My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong. He wonts to no why we hunt what the hole perpis is an i tryed to tell him but he wonts othere peoples replis so all you tru hunters out there let him no why an be honest to him an your selfs

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

My first thought is this is not even worthy of a response because anti-hunters are not educated on exactly what you are asking us to do. I don't belieive this site will convert an anti-hunter but absence of hunting, car insurance will be higher based on more accidents, over population leads to malnutrition of herds and disease. Numerous families are fed due to hunters donating the meat along with hunters feeding their own families. If, lets just say if hunting was banned, how would you pay to reduce the herds, poison them? Utilize sterilization. At present hunters foot the bill by buying millions of dollars in tags and equipment. Ban hunting and everyone will foot the bill even non-hunters!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

he probably cannot understand you if you talk like you write because i don't know what the hell you typed . get spellcheck

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

9Pointer123,
First, welcome to the best hunting site on the net!
Next, know that most anti-hunters are very closed minded. If he is open minded to debate, you may be able to convince him to see things differently by presenting the FACTS about hunting!
The number one fact is that 100 years ago there was litte game left in America, but through the efforts of HUNTERS, most game species are at record numbers today!
Hunters taxes, go to support the vast majority of conservation work, habitat restoration, wildlife sanctuaries, and public parks, that ALL people enjoy! Not JUST the hunters!
Also, with wildlife populations booming, hunting is the most sensible, economical way of keeping game populations under control. Most anti's that never get in the woods, have never seen animals starve, due to over population! It is much more ethical to harvest (hunt) animals, than to allow them to suffer a slow starving death! All the while claiming how much they "love" animals!
Over population also causes disease, weaker genetics, crop and property damage, and more auto accidents!
Lastly, hunting is big business! It is good for the economy! There are countless rural communities that make the lions share of their yearly income from hunters!
All of the above are legitimate facts, that cannot rationally be argued against, except by unrealistic, closed minded people!
It is one thing to claim a fantasy "love of animals," while doing little to support wildlife, and quite another thing to love, AND respect animals with our money, our work, and our lives!
I would put the "love of wildlife," of an avid hunter, up against that of a tree-hugger, or anti, any day of the week!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Tell her uncle be careful hugging trees, as he might get a splinter..I for one hope the spotted owls crap on his head!!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Most anti-hunters focus on the specific animal. Discovery and National Geographic always promote biologists. They focus on the animal, not the entire ecosystem. In my opinion, when the animals all have names, you are not an "unbiased" researcher. The focus should be on ecology, and the role of the animal in nature. Nature focuses on the ecosystem and the population of animals as a whole. People will argue that man has should be taken out of the picture. I argue that even man has a thread in the web of life. Man's influence can never be taken out. For instance, our ranch has been in the family since the 1870's. Deer populations did not arrive unitl the 1970's and 1980's. This is because Texas eradicated the screw-worm fly. (This is not the only human influence, but it is one.) Until this time, only a few types of animals could survive well, and the deer was not one of them. With the disappearance of large predators at the turn of the last century, nothing is left to control the deer population except for hunting and automobiles. By nature, the deer is a prey species. Unchecked, deer populations would rise out of control. Without hunting, the population would grow beyond the carrying capacity of the land, damaging the land from overgrazing. The deer would eventually starve back down, but some of the habitat would take hundreds of years, if not longer, to recover. Some places might never fully recover. Trapping doesn't fix the problem, only making a bigger problem elsewhere. Steriliztion is not practical, economically or otherwise. With human encroachment, reintroducing large predators is a lost cause, as encroachment is what made them dissappear in the first place. So why hunt? It promotes a healthy population by selectively havesting animals, much like the larger predators did. It is economically feasible, as hunters are willing to pay to harvest. It promotes the maintenance of habitat by rewarding landowners for the productivity of their resources. The deer population wins as a whole. If the view of the animal wins, the population of deer as a whole and of the ecosystem loses.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Well 9pointer123,
I hope your girlfriend is smarter than her uncle. I have a cousin who thinks the same way. She supposedly is an animal lover, and basically what I tell her is if she really cares about wildlife then the most beneficial thing she could do for the wildlife is to buy a hunting license and get into the shooting sports. I tell her that she doesn't have to actually shoot anything, but if she wants to put her money where her mouth is, then at least buy a hunting license.

