mattj
blatant Nintendo fanboy
So Deer Season begins in full this weekend. I have no clue where you live, but Deer Season is ridiculously huge here in the Midwest.
When I told my Dad that Heather and I were planning on getting married in November (2004), he put his hand on my shoulder and said "Son, I'm happy for you two. But make sure it's not on the second weekend in November." My Uncle Steve got married on the second weekend in November. My Grandpa Carter and his 5 brothers all showed up, of course. But they wore their camouflage under their tuxes so they could head straight from the wedding to the deer stand. Dad said you could see it sticking out of the bottom. This kind of stuff is common around here. You want to take a day off of work right after the second weekend in November? You'll have to ask more than a year in advance. Deer Season is big business around here.
So naturally I go too. Some times. I got my hunter certification way back when I was a pre-teen. But I've only gone deer hunting maybe 6 or more times since then. It's not something I'm really into. But I do go some times. It means a lot to my family so I go along when I'm not busy.
I've taken quite a few shots a deer, but I've never hit one. Not even at close range haha! This Friday night I'll be heading out to the family farm. We have tons of deer out there. I'll get up super early Saturday morning and assuming I don't wig out and unload on a deer hunched in the weeds again (whoops) I'll probably get one this year.
But then what? What do I do after I shoot it?
Well, I'll wait and watch it with a bead on its heart. If it gets up again I'll shoot it again. After I'm sure it can't get up, I'll get down from my stand and approach it with the scope still on it. Then, if it's still breathing, I'll put the barrel right between it's eyes, pull the trigger, then pull out a knife and slit it's throat all the way back to its spine. Then comes the gutting.
Funny thing though, I've caught and filleted some pretty large, live fish. Tons of them throughout the years. Flopping all around as I sawed off their heads and scooped out their guts with my bloody fingers. But because I've never actually killed a deer it got me thinking.
Can I really do it?
Can I really look that scared, innocent, living animal right in its still blinking eye, listening to it's painful, labored breathing, quivering in fear, as I slit its throat with my bloody hands, sawing through the sinews?
Yup. Don't think I'll have a problem.
But a lot of people do have a problem with killing animals for food. And I'm not even talking about the PETA nutjobs. Although I easily know hundreds of men and women who hunt and kill deer around here, I know a few people who are vegetarians, or vegans, or who eat meat, but refuse to kill the animals themselves. All kinds of other positions exist between.
So what's your position on killing animals for food? Is it a necessary evil, or completely morally justifiable, or is it never justifiable in any situation because of the available alternatives? Or something else? Should animals have any rights or are they fair game for whatever we feel like doing to them? What about hunting for sport? What about animal products that don't actually kill the animal?
Here's my take.
The Bible and what my grandfathers taught me when I was young largely formed my positions on killing animals. In order to survive, humans must end the lives of other creatures. As far as I know, there's no way around this. Be it a plant or an animal, complex or simple, something has to die for you to continue living. I firmly believe that animals do have certain, basic rights, including the right to not be tortured or experience unnecessary pain. I believe that hunting for sport is wasteful, and therefore wrong. I believe that all precautions and preparations should be taken so that the kill is as quick and painless as possible. I believe that over-hunting is wasteful, and therefore wrong. But at the end of the day, fish and deer and the like is extraordinarily inexpensive, and healthy. It's a good, and justifiable source of food.
I also firmly believe that killing your own food, holding that living animal in your hands and ending it's life, teaches you sobering respect for your food. It reminds you of what has to happen for you to eat. I believe you should teach this to your children when they're young, just like my family did. So many people gasp at the idea of personally wringing the neck off a chicken, but never once choke while stuffing chicken nuggets down their throats.
So what are your thoughts? Are you fine with shooting Bambi? Do you believe, as some scientists have recently concluded, that Dolphins deserve many of the rights we humans enjoy? What about animal products? Could you / have you ended the life of an animal for food before? What about hunting for sport? Is eating meat ever justifiable?
