Killing As Recreation?

not really sure why its called recreation, would the opposite activitiy of letting wildlife die by starvation (thinking of deer and elk here in the west) be considered non-recreation?

Where's the rest of this moose? (Dudley Moore)

You must have hated this moose (Dudley Moore)

edgar: all this time i thought moose was a character in the old Archie comix, little did i know Mr Moore read comix.

IMO, the love of hunting and fishing is predominantly a male activity. The pleasure that a man gets from this activity most likely harkens back to primitive eras when men needed to hunt to provide food for his family. Therefore, it is probably a behavior that is genetically programmed into the male of the species.

In a related activity, I have heard of many house cats, luxuriously fed by its human masters, proudly dropping a mouse at the feet of its provider. Although the hunting serves the cat no practical purpose, apparently it is a behavior that is in the genes.

As for killing wildlife, IMO, if controlled DOES serve a useful purpose, in the culling of herds, as mentioned in another post. Personally, I have no problem with hunting, if the animal is used for food. I do object though to the practice of stuffing the animal (when the meat is not eaten). This practice, to me is just another example of a male "trophy".

First, let me say out-front that in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with killing animals for food. We all eat -- and animals or plants are killed in order for us to do that. And the people who go out in the woods to kill deer, for instance, have every right to do so.

I object, however, to use of the word "hunting" for much of that kind of present day activity.

He term hunter is a noble honorific. It signifies the people who went out and risked life and limb in order to supply the family or tribe with food.

There were and are real hunters -- Eskimos who went out in kayaks to hunt whales; African pygmy warriors who hunted elephants with spears; early Native Americans who faced herds of buffalo with bow and arrow.

They truly deserved the title "hunters."

However, a person who hides in a patch of woods with a shotgun waiting for a deer to walk by so he can ambush it is unworthy of that honorific. And watching these guys drive through town with a dead deer tied to the fender of their pick-up -- puffing out their chests in he-man pride, is a joke.

Now, if a guy wants to hunt down a grizzly bear with a Bowie knife -- now him, I would call a hunter.

But don't hold your breath.

dys
You must never have seen the movie ARTHUR starring Dudley Moore. He was refering to a moose head on someone's wall.

I like to hunt partridge. Since I don't have a hunting dog, this can be a really strenous activity. Plus, shooting at a 50MPH target through dense underbrush after the thing just scared the poop out of you is a bit of a challenge.

The one thing about the notion of culling the herds that gets me (and don't get me wrong, I grew up around huge deer populations, though they tend to be largest and most subject to overpopulation in areas where it is illegal to hunt -- in outlying suburbs and planned communities where lawns present them with a vast smorgasbord) is that it occurs exactly as it does not occur in nature. The prize of the human hunter is the full-grown, healthy stag, whereas natural predators cull the very old, very young, and very weak, being in the game for survival rather than sport.

Phoenix:

check out the section on the Outdoors Woman. The women learn to fish and to shoot birds, etc with a gun. Why would anyone want to kill rabbits, deer or birds?

Somehow the killing of small birds is like the men who beat up their wives and girlfriends on Sundays. To them it's fun.

New Haven - bite me.

There are a great many people who do hunt for food still today. There are also a large number of families who rely on this as a source of food weather it be chickens, rabbit, pheasant, deer or bear. If you do not grow up with it and are only subject to food being placed on your table through some other means only, I can see where this could be a bit upsetting. However, in my opinion, those that are not aware of what it takes to butcher an animal, nevermind not taking into consideration so many other factors, really might want to find out about large scale food production and those animals first.
By the way, I believe chickens are considered small birds to most. And I dont think theres much in the way of hunting a chicken. And I certainly dont think a gun is needed.
FYI I dont condone trophy hunting myself but, I am aware of the multitudes that do not consider hunting as simply a recreation. Also, my opinion on methods of hunting today as compared to years gone by well, okay, I guess when you say the guy who is Mr. I wanna hunt something this weekend and goes out to some hunt farm where the animals have been tracked or baited and he can take his brandy newy gun and equipment and be hand held out to a blind where he just needs to sit and wait for an animal and hopefully hit the thing while it walks by..well, thats just plain silly. It happens though. And that is more recreational hunting for those participating are simply having fun, you know? And as Ive said that I dont condone it, I certainly would call those who have tracked, baited and researched the habitat hunters of a sort, and they are the ones who are using the animal properly in most cases.

quinn:

Chickens are not in the same league with robins.

By the way, where is all this food gathering going on? Do many residents of NYCity go out on the town to hunt deer, bear, birds, etc for their supper?

NH:

NYC and city dwellers are not the only people who eat

Most Robin 'hunters' I would fathom to guess are young boys with pellet guns

Hunting
In my opinion, the only people who hunt for food should be inuit tribes who still depend upon wildlife for survival.

Recreational killing, or sport killing does nothing to keep herds from overpoulation. Nature takes care of regulating herds of wildlife. So hunters can call if for what it is instead of "culling".

That's BS Stradee. Every state in the nation is involved in some sort of resource management. Because of this deer populations across the county have spiked, and states are handing out deer hunting permits faster than you can say vegetarian. Which, by the way, is an old Indian word meaning "lousy hunter".

Hunting
Not B.S. at all. Man encrouches on nature.

How bout "culling" humans? I believe nature calls that disease and pestilence.

Vegatarianism is a choice. Most of us who own guns shoot better than the average kill-anything-that-moves "hunter".

Wolves, bear, coyotes, linx, - predators who maintain a healthy eco system, have been systematically forced out of their enviornment by man.

With more enlightenment, the so called "right of passage" can be achieved by not killing wildlife or .......... arm bears.

And in the mean-time several million of those so-called "enlightened" homeowners will cry and scream as their shrubs are eaten from their lawns or they run their cars into those animals. I'm pretty sure they'll shut up when the bears and coyotes show up and start mauling their kids though...

Reality is a bitch...