Click on this link and read about the Pittman Robertson Act, and you will see why. Print it out and show it to her uncle, and you will probably see how closed minded he is

http://fa.r9.fws.gov/wr/fawr.html

C. Davis

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Keep in mind that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, whether we agree with it or not. If he's willing to keep an open mind, then you should too. That being said, I hunt because of the closeness I feel to the game I persue. Many people have tried, and we all fail to express properly the feeling one gets when matching wits with mother nature. It's about the smell of fall, when the leaves are just beginning to turn. Or, a spring gobbler sounding off from his roost, proclaiming himself as king of the forest. Whistling wings before dawn as you sip your first cup of coffee, scratching the ears of a retriever who will wade freezing water all day for the thrill of the hunt. The regret you feel as you stroke the feathers of that beautiful tom back into place. The thrill just before the moment of truth. Knowing you could survive on your own if need be. Man has been hunting for his food since time began, only recently has anyone questioned the morality of it. This is a symptom of our weakness, how spoiled we have become as a society. Do you reckon any tribesmen in Africa question the morality of hunting? I Know we no longer have to hunt to survive, but that burger fron Wendy's is no less dead than a deer backstrap grilled with carrots and potatoes. Invite your girlfriend's uncle to hunt and let him see and feel things most people never will.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Take the sucker hunting and show him!

If he still doesn't get it then ................take him fishing . make sure you give him the HEAVY life vest!;)

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

We were made by God to be a predator. The bible says we are suppose to kill and eat.He made the animals for us and gave us the responsibilty to care for them. And that includes population control. Nothing worse the seeing something starve to death. And that would be wasting What God meant for are consumption. If he believes in God ,then He might have hope.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

oh boy another anti trying to inflict his closed minded beliefs onto the people that surround him. i wouldn't even spend the time to answer him. he will believe whatever he wants to, nothing you say or do will change his mind. just let him eat his veggies and hug his trees.......................i'd rather be hunting.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

PERMISSION FROM THE LANDOWNER:

He saw Heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners, it contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. then the Lord said, "Get up Peter, kill and eat". That is why I hunt, God said to kill and eat, so I kill and eat.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

My father, who was raised in the city, never approved of my going hunting. But he was always a gentleman, and never really tried to talk me out of it.

I can understand why people are opposed to hunting--on the surface, they (birds or deer or whatever) are just innocent creatures making their way through the world, same as you or I. And most of them are darned cute, too.

But looking more closely, there's more than sentiment involved. On a recent trip through Wisconsin, I saw literally dozens or road-kill deer. That just depressed me. Hunters work for a clean kill, and eat what they shoot. A deer wounded by a car dies a terrible death, and the carcass is left to rot. Plus, the driver of the vehicle may have been seriously injured or killed.

What's "humane" about that?

Seeing an animal die (let alone causing that death) is a moving experience; one minute, the animal is alive, and the next, it isn't. But life is like that. Anyone who doesn't think so is kidding himself.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Your uncle asked what the purpose of hunting was to some typical hunters. I'll get to that.

I have hunted for a long time, but as an adult found myself wanting to counter several arguments against hunting. I want to share these with you. 1. "You shouldn't hunt because it is immoral to take life." I choose to eat meat. There is no moral superiority to eating beef killed by a third party to eating game which I kill myself. If you are not a vegetarian, argument #1 has no weight. 2. "You are eradicating a species." No game animal species is threatened with endangerment by sport hunting. If numbers get low, licenses are limited or prohibited. This is not an issue. There are more Elk, Turkey, Whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope and other species of game animals as a result of modern sport hunting than there would have been without sport hunting (money is collected from sales of guns and ammunition which goes to supporting habitat, and there are advocacy groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and others that promote specific species). 3. "Shooting an animal causes pain and suffering to the animal." This argument cannot be walked around. What I have realized, however, is that every wild animal must die -- just as every human being must die. The chances are extremely high that the death that I as a hunter will deal to the game I hunt will be less painful and horrible than the death the game animal will suffer in natural death. Natural death for deer includes slow starvation in wintery conditions (usually during a colder than average winter), being run down by a pack of coyotes and eaten alive, slow death resulting from an accident of some sort which disadvantages the game animal. This reflection came to me when I was disturbed by the knowledge that however much I practice at the rifle range, it is by no means guaranteed that my shot on a game animal will put it down quickly and cleanly. This is certainly my objective, but it doesn't always happen that way. For me, my answers to these three moral questions satisfy my conscience.