Also, 4000 posts? I could have spent all that time fishing. :(
When I told my Dad that Heather and I were planning on getting married in November (2004), he put his hand on my shoulder and said "Son, I'm happy for you two. But make sure it's not on the second weekend in November." My Uncle Steve got married on the second weekend in November. My Grandpa Carter and his 5 brothers all showed up, of course. But they wore their camouflage under their tuxes so they could head straight from the wedding to the deer stand. Dad said you could see it sticking out of the bottom. This kind of stuff is common around here. You want to take a day off of work right after the second weekend in November? You'll have to ask more than a year in advance. Deer Season is big business around here.
So naturally I go too. Some times. I got my hunter certification way back when I was a pre-teen. But I've only gone deer hunting maybe 6 or more times since then. It's not something I'm really into. But I do go some times. It means a lot to my family so I go along when I'm not busy.
I've taken quite a few shots a deer, but I've never hit one. Not even at close range haha! This Friday night I'll be heading out to the family farm. We have tons of deer out there. I'll get up super early Saturday morning and assuming I don't wig out and unload on a deer hunched in the weeds again (whoops) I'll probably get one this year.
But then what? What do I do after I shoot it?
Well, I'll wait and watch it with a bead on its heart. If it gets up again I'll shoot it again. After I'm sure it can't get up, I'll get down from my stand and approach it with the scope still on it. Then, if it's still breathing, I'll put the barrel right between it's eyes, pull the trigger, then pull out a knife and slit it's throat all the way back to its spine. Then comes the gutting.
Funny thing though, I've caught and filleted some pretty large, live fish. Tons of them throughout the years. Flopping all around as I sawed off their heads and scooped out their guts with my bloody fingers. But because I've never actually killed a deer it got me thinking.
Can I really do it?
Can I really look that scared, innocent, living animal right in its still blinking eye, listening to it's painful, labored breathing, quivering in fear, as I slit its throat with my bloody hands, sawing through the sinews?
Yup. Don't think I'll have a problem.
But a lot of people do have a problem with killing animals for food. And I'm not even talking about the PETA nutjobs. Although I easily know hundreds of men and women who hunt and kill deer around here, I know a few people who are vegetarians, or vegans, or who eat meat, but refuse to kill the animals themselves. All kinds of other positions exist between.
So what's your position on killing animals for food? Is it a necessary evil, or completely morally justifiable, or is it never justifiable in any situation because of the available alternatives? Or something else? Should animals have any rights or are they fair game for whatever we feel like doing to them? What about hunting for sport? What about animal products that don't actually kill the animal?
Here's my take.
The Bible and what my grandfathers taught me when I was young largely formed my positions on killing animals. In order to survive, humans must end the lives of other creatures. As far as I know, there's no way around this. Be it a plant or an animal, complex or simple, something has to die for you to continue living. I firmly believe that animals do have certain, basic rights, including the right to not be tortured or experience unnecessary pain. I believe that hunting for sport is wasteful, and therefore wrong. I believe that all precautions and preparations should be taken so that the kill is as quick and painless as possible. I believe that over-hunting is wasteful, and therefore wrong. But at the end of the day, fish and deer and the like is extraordinarily inexpensive, and healthy. It's a good, and justifiable source of food.
I also firmly believe that killing your own food, holding that living animal in your hands and ending it's life, teaches you sobering respect for your food. It reminds you of what has to happen for you to eat. I believe you should teach this to your children when they're young, just like my family did. So many people gasp at the idea of personally wringing the neck off a chicken, but never once choke while stuffing chicken nuggets down their throats.
So what are your thoughts? Are you fine with shooting Bambi? Do you believe, as some scientists have recently concluded, that Dolphins deserve many of the rights we humans enjoy? What about animal products? Could you / have you ended the life of an animal for food before? What about hunting for sport? Is eating meat ever justifiable?
Also, 4000 posts? I could have spent all that time fishing. :(