In this day and age when meat is so readily available at any store...do you think hunting is necessary?
146343
people do it for the game.  Do I believe it in ..no I think its horrible, but cant really be on the negative side since I eat meat and wear leather.
442555
Wildlife management is dependant on hunting. Not only for the financial resource (Pittman/Roberston Act) but as a contributing factor in maintaining healthy populations for a particular habitat. Take the emotions out of the question and the result is a scientific quota passed on to a growing number of ethical sportsmen who hold respect for the resource, firearm, law, landowners, themselves and the future of hunting.\n\nIt is my hope that anyone reading this will take the time to talk to a biologist and discover for themselves how hunting laws and ethical practices have helped game populations in the last 100 years. The activity may not appeal to you but it is beneficial and deserves to be understood.
956495
I am a liberal and was once against hunting.  Now that I've met a few "true" hunters, those that actually hunt for food and do it humanely, I don't have an issue with them.  They good old boys that hunt for "sport" is another issue.  I don't find it sporting to take pleasure in killing anything.  The hunters I know only hunt during the season, only take what they need, never shooting more than they can use, and make sure that the animal doesn't suffer by assuring a clear shot before pulling the trigger.
904946
I am all for hunting.  I have hunted since it was legal for me to do so and I eat (or donate) what I kill.\n\nIt takes a special breed of person to watch a beautiful deer browse through the woods, put the crosshairs behind its shoulders, pull the trigger, blow their heart and a lung out the other side, cut the thing open, pull its guts out while smelling the fermenting browse and grain, and think "hmmm...that'll make a great steak".  Without people who can kill like this, the items carried at the grocery store would be much different.\n\nWhat does annoy me are the people who say that the animals are defenseless and that the animals get hunted into extinction.\n\nNo animal is defenseless.  Each animal has its own strengths and weaknesses.  Deer have excellent sight, smell, and hearing and are very fast, but their curiosity gets them killed.  Rabbits are fast, have great hearing, and can fit into places other animals can't go.  Bears have great smelling abilities and brute strength, but have poor eyesight.  Humans lack in strength, speed, smell, hearing, and sight, but their advantage is the ability to manipulate their environment and use tools.  Nothing is poor and defenseless; each animal has its own niche and has something it is very good at that keeps it alive.\n\nIn terms of hunting animals to extinction, it has happened.  However, it seems in America, people and companies spend money on animals that are eaten to keep the species thriving.  There are more deer than ever.  Every sporting goods store now has a aisle dedicated to food plot seeds and equipment, something I didn't see 20 years ago.  States and Federal government regulate the amount of game to be taken.\n\nJust my 2 cents
82410
We wouldn't eat meat if we weren't meateaters. Vegetarians are following a fad, not their instincts. \nWhat is the Indian word for bad hunter? Vegetarian!
650288
Forget about the whole "we're so much better than animals" thing. Our animal instincts still affect us, even though it's not apparent. The "fight and flight" instinct is still prominent in our systems.\n\nSo when man murders outside of "he'll kill me first" then it's a mental thing that they are willing to do. Does that mean that we're all capable outside of that, sure. We just decide that a person's life isn't as important as ours (which is what hunters have when they hunt, no hunter things of the animal as an equal). So if you can value a life over your own, then it's possible.
1065441
It gets worse...I saw a story on the news the other day about a way to hunt over the internet.  I guess it was set up so that those who are house bound or otherwise disabled could participate in this "sport."  So, you can go to some website, pay your money, and somehow log onto a camera which is pointed towards the wilderness and you can push a button and fire at an animal when you spot one.  I know it sounds too strange to be true, but it is a real thing.  Isn't that just awful??\nOh, and to the above poster...I think that the "survival" excuse is about 500 years too old.  I have about 5 grocery stores within a 10 mile radius of my house.  I'm pretty sure I don't need to go and wrestle down an animal on my front lawn in order to eat.
521652
I don't think it is. If you really want to know you should consult with your states Wildlife Conservation Office. They distribute hunting and fishing regulations which vary widely from state to state. The only way to make sure you are in compliance with the law is to understand the regulations on hunting and fishing. Most states also require that you have a license to hunt or fish. The money they collect from the issuance of these licenses goes to pay for wildlife management and conservation. The regulations vary from one year to the next because of population increases and decreases of different species of animals. When a certain species of animal's population decreases, the taking of that species is restricted. When overpopulation of a species threatens that species natural food supply, the taking of that species is less restricted. This helps to insure a more healthy wildlife population since under and over population is detrimental to that species. Hunting to control population of some animals is necessary since they have few natural predators. When a species becomes overpopulated their food supply is scarce and makes them susceptible to starvation and disease.\n\nIt's very important to follow the regulations. If you get caught violating certain specific regulations, you can be fined pretty heavily. They can also confiscate your guns, fishing equipment, boat, and vehicle. They can confiscate anything that they think was used in the crime basically. They take their wildlife conservation pretty seriously.