Why do I hunt instead of sitting in by the fire reading a good book or sleeping in or watching a football game? Why do I set my alarm and get up at 4 AM and prepare to go out into the cold and labor to bag a deer? The answer is complex. I will mention a number of things that appear to be independent, but they intermix and cooperate in my mind. I like the outdoors and more particularly the wilds. I take pleasure in being self-reliant in the wilds -- being able to build a fire, being able to find my way through the wilds, being able to pitch a camp, etc. I like doing things for myself, including gutting my deer, skinning my deer, quartering my deer, cutting my deer into serving pieces, packaging my deer. I also like to cook a lot and am a very good cook, and I am motivated to hunt at least partially to obtain excellent game for lucullan feasts, but this is sort of a peripheral, extra-curricular component of my motivation to hunt. I like hunting because I did it as a child, I did it with my father. I like hunting now because my father did it. I like hunting because I like to imagine my deceased father knowing about my hunting and sharing in my successes, somehow. I like the connection between my hunting and what people did during frontier days in our country and far before this when all people's depended upon hunting for a substantial part of their sustenance. When I look up at Orion, the constellation of the hunter, while waiting for shooting light to come I enjoy the connection with hunters that goes back through time immemorial. And be advised this connection is real. We have advanced technology relative to these earlier hunters, but it is by no means an automatic function that you are going to bag game when you are afield. The game is wiley and the hunter often is disappointed. I have to haul my body around and suffer various pains to bag my deer.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Very nice response, Alsatian; well stated and erudite. You represent hunters well.

Rob

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

I'm against girlfriends uncles...get rid of em all:D:D:DJDinAB

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Welcome to the site 9pointer, I'll try to post a decent reply later, but I have to go right now.

Welcome to the site...good question to help start off your posting here!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

I would be interested in knowing more about good ol' Unc. Is he a hypocrit? Does he spray his house for bugs? Does he not cut his grass in fear he will harm crickets and other insects that live there? Does he tolerate mice and rats in his house? Does he walk everywhere he goes while sweeping the ground before him making sure he doesn't harm any insects (surely there are no splattered little bugs on his grill)? etc, etc, etc.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

and just think about CWD. If the deer herds ever did get overpopulated, the diseases would spread like wildfire and more deer could die by that than they would by hunters! this is the truth. Banned Hunting=Extinct Deer, mabe not that far, but it wouldnt be good at all.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Some excerpts from replies so far:
----------------------------
My first thought is this is not even worthy of a response because anti-hunters are not educated on exactly what you are asking us to do.

know that most anti-hunters are very closed minded.

I hope your girlfriend is smarter than her uncle.

.....take him fishing . make sure you give him the HEAVY life vest!

oh boy another anti trying to inflict his closed minded beliefs onto the people that surround him.

Is he a hypocrit? Does he spray his house for bugs? Does he not cut his grass in fear he will harm crickets and other insects
---------------------------------

Geeze guys - who the he11 do you think you are? Just because a guy, who apparently is not a hunter, asks a question, you talk like he's not only stupid, but closed minded and evil. And you wonder why there's such strong opinions among some against gun owners and hunters - it's because a lot of us come across as unreasonable, rigid, a$$holes who hate, yes, literally hate, anyone who disagrees in any shape or form. This is the sad direction both the right and left are going these days - the opposition is not entitled to their opinion, mine's absolutely right, they are stupid, wrong and not even worth acknowledging or talking to.

