmed meat supply live in, hunting is the far more "humane" and natural way. I'm hunter myself but I have a disdain for most others who hunt. I'm usually have my haul the first day on my uncles farm but others always look for the best prize, the most points on the buck etc. That's not what they are about, its more of a sport or a game to them. We were made to eat meat, we have the teeth for it and its good for us, but we shouldn't have the need to relish over the death. I know i certainly wouldn't want to be hunted and killed for fun. (Nothing against vegetarians, but you know you have to take extra steps to make sure you keep a healthy diet).

Hunting is fine, but sport hunting is bad. I would casually remind you all though that lions are technically considered a very dangerous pest though. While alpha male lions do not leave their area to hunt, other males without a "pride" or pack roam large distances in search of other males to challenge and food to hunt. They can wind up in villages and kill people. Therefore an occasional sport hunting is needed, but again not something that should be relished.

[scogland]

I was against it until I realized there's no difference between hunting and going out to buy hamburger meat, AS LONG AS you are using the animal you killed and not just killing for sport (THAT I am against)

[Cheetah]

I am completely against it, unless the animal in question is threatening your home (and safety) or something.

[DarthD]

Some sport hunting can be advantageous to a species. See here ([Only registered and activated users can see links])