How do you lose the guilt of hunting?

I was telling a co-worker that I had 4 meat chickens ready to harvest. She was horrified and told me that I should not kill them, but go to the store and buy my chicken meat there. I asked her what the difference was? If I buy meat at the store, I am essentially just paying someone else to kill the animal. It doesn't matter if you are paying someone else to do it, or you do it yourself, you are still the one killing the animals. So, the real question is, do you feel guilt when you eat a burger, or chicken sandwich?

Exactly. I've been told by anti-hunters, "you don't have to kill that poor animal, you can go to the store and buy all the meat you need there!"
I said "do you know where that meat comes from? Those animals have to be killed too!" They are so out of touch with reality.

Besides, I'm poor. Hunting gives me more meat than I could ever hope to buy.

It's odd how most people don't have a problem with fishing. Even anti-hunters don't usually get worked up too much about killing a fish.

This subject is one of those, where everyone has their opinion and beliefs.
I have only changed my opinion of belief once, that I can recall.... on subjects like this.

That was the value of a $80 buck Mosin Nagant....proper tool for that job, old, loose long and heavy....( I missed the fun part, so changed my mind.
That's pretty much it.

The only time guilt had anything to do with hunting and killing animals... was an incident that occurred having to do with a pair of squirrels.

I was deer hunting...carrying a .44 mag Carbine.

The pair were "mating" on the side of a tree......really going to it.

Figured I could blast both with one shot.....

As I was sighting them in the scope....a putting the crosshairs on his butt...the thought crossed my mind.....
This little guy has chased this female for a while, and chased off other suitors, ....and finally gets to "seal the deal".

Then some a-whole comes along and sends both to squirrelly heaven....just at "that" moment.

Couldn't do it....and as the says goes.........They lived happily ever after in squirrel fashion.

I have no guilt from hunting, because I only kill for food or threat. When I kill animals for food I use as much as possible leave the rest for for other animals. Always follow this rule only take what I need, and need what I take.

I am not a hunter, only killed because I had to eat when out in the bush(then I only took what I needed small game, rabbits, fish,crabs,bugs,scorpions,birds,etc..as anything larger for me would have been a waste for a few days)... I do not condone trophy hunters one bit nor poachers.
However Hunters on the other Hand that hunt to eat and feed their family these guys I have the greatest respect for, I actually feel (and maybe I am wrong) they actually value and care more about animal welfare than the meat industry. Food for thought?

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Originally Posted by Antonyraison

I am not a hunter, only killed because I had to eat when out in the bush(then I only took what I needed small game, rabbits, fish,crabs,bugs,scorpions,birds,etc..as anything larger for me would have been a waste for a few days)... I do not condone trophy hunters one bit nor poachers.
However Hunters on the other Hand that hunt to eat and feed their family these guys I have the greatest respect for, I actually feel (and maybe I am wrong) they actually value and care more about animal welfare than the meat industry. Food for thought?

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Doesn't have to be food for thought...that is true
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We have many organization that solicit funding for protection of habit and fair laws to preserve the game population for the future.
Our state DNR Department of Natural Resources uses Our licence and permit money for forest/game management, wardens and research on disease control and water management.

Unless I'm missing something....You don't see PITA "supporting" the management and habitat....just are "against" hunting.

I have been involved in Ducks Unlimited for 30 plus years....95% ofall the money we make from events,... dinners and raffles,...goes to purchase and preservation of waterfowl habitat.
There are many others..Wildlife Federations, Turkey Federation, Whitetails Forever, Pheasants Forever...and many, many more....are made up of hunters and sportsman......the work to conserve wildlife.

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Doesn't have to be food for thought...that is true
.
We have many organization that solicit funding for protection of habit and fair laws to preserve the game population for the future.
Our state DNR Department of Natural Resources uses Our licence and permit money for forest/game management, wardens and research on disease control and water management.

Unless I'm missing something....You don't see PITA "supporting" the management and habitat....just are "against" hunting.

I have been involved in Ducks Unlimited for 30 plus years....95% ofall the money we make from events,... dinners and raffles,...goes to purchase and preservation of waterfowl habitat.
There are many others..Wildlife Federations, Turkey Federation, Whitetails Forever, Pheasants Forever...and many, many more....are made up of hunters and sportsman......the work to conserve wildlife.

