malkiserow Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 I heard a nice quote once; "I do not hunt in order to kill, I kill to have hunted" I think it captures the nature of hunting as opposed to killing. Taking the shot and ending an animal's life is such a tiny part of hunting that you know we do it for reasons other than killing. Good one. I was going to give a trite answer like ..... Because it is more sporting than shooting dead ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 It's only a personal opinion, but I don't believe anyone has a right to eat meat unless they are prepared to kill or conscously acknowledge that some one else has killed for them. Some (like my urban in-laws ) find that pretty unconfortable but they do follow the logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Great thread and some good answers, just goes to show that PW can be an intelligent community at times As I've often said before, you might never convert an anti (or auntie for that matter) but a converted neutral is a potential anti neutralised. It doesn't take much to get people to stop and think about taking some responsibility for their meat. My personal answer would echo many of the replies here. Necessity/control, food, sport. All three. That's the thing isn't it? I don't mind not converting an anti - we're all different and I'm happy with that, but it's always the antis and the pros that won't enter into the debate that shout the loudest. This is one of those threads where it'd be great for an anti to read. A lot of us aren't gun totin' red neck wannabes wanting to shoot everything that moves, and prefer to injure things than kill them, so we can have a few more shots at it. Sadly though it's the ones who think we are and write to the Daily Mail about it that get all the press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I don't shoot to 'prove my ability to provide', nor do I shoot for food or to protect the farmers crops. These are all simply by-products of why I shoot. I enjoy it, plain and simple. I don't feel the need to justify what I do to anyone but myself, and certainly not the morons on ScumWatch and their like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Not true, closest ape relative as currently understood is the Bonobo chimp (DNA wise) I'm not sure. Bonobos have sex habitually, with any individual, of either sex including family members. Orangs are solitary beasts who liked to be left alone. In some parts of the country people have clearly retained most of their Bonobo DNA, while some of us are more in touch with our orang side. Gorillas spend most of their time flat on their backs scratching and breaking wind. There are clear traces of this genetic heritage in the human population as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I'm not sure. Bonobos have sex habitually, with any individual, of either sex including family members. Orangs are solitary beasts who liked to be left alone. In some parts of the country people have clearly retained most of their Bonobo DNA, while some of us are more in touch with our orang side. Gorillas spend most of their time flat on their backs scratching and breaking wind. There are clear traces of this genetic heritage in the human population as well. Good theory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter.123 Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Ok, iv thought about this quite deeply and I have been asked by my wife the exact same question (why do I shoot animals) well the human race has hunted for thousands of years for food and it's only when the gun and fishing rod came along that people moaned about what we do. My shooting is crop protection or protection of other animals I.e crows,magpie egg eaters! Pigeon rabbit crop protection. Fox is protection of game (pheasant,partridge) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 It's only a personal opinion, but I don't believe anyone has a right to eat meat unless they are prepared to kill or conscously acknowledge that some one else has killed for them. Exactly what I was trying to say, but put much more concisely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordnance Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) People should be honest most shoot living creatures because they enjoy killing them. They don't have to shoot to eat or unless they are a farmer to protect their livestock. People used to have to kill to eat now in this country they don't if they continue to kill for enjoyment that's up to them. Edited November 30, 2013 by ordnance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsdad Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 People should be honest most shoot living creatures because they enjoy killing them. They don't have to shoot to eat or unless they are a farmer to protect their livestock. People used to have to kill to eat now in this country they don't if they continue to kill for enjoyment that's up to them. Utter rubbish, you may enjoy the killing part but that is not why a lot do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 People should be honest most shoot living creatures because they enjoy killing them. They don't have to shoot to eat or unless they are a farmer to protect their livestock. People used to have to kill to eat now in this country they don't if they continue to kill for enjoyment that's up to them. Contradictory statements. No, I don't have to shoot to eat but on our limited budget it has put food on the table when I would have struggled but I could have snared or trapped it. People did have to kill for themselves but now they can pay a supermarket or butcher to have the animals killed for them. Either way an animal is killed. I prefer to do it for myself. I enjoy the satisfaction of a successful hunt, knowing it is food on my table but, as I have said, I'm grateful for the food and always say thanks for it. I doubt many people picking a chicken off the supermarket shelf think to say thanks for it's life or even give any conscious thought to the fact that it has been hung on a conveyor belt and killed automatically. I doubt they give any thought about what happens to the chickens left on the shelf unsold either. I prefer to think that my method is far more ethical in terms of animal welfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Because it would be cruel to cook them alive. And shooting dead ones is boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flynny Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Coz we enjoy it and they taste great with spuds and gravy, Atb Flynny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokie Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Evolution