Some people have asked why I must hunt with the objective of killing the quarry. Why, they wonder, can't I just walk in the woods with a camera and record my encounters with wildlife on film? The answer is simple my friend! To do so is not hunting. A photographer is an observer, a hunter is a participant in the life of outdoor drama. I firmly believe that those of us who chose to hunt are prederators. Let us make no excuses for that definition. Our prehistoric ancestors hunted, and so we follow those traditions. In my view "the chase" is an essential part of my very being, whether its tracking a 10 pointer in powder snow or listening to my teeth chatter in a blind waiting for a flock of geese to drop in on my decoys. Nothing dies easily in the woods. Animals perish, with or without my help. Most of them die violently and painfully, perhaps in the talons of a hawk, in the jaws of a coyote or as a victim of starvation or disease. My kill is quick and humane. Make no mistake, hunting by humans is natural. Man has always hunted. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
I don't rationalize my LOVE of hunting by saying I'm a " wildife management tool" essential to keep some animal population trimmed, nor do I hunt because my money funds wildlife agencies that ensure the propagation of all creatures, be they endangered or legal game. Yes, hunting and the dollars generated by fees and such are helpful to wildlife, but first I LOVE every aspect of hunting with every cell of my body for all the reasons I have just tried to explain! My attempts at explaining it are merely words that mean nothing to those who have never hunted.
If you are a hunter, then you KNOW. We're a fraternity, very definitely in the minority, a collection of people with a never ending LOVE of everything the OUTDOORS offers. We are maligned, cursed at and spat upon. Everyday people try to outlaw our sport. Those souls have NO CLUE what we feel.
I hunt because I exist. And I am, above all,
PROUD TO BE A HUNTER!!
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Edited by - FirstBow on 12/15/2002 21:06:16