Go back and read the very reasonable and well thought out answers that some posted. This is how you should be talking to people. Especially the part about everyone being entitled to their own opinion. Remember, you get all pissed off when the "antis" try to inflict their opinion on you - but truth be told, you do the same.

And people who ask these questions aren't "anti" until proven so. They're just asking a question fercrissakes! Can you imagine how strange it must seem to sneak around and kill animals - to someone who didn't grow up doing it or even being exposed to it? It's a perfectly expected reaction! They're not "anti" until you make them so by forcing them into a "you're for me or against me" position.

My opinion? I'm a hunter and fisher. I like to kill and eat animals. I draw no moral distinction between having the stockyard or commercial fisherman kill it vs. myself. My family and I like the taste of wild game and fish and think it's healthy food. The hobby does cost money (As Jeff Foxworthy says "I provide my family with the most expensive cut of meat on earth!"), but it does pay off, at least a little, in something to eat. The wildlife population, properly managed, can support this personal preference of mine.

However, the animals belong just as much to those among us who don't care to kill them, but for instance, might actually enjoy them to watch and be around. There's a LOT of people who feel this way and there's an increasing amount of businesses who make their living helping thme do it. They are all US citizens just like you and me. If you sit down and have a beer (OK, it might be a Latte) with them, you might find that with this one exception, they live and think right up your own alley.

I'll have to say, that's the way I feel about predators, in general (knowing there's specific situations where they should be controlled). I'm a kill it and eat it kind of guy. I have no desire to kill a predator for the sake of hanging it's pelt or head on the wall. But go ahead and do it if you want, I really don't care. Me, I get a big thrill out of seeing wolves and bears in the wild and will probably never kill one unless in self defense. I'm real bunny hugger in that regard (but actually like to eat bunnies!).

We all have our own set of contradictions. Live with it.

But this idea that anyone who questions hunting is an ignorant, evil ENEMY is really off base in my opinion and, as an editorial comment, what's wrong with the political parties (BOTH!!) these days. Be better than that guys.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

You have Issues! As I read you're comments, you are entitled to your comments the same as everyone else is entitled to their comments as this is a forum and a somewhat form of freedom of speech but I do not beleive anyone called him an A$$hole as you call all of us with our opinion!! Yes, you have Issues!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

I didn't mean to actually call anyone an a$$hole. I meant to say (and I believe actually did say it if you read my rant again) that the sort of attitude I was pointing out is a reason hunters and gun owners are viewed as such by the non-hunting, non-gun owning public.

Sorry if my rave was over the top, but I stand behind the point I was trying to make.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

9pointer123:

One other thing I would like to mention, though it is not involved in why I hunt.

Hunters provide a benefit to game animals and to our non-hunting neighbors by maintaining game populations at or near management objectives. State governments own the game in the several states and manage the populations of these game animals through sport hunting regulations and quotas. Too many deer and they become a hazard to drivers in some areas (don't think so, talk to people in NW Wisconsin) and/or they invade suburban areas and damage people's gardens. Too many game animals and they are more liable to a rapidly spreading disease which kills many more of these game animals than would be the case if their numbers were held in check. Too many game animals and they are subject to population crashes where 90% of the species dies off. The population crashes are the result of populations increasing to the limits of habitat in average years and then comes along a harder than average year -- less rain and less food than average, more snow and hence less obtainable food -- and most of the animals starve to death because there isn't enough food to go around. Of course, we as adults know that even while most years tend to the average, every 10 or 15 years there is a much worse than average year, just the way statistics and random processes work.

So, the state game departments decide that the deer population should be reduced by a 20% kill to keep the population stable, and they set prices, season lenghts, and other constraints so that the results tend to their objective. If they make a little error one year, they correct the next. Oklahoma lengthened its deer rifle gun season two years ago, presumably because not enough deer were killed in the shorter season to balance the population appropriately. Formerly predators such as wolves, coyotes, and bears tended to be the limiting factor on game populations and hence population crashes during "lean years" did not occur, or at least not commonly. Now, however, the habitat has changed and in some places deer have no natural enemies to thin them out.

