Why do Americans still hunt?

Question

We (Americans) can all buy food to eat, blankets for warmth, etc., at stores.

Does that mean hunters kill defenseless animals just for sport, or even worse, decoration???

Answer 1

For some, it is their form of entertainment. While people consider it barbarbic, it can be relaxing.

I would make a disclaimer that there are two types of hunters. You have the outdoors/survivoral type who could live off the land for his entire life and the yuppy type who looks more like john kerry on a hunting trip. The true hunters will try to not waste any part of the game and recycle the waste part as compost.

I do not hunt but you can experience the same type of emotions as to playing a near perfect game of golf/bowling or being a skydiving junkie.

Answer 2

I'm not a hunter, but just to play devil's advocate:

Hunters would argue that the cows, pigs and chickens killed at slaughterhouses are as much "defenseless animals" as a deer or duck shot in the woods. And while captive animals often lead the most miserable existence, wild animals benefit from years of freedom in nature. Some hunters hunt for subsistence. Not everyone can afford to buy all their food. Some enjoy being an intimate part of nature in a way you can't experience just by taking pictures. And if you truly enjoy the taste of elk, antelope, etc., it's hard to come by in the stores.

Answer 3

Well as a hunter and a fisher-woman...I do it for the sport, the food and the decoration...I eat the venison, chow on the fish, except for the 8 pounder being prepped for display, and love to decorate with the hides and antlers.

Give me a break....how many deer do you think are killed by hunters in a season? Now how many kittens, puppies, and grown dogs and cats are kept in little tiny cells at "no kill" shelters or are euthanized at kill shelters just to make waste...not to make a coat, a meal or a decoration...PUUUULEAASE give me a break...my heart doesn't bleed for you.
Where do you think the stuff in the stores comes from...ANIMALS duh...only in the wild they are generally healthy, and they can actually get a way with out death. Not so in your chicken farms and have you seen the cows...yikes! Check out a feed lot or the butcher co.

Answer 4

As opposed to having somebody kill a "poor defenseless cow, pig or chicken" for you to eat? And you don't feel even a bit hypocritical when you say that?

Also, do you know what happens to the population of animals like deer if they aren't hunted? It grows and grows and grows and grows until the starve themselves.

Many hunters actually do eat the meat. And here's the real kicker.. the conservation movement was STARTED by avid hunters and they also make up the vast majority of it's active members.

Answer 5

Sport, decoration, food. Just because people can buy something does not mean they necessarily have to if they have another means to legally acquire it. Some people like deer meat, and many stores don't carry it. Some people like to provide for themselves. Some people like the other aspects of the hunt. I don't have a problem with it, really. As long as they're not going after endangered species, I don't see why it's really any different than the guy who kills my cows and chickens for me.

Answer 6

the same reason we camp,fish,hike,etc.I've hunted for at least 35 years;there is a difference between hunting and killing.scores of times I've hunted without killing.it's the challenge of finding game and interacting with the environment.With the skills I've developed,i would not be another statistic during a disaster in-which the normal public services are unavailable.to me,those who criticize hunters and outdoor enthusiasts are also the same ones who cry the loudest when the power goes off and services they rely upon are unavailable.it's more of an independence thing.

Answer 7

It's been said that if someone has to explain, you likely wouldn't understand.

A couple of quotes from Russ Chastain on about.com:

"The hunting instinct is one of the most basic instincts of mankind. After all, we are the ultimate predator. Take a look at "prey" animals. Their eyes are usually on the sides of their heads, affording a wider field of view. They lose some depth perception with this arrangement, but it helps them survive. Predators, on the other hand, characteristically have their eyes set close together, very useful for estimating the distance between he and his target. Beyond this, the urge to kill lies within us all, especially as children. Without proper channeling of these instincts, children often grow into physically abusive and/or murderous adults."

"It's there for you to discover, and judge for yourself if you want to take part in it. But please, "don't knock it until you've tried it." That's the only way you'll ever know for sure."

Answer 8

An Italian guy with the call Duncan O`Connor? thrilling.... i'm no longer a hunter, yet i'm exceptionally knowledgeable. nevertheless, i'm no longer a hundred% precise. Animals i will think of of might contain squirrel, rabbits, pheasants, duck, quail, deer, submit to, coyote, wolf, mountain lion (as damaging to African Lion), turkey, ducks, doves, grouse.... that could desire to cover maximum of them. oftentimes everywhere interior the rustic, although Southern states, the Nortwest corner, and the Appalachian Mountains could tend to confirm extra hunters than factors like Illinois, Southern California, Detroit, or ny city. type of section might count number at one in all those animal i think. From what I comprehend, birds (different than for turkeys) tend to be hunted close to lakes and rivers, whilst the rest tend to be hunted interior the forests. Bow, shotgun, rifle, black-powder rifle. License and looking out rules might count number on the state you have been in on the time. in line with threat no longer the main diverse answer, in spite of the undeniable fact that it is going to supply somebody else an thought to paintings off.

Answer 9

Why do we garden ? Can't we buy all the Flowers and Vegetables we want at the store ?

I hunt because it my right and it's HUMAN NATURE. I hunt because there is the satisfaction of knowing that I provided food for my family with my own two hands (same reasons I grow as much of my own vegetables as I can)

When you go to the market and buy chicken, meat, fish or go to a restaurant and order any dish with meat YOU are simply paying someone else to do your killing for you or didn't you realize that ?

Answer 10

Americans have the right. I do not think that it is right to shoot an animal for sport. I have no problem with a human shooting the animal for food to survive.

Do you think that the meat we buy in a grocery store is that different ? That animal had to die too. Probably live under worse conditions too.