wanted us to eat animals that's why they are made out of food I shoot for the pot or to protect the food that's going into my pot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 People should be honest most shoot living creatures because they enjoy killing them. They don't have to shoot to eat or unless they are a farmer to protect their livestock. People used to have to kill to eat now in this country they don't if they continue to kill for enjoyment that's up to them.So to you killing is the enjoyable part and hunting is a chore you have to do to get the kill? Why not just get a job in an abattoir, then you get paid to kill all day long? To me hunting is the enjoyable bit and the kill is just the culmination of a successful hunt, and as a extra bonus I get to eat good, honest food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 If you answer the question 'why do you like killing animals?' with 'because I like it', you aren't answering but reiterating the question. I'm sure you don't mean it like this, but from the post it seems as if you are saying you like killing animals, it is their death that you enjoy. That would make you a bit odd, which I'm sure you are not. I don't shoot to 'prove my ability to provide', nor do I shoot for food or to protect the farmers crops. These are all simply by-products of why I shoot. I enjoy it, plain and simple. I don't feel the need to justify what I do to anyone but myself, and certainly not the morons on ScumWatch and their like. People should be honest most shoot living creatures because they enjoy killing them. They don't have to shoot to eat or unless they are a farmer to protect their livestock. People used to have to kill to eat now in this country they don't if they continue to kill for enjoyment that's up to them. Looks like there are only 3 of us that are truly honest, the rest dress it up with aulturistic excuses or pretend they can't afford a chicken from Tesco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) So it is the death that you enjoy? You don't enjoy hunting or being out in the fresh air but you have to endure those things to get your kill high??? Why not just work for the RSPCA then you can kill all sorts of animals in the warm. Edited November 30, 2013 by FalconFN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I don't shoot to 'prove my ability to provide', nor do I shoot for food or to protect the farmers crops. These are all simply by-products of why I shoot. I enjoy it, plain and simple. I don't feel the need to justify what I do to anyone but myself, and certainly not the morons on ScumWatch and their like. Ditto, good post. Was once asked how I justified the taking of an animals life, and knowing she was just angling for an argument I simply told her that I didn't feel the need to justify it. I think she was expecting me to respond with some stuttering defence from which she could belittle me in front of everyone from what she perceived to be her higher moral platform, but all that happened was a bit of an awkward silence before she turned and walked away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 So it is the death that you enjoy? Do you never kill anything?...or does all your enjoyment come from missing? I'm genuinely confused by what you're saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I was born 200 yards from the Thames so was taken fishing by bigger brothers from around three years old. At seven someone gave me a very old airgun. Just used them - never gave it a thought as to why. Just born to be a hunter I guess. Still fish and shoot whenever I get the chance and while I'm still fit enough to do it and can afford it.. Driven game, stalking, lamping, fowling, vermin, pigeons, fresh water angling, beach fishing, sea boat fishing, trapping, snaring - need I go on. Tis in the blood. Can't stop now. (The Memsahib did the proper hunting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) The killing represents job done. Whether you're shooting for food, to control a pest or to satisfy an urge to hunt, you have to kill the quarry. The kill is mission accomplished. That is satisying. Satisfaction is pleasurable. To say that enjoyment thus derived is a love of killing for killings sake is simplistic. If I merely wished to get a buzz from causing the death of something I'd find an easier way to do it than walking miles across muddy fields in the middle of a winters night carrying a 10 lb rifle. Edited November 30, 2013 by Gimlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 So it is the death that you enjoy? You don't enjoy hunting or being out in the fresh air but you have to endure those things to get your kill high??? Why not just work for the RSPCA then you can kill all sorts of animals in the warm. Yes I do enjoy hunting, been out today and just put my horse in the stable with a nice warm feed. However if you're on about shooting, my enjoyment, satisfaction and thrill come from killing my quarry. Fresh air you can keep, I work in it every day so would quite happily shoot in stale air ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Yes I do enjoy hunting, been out today and just put my horse in the stable with a nice warm feed. However if you're on about shooting, my enjoyment, satisfaction and thrill come from killing my quarry. Fresh air you can keep, I work in it every day so would quite happily shoot in stale air ! I assume that when you hunted foxes you enjoyed the hunt, the riding, the social side etc and the kill was just a conclusion to a successful hunt, if there was no kill I'm sure you still enjoyed the day. What is it about shooting that is so different that you don't enjoy the hunt but only the kill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Do you never kill anything?...or does all your enjoyment come from missing? I'm genuinely confused by what you're saying. I'm not sure I can make it any clearer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I assume that when you hunted foxes you enjoyed the hunt, the riding, the social side etc and the kill was just a conclusion to a successful hunt, if there was no kill I'm sure you still enjoyed the day. What is it about shooting that is so different that you don't enjoy the hunt but only the kill? It was red deer actually. I don't consider sitting in a hide waiting for pigeons, standing on a peg waiting for pheasants or driving or walking round with a lamp looking for rabbits and foxes hunting. Those are just plain lift gun squeeze trigger kill quarry scenarios, therefore the only enjoyment must be the kill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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