Anti-hunters seek to find alternative game management mechanisms, but there has yet to be found such a successful mechanism. And hunting generates a lot of revenue for businesses, leading to taxes. I'm not talking about guns and ammo, but rather hotels, restaurants, gasoline purchases, clothing such as gloves, hats, etc.

Some hunters are improved by their passion for hunting to the extent of maintaining their physical conditioning and keeping their weight down just because they want to be up to the rigors of hunting. Not all hunts are physically demanding, and not all hunters reduce their weight and undertake physical training to be ready for hunting, but many do.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

I went back and tried to interperete your post and I feel my reply, along with others, is fitting. I don't understand your response to the post that your initial thread alledged.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Zekeskar, I am the one who wrote that "most anti-hunters are closed minded!"
I think that is a very fair statement! But to be even more fair, I'd have to say that most avid hunters are closed minded too. In that, we will not be persuaded not to hunt!
The big difference is that we, closed minded hunters do not seek to impose our will upon others! However, closed minded anti's DO seek to impose their will upon us! They would love to have ALL hunting OUTLAWED!
The best thing to do in conversation with an anti is to start out friendly! Some may be open to reason, but if they are true anti's then they are already ignoring sound reasons as to the benifit of hunting!
What I am saying, is don't turn NON-HUNTERS into ANTI"S! Once you've presented the facts of hunting, and find that they are truely a closed minded anti, the best thing that we can do is politely go on, let them be the ones that do the ranting, and raving!
There are probably many more non-hunters, than hunters and anti's combined! The best way to sway the non-hunters, is to present the facts, and allow the anti's to be the ones that show their butts!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

:D:D;):) u r too funny!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

i cant remeber where i read this but i htink it pretty much explains why i hunt

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

unless he is a true vegan he is still killing animals. and fairly inhumane i might add

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

9point123;

If you're really liking the girl your with, and everything is working out for the two of you. Really, your best bet with her Uncle, is to not even bring up hunting when around him. Start takling football, or something that he's interested in. Just be polite to him. You don't have to live with him. So the little time you're around him just talk about something else. And go hunting when you leave.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Well.......I haven't seen any ladies post yet, so, I'll let your girlfriends uncle see that it isn't just men who are hunting.

If God grants me harvest. I answer Him in prayer. For all that He has given to me and my family.
I try to put a deer in the freezer each year to provide meat for my family.
I hunt other game animals too. They are put to use for my family's food supply.
I love knowing that I can provide food for my family and, be out in nature while trying to harvest God's abundant blessings that He has so freely given.

Some people will never understand hunting. If you are trying to convince this uncle....don't try too hard. It is his free will to do as he chooses. Just be strong in your own convictions. Sometimes we try too hard to change people. That's not our job. Being a strong person in your own right is your job.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

i havent been around much, been hunting....this is the letter i always end up postin'...i wrote it to my dad when i first started on this site years ago...i tried to cover every aspect of why we hunt to help him and my step mom understand...so here it is for you...it's long, lol...