840405
In that case - You should know all about rifles!\n\nExcellent inexpensive meat.\nLet me know which store you can get 100lbs of 98% lean steaks for around $25.\n\nIf it tasted bad - you didn't fix it right.\nIt's lack of fat makes it taste different.\n\nAlso -  if you go for the biggest,  oldest deer (with a big rack),  you're not going to get quite as good of the meat's as you do with a smaller 1 or 2 year old one.
915217
Hang out by the road. I got hit by a doe a month ago. I saw her, slowed down and as soon as I got next to her...WHAM! She dented my drivers side door, broke my sideview mirror and dented the left front panel. I'm just glad I didn't hit her head on. I was on a 2 lane road, nowhere to go. No where to stop for another 5 miles. \nGet one for me.\n\nAnd for those who think it is cruel to hunt? The hunters help to control the deer population. I would rather the deer get shot, die quickly than be hit by a car and lay by the side of the road injured and in pain. Or God forbid, someone get killed in an accident after hitting a deer. \nHunters also donate the meat they won't use to homeless shelters.
845807
I do agree with you on what you do on your land is your buisness and that you should be able to hunt and fish on it but you should think about the big picture as far as game management the wildlife around your area could depend on what happens on your land if you overfish in a stream or river the spawning could have a impact same with game that buck or doe that you harvest will not have the opportunity to breed.to me if your freezer is getting empty it is time to do what you gotta do to survive just dont over do it and dont advertise what you are doing.
1062638
I could survive on my own in the wilderness. I know how to  make a snare to catch rabbits. Rabbit fur makes nice linings to buckskin shirts and skirts/pants. I can shoot with a pistol (like my Glock31 , .357) or a bow and arrow. Deer is good cooked over an open fire if you know how to do it. I can shoot quail,pheasants and squirrels with a slingshot. I know which plants that are edible or not. Yes, I could be self sufficient. No doubt, it would be a hard life, but I could do it. But, would a Mexican do it?  No way, Jose'!!
262982
99.999percent of all 'poor defenseless animals' are killed for food.  Why should that be considered cruel which your question suggests.  I am sure that the people who work in abattoirs do not consider themselves tough in your sense. Other animals are used and subsequently killed in medical research.  Is that wrong in your opinion.  Your question also points towards you being anti hunting.  That is an entirely different matter and you should have made yourself clearer in posing the question. The seal pup cull in Canada which is due to begin very shortly.  Cruel it may be, necessary, almost certainly.  You cannot put a seal pup in the same category as a cow being killed for beef.  I am tired of this argument and would like to see if you are wearing leather shoes, woolen clothing etc. for if you are, you are no better than the people whom you argue against.
351928
I have chickens that I use for food and I fish often, so the chickens in my freezer are some I killed and dressed myself.(I dress 4 or 5 at a time) And I clean the fish I catch and cook them the same day.(bream, bass, catfish) I get venison from my brothers who hunt. I didn't process them but I keep deer steaks, ground deer, and roasts in my freezer. I'm not a Redneck nor a Hick(no road-kill), I'm just self-sufficient. I don't have to depend on the grocery store to survive.
741114
For the last century or more people who otherwise would've been food for some critter haven't been and have reproduced. \nThe past few years, with bicycle helmets, seat belts, radical surgeries, and so on, many hundreds of millions more who would've simply died from their stupidity have lived and reproduced. They've made more insanely stupid and clueless  people.\nWe now have record numbers of people too stupid to walk and breathe at the same time. In any other time and place, they'd be critter food.\nHaving said this, I sometimes think... well... it sounds awful, but I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if people all had to have a certain IQ level or higher or they'd be critter food. \nSo a hunt doesn't sound as weird as I thought initially.\nI just have the guts to say so.
875430
No :-)\n\nBeing a vegetarian is not always accepted in today's world of meat and fast foods.  Many have been trained to think we have to have meat.  We don't.  However, if being a vegetarian becomes you choice, make yourself aware of how to get the minerals or vitamins that meat generally gives you.  Easier then you might think :-)
92205
Yes.  Paranoid and uneducated people have killed most of the predators and created this problem to begin with, now its our duty to control it.  I don't like the trophy hunter method as it eliminates the strong and allows the weak to breed, ultimately reducing the quality of the rest, but we do need to keep the population in check.  People need to hunt legally with permits and should use as much of the animal as they can.