If either one or both of you want to know about your daughters and the lives that they have chosen for themselves , please ,take a look at the issue through the eyes of those who know hunting for what it really is…..and hunter’s for who they are……..
The hunter’s heart: is a mystery to many……those who do not hunt often feel that it is cold, dark , and full of evil….. truly not the case…
It starts with Ethics…without ethics, man can be a licensed hunter and still be a poor sportsman…. The ethical hunter knows both the limits of their equipment and their shooting ability and always tries for a quick, clean harvest. In addition , the ethical hunter obeys all laws written and unwritten when hunting.
The ethical hunter treats game with respect before and after the shot ,we take pride in hunting and being hunters we always hunt in such a way that neither us or the game are shamed…
The ethical hunter will make every possible effort to help find lost game and will even abandon their own hunt to help others recover lost game……
We never take more than our legal limit of game ( bag limits made their first appearance in Iowa in 1878 and , by the end of the first century , 13 states had limited the amount of game that could be legally taken. Over the next 10 years , HUNTERS in 23 more states REQUESTED this approach to wildlife conservation) , but more importantly we never take more than what we can use….
Game is quickly and skillfully cleaned and never wasted , this shows that respect for game is a part of our own self respect as a hunter…. Finding pleasure in sharing game with others.
Now the UNETHICAL HUNTER , the TAKER , is the opposite of all that us ETHICAL HUNTERS , us GIVERS , stand for….they have no respect for themselves , the laws , the land , or the animals.
To us, the hunt is a deep and meaningful thing involving much more than a harvest .
To many of us it allows us to spend time with friends , talking , listening , and like a student wanting to learn, asking questions , trying to understand his/her animal….it’s behavior, it’s habitat, etc. , this allows the true hunter to accomplish the task with effectiveness, honor, and a sense of gratitude / elation when it all comes together…..
It’s what we feel is the driving force for most of the true and honest hunters out there.
To us , the hunt is an experience in learning self awareness, personal development , and about nature, and the game hunted , etc.., with respect…..
If hunting is to continue , these things have to be understood , valued , and communicated …..you can think of real hunters as Guides in a sense , we consider ourselves as “ professionals” in the guiding field, in that we “profess” a view defined to the ethical hunter……
We do it voluntarily , we share it, and we admonish each other when we don’t live up to the standards expected of us.
Why do we hunt?……Watch a Lab as it goes afield to retrieve the waterfowl and you’d understand a little bit better what goes on inside of all hunters as they walk into the woods or onto the mud flats to set out our decoys, triggering In hunters irrepressible excitement and pleasure.
It’s like quenching a thirst, scratching an itch….it seems to satisfy a deep , human need.
Hunting is basic to our natures. As long as people have populated the earth , they have taken the lives of other species to feed themselves.
In terms of human time , we’ve only recently domesticated animals; for most of our history , the meat people have eaten was taken from carcasses of wild animals they captured and killed.
Social anthropologists maintain that our unique and complicated social organization and language evolved because coordination and communication were necessary to successfully hunt large and dangerous game.
Hunting may also spurred our aesthetic impulses . Certainly , some of the first evidence we have of our species; artistic nature, manifested in cave paintings of Lascaux , France , were stylized representations of animals and the human hunters that pursued them.
When human life and so many other human qualities owe their existence to hunting , it seems preposterous that organized animal rights groups could claim hunting is inhumane .
Hunter’s need not to apologize for hunting. They follow their instinct and their part is clear and straightforward. Hunters allow no middlemen, salesman , marketing experts , chefs , or grocers to trick them into thinking that their lives don’t rely on death of animals. For Hunters , the formula is as simple as nature herself: an animal is harvested to feed the hungry.
Nor is it cruel. Game animals aren’t caged , fattened , bred , jammed together or raised on production lines. They live in the woods and wetlands , following the natural instincts of their species.
A hunter’s bullet may end a wild animal’s life. Animal Right’s activists often dwell on that exact moment , seeming to forget that death is the fate of all living things. A hunter’s bullet is usually clean and quick. Real hunters insist on it..
Thanks to hunters’ interest in maintaining sustainable populations of game animals and to the many dollars generated for wildlife management through license sales and special taxes on hunting equipment , the number of deer , turkey , squirrel , and other game species are stable and increasing. Other species have been brought back from the brink of extinction , such as the giant Canada goose.
Regulated hunting seasons and bag limits keep animal populations in check and prevent a repeating boom and bust a cycle of overabundance followed by mass starvation and disease ...
Hunting also brings into balance those who go afield.
Hunting rewards alertness , patience , self-restraint. It demands stealth , keen vision , a knowledge of the quarry and it’s environment. . Those who refuse to learn the ways of the woods are seldom successful.
Hunter’s could buy their meat in sanitized , foam and plastic containers from the stores, leaving the killing to others. By doing so , however , they’d sacrifice their sense of self-reliance , of individuality , of participation in the natural world.
Hunting provides many pleasures , including lifelong friendship (it’s why your daughters are friends), every part of hunting has it’s pleasures , from the planning , to the scouting , the hunt itself , It’s a time we can reflect on our lives , a time when we can be one with the land , the animals and our heavenly father…..
Here are some facts on Hunting:
There are measures that are taken to sterilize a deer herd , it costs $700. A deer per year….This is a costly task…………….
A healthy deer herd on suitable habitat can be reduced by as much as 40% with no ill effect on populations; hunters rarely take more than 15% . If not harvested , a deer herd can double in size in only two years , quickly depleting available food supplies , In a harsh winter , when an oversized herd depletes all available food , merciless death by slow starvation is inevitable .Predators attack the young and the hunger-weakened stragglers. Disease and parasites add to the toll. Most often , the end result is a weak , unhealthy herd containing far fewer deer than would be present if hunters had taken a reasonable surplus in the fall
Quail have an annual mortality rate of 75% to 80 % , whether they are hunted or not. Through license fees and taxes , hunters and anglers contribute and average of $3 million EACH DAY to wildlife conservation. Habitat improvement that benefits quail likewise helps, songbirds; land that is acquired and /or managed for deer or turkey also provides homes for foxes , bobcats , and other mammals and species of birds.
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973 , there were only 1.3 million turkeys throughout the united states.
Since then , that number has more than tripled and now stands at 5 million birds. NWTF has raised and spent more than $120 million in projects benefiting wild turkeys throughout the U.S. and Mexico and Canada.
Since it’s founding in 1937, Ducks Unlimited ( DU ) has raised more than a $1 billion , which has contributed to the conservation of more than 9.4 million acres of prime wildlife habitat in all fifty states , each of the Canadian provinces and in key areas of Mexico.
In the U.S. alone , DU has helped to conserve 2 million acres of waterfowl habitat , Some 900 species of wildlife live and flourish on DU projects , including many threatened or endangered species.
Hunting for the hungry is a program that helps feed the less fortunate and their families.
Another fact: wildlife is produced by nature without altering landscape. Nature doesn’t clear complex habitats, which are home to many species , to plant fields of corn , so as to fatten cattle .unlike the waste products from pork or chicken factories , the waste products of wildlife don’t pollute watersheds.
Wild food is grown without biocides or large inputs of petroleum , both of which are mainstays of modern agriculture. Biocides kill all sorts of wildlife - birds, rodents, reptiles , fish- and the extraction of petroleum causes displacement and deaths of Caribou, grizzlies , birds……..the list is long.
Producing organic vegetables also has a bloody price tag as well ...Deer , for example are routinely controlled so that the organic soybeans , apples , and salad greens can be grown successfully. Thus the purest of vegans can’t avoid indirectly killing wildlife In the process of eating!
Instead of denying the situation , hunting places one firmly in the midst of it .
Let’s talk about the Religious aspect of it too…….we’re woodsman like Nimrod , the mighty hunter.:)
We are patient, willing to sit as still as statues and freeze or smolder in the heat for hours, suppressing the urge to sneeze , yawn , or even scratch the many bites that we’ve accumulated since dawn.
Yet , we are doing something we love , even though it costs us hours of preparation time and lost sleep .When we’re in the field , we feel a sense of of destiny and fulfillment .Totally alive and very much in touch with the joy when in the field-something to be envied in a world with far too little joy.
There is a biblical, spiritual , and legal basis for hunting. It is a part of our heritage , our God given right , and hunters are not wanton killers. No hunter shall ever be ashamed of anything he does with the Lord.
We have God as our hunting companion , knowing that he will guide us and keep us safe….
“Thou shalt not kill” , There’s a vast difference between killing and murdering – the difference we all understand and support,.
Murder is wrong ,( and rawtsakh ) , the original word for murder . Nowhere in the Old Testiment is the word murder used in the connection with the killing of an animal . A totally different word is used when God talks about the killing of an animal , one only found in connection with killing as a sacrifice (shawkhat).
God , himself killed the first animal: ”unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins , and clothed them”.(genesis 3:21)
“ And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth…..into your hands are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you…..I have given you all things” (genesis9:2,3)
There is nothing to challenge the over-all view , set down in Genesis , that man is the pinnacle of creation , that all the other creatures have been delivered into his hands , and that we have his divine permission to kill and eat them”
When we’re in the woods, we get a chance to look around us praise him for his creations……
We give thanks- Everything we have in this world we owe to our heavenly Father. Our lives , our health , our families , friends , and our love for hunting and the outdoors would be nothing without God’s love and guidance., we know this.
We bring a scripture or two with and memorize it , we don’t want to waste time while out there.
We pray for family , anti’s , the animals, safety for both hunters and the hunted ……
It’s a time where we can reflect on our lives , the day, whatever we want…….
We hope that ya’ll have a better understanding of what a hunter is , who we are .
We aren’t out to change your views , just thought that if you were to get some input on some of the facts that you’d have an understanding about our world….. Thank you for taking the time out to read all of this……...and for taking the time to get to know your daughter’s better…….

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

I bet your girlfriends uncle is also gonna vote for Kerry

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

Holy crap huntnma! It would take me a week to type that much. Very good post!

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

After you have exhausted logic and the various facts presented to support hunting, you will find that he still will not be satisfied. Therefore your best defense becomes a good offense, demand that he explain and justify his views, not with rhetoric, but with fact. If he brings up something you cannot refute with facts, do not try to BS your way through it, but say, I will check that out and get back to you on it, then contact a wildlife biologist or check it out at the library or on the net. Use facts, not opinion. Do not allow him to be the agressor any more, demand that he back up everything he states with fact. If all else fails, you may say (in a subtle manner) that you believe (an opinion which you have the right to express) antis suffer from various personality disorders which cause them to be the way they are and that you are sorry about that but it's just the way things are. You may not be welcome in his presence anymore but stuff happens.

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

i'm tellin you what. i completey lost it and cracked up when I read what Bob D wrote. Very funny man! Thanks for the laugh. I needed it ;)

RE: My girlfriends uncle thinks hunting is wrong
 

In my experience, the fact that a supposed "anti-hunter" wants to know more about this is refreshing, indeed. Whether we like it or not, we're all ambassadors of our sport and to educate is a responsibility that we all must share. There are large numbers of well-funded organizations (humane society, PETA, etc.) who would like to ban all hunting on public lands if they can get their way. I grew up with a very non-hunting family. My dad never wanted me to hunt or even own a firearm. He served in the military and had familiarity with them, he just chose not to let us have them. I eventually got an air rifle and had other opportunities to learn marksmanship in scouts. I had to wait until I was out on my own to engage in the shooting sports. Enough of me, though. From every college I've ever been to, the anti-hunting and anti-gun folks seem to have no problems being represented, and the media only portrays hunters as beer-swilling fools shooting up anything that moves. Granted there are a few of those around, and they always manage to interview them for the newscasts. But the fact remains that we live in a lop-sided ecosystem where the predators are no longer present to control the burgeoning numbers of deer and other animals. Ironically, as forest lands are bulldozed, new habitats are created for the deer, as all that fescue they plant is just yummy to the deer. They enjoy protected status from homeowners who think its cool to have deer in the subdivisions. They breed and move across roadways, where they are killed not by deer rifles or slug guns, but by a "chevy-06" with disastrous results for all. They need checks on their population, we can stand an outing in the field, and the tasty venison ain't so bad, either. To explain the necessity of hunting might fall on deaf ears to a general population that thinks that the government can relocate them. Where? Deer are everywhere. Nationwide. Hawaii, too. (No, they don't shoot 'em off of surfboards) Makes you wonder if Realtree makes a camo pattern that looks like a Hawaiian shirt. Anyway, we have a new world order that puts us as the apex predator on the land. Some are more comfortable with that status than others. We will hunt, the rest will complain. But anyone who eats fish, meat or fowl has killed either directly, or they paid someone else to do it for them in a factory. Present your girlfriend's uncle with this and challenge him to accompany you on a hunt. He'll either respect you or he'll hate you, but you gotta be the one to give the olive branch. If he won't, then chalk it up to just another out-of-touch individual trying to dictate their own world view on the rest of us. Good luck. I take it your girlfriend must be something special for you to even want to try to deal with this issue!