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Plus you made the point that the wildlife population would be worse off without regulated hunting.

Many backpacker and hikers complain about horse back riders. But, guess who does the most free trail conservation projects? Guess who carries the most trash out of wilderness areas?

I like to refer to PETA as UPETA, or "Unethical People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". They are so hypocritical.... better stop now...

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Originally Posted by Antonyraison

I am not a hunter, only killed because I had to eat when out in the bush(then I only took what I needed small game, rabbits, fish,crabs,bugs,scorpions,birds,etc..as anything larger for me would have been a waste for a few days)... I do not condone trophy hunters one bit nor poachers.
However Hunters on the other Hand that hunt to eat and feed their family these guys I have the greatest respect for, I actually feel (and maybe I am wrong) they actually value and care more about animal welfare than the meat industry. Food for thought?

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I find that I actually love and respect animals more because I am a hunter. Hunting requires a great deal of patience and understanding about the animal you are hunting. Being out in the woods in their territory helps you to get a glimpse of what their life is like.
Liberals think that because I am a hunter I must see any and every animal as a kill opportunity and that my blood lust is great. The opposite is true. Any animal I encounter that is hurt or in bad shape I am more than eager to help it and see it survive.
An example is last spring while on a drive to town I saw a baby martin curled up along the road. I stopped and walked up to it, it sat there and looked at me. A red smear on the road suggested that its mama had been killed. Was my first response to stomp it into oblivion? (as anti-hunters would have us believe) No, I took it home took care of it, and eventually gave it to a local trapper who has killed hundreds of marten. Did he kill it? Nope, he still has is and keeps it as a pet. He loves that thing. He still traps, he does not hate animals.

I hunt because I enjoy being out in the woods hunting. I kill an animal because I enjoy eating. I can't say I feel guilty about it. I do feel bad if an animal gets away. Does not happen very often, but has happened a couple of times with birds. Those I do feel disappointment in myself about. I ask what I could have done different/better so the animal would not suffer.

I pondered for a good while whether or not to reply here, but in the end I decided to chime in. When I was a kid my brother and I would take out our BB guns, then .22s and shotguns when we got older, and blast anything we could find. We hunted frogs which Mom would cook up, be shot rabbits, birds, porcupines, skunks, etc. My brother especially probably killed more magpies and songbirds than a thousand feral cats could kill in a thousand years. I hunted with my dad from the time I was old enough to walk and when I was big enough to take my Hunter's Safety Course to get my own license I did. From the age of maybe ten up til I was in my early twenties I hunted quite a bit. But by the time I turned 20 I lost my taste for killing animals. As a kid there was a tremendous rush from the actual hunt and taking the shot. But eventually I got to where I didn't like to kill thing.

Don't get me wrong- I am 100% in favor of hunting. It's natural, it's a normal activity for an apex predator like a human, and since we killed off most of the other apex predators it's important that humans assume their role to manage prey populations. And I am 100% not a vegetarian! If something with a face didn't die for my meal then it's just a snack. I just don't enjoy killing the animal. Which doesn't strike me as too odd. After all, I like having clean laundry and clean dishes but I don't really like doing either.

I guess I have to wonder why the OP wants to become a hunter if he doesn't like to kill, either? It does make sense to know the skills but if you don't like doing something I see no big reason to try to force yourself to learn to like it.

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Originally Posted by alaskabushman

I find that I actually love and respect animals more because I am a hunter. Hunting requires a great deal of patience and understanding about the animal you are hunting. Being out in the woods in their territory helps you to get a glimpse of what their life is like.
Liberals think that because I am a hunter I must see any and every animal as a kill opportunity and that my blood lust is great. The opposite is true. Any animal I encounter that is hurt or in bad shape I am more than eager to help it and see it survive.
An example is last spring while on a drive to town I saw a baby martin curled up along the road. I stopped and walked up to it, it sat there and looked at me. A red smear on the road suggested that its mama had been killed. Was my first response to stomp it into oblivion? (as anti-hunters would have us believe) No, I took it home took care of it, and eventually gave it to a local trapper who has killed hundreds of marten. Did he kill it? Nope, he still has is and keeps it as a pet. He loves that thing. He still traps, he does not hate animals.

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<3 and this is exactly why I have respect for "Hunters" they understand how nature works and have a great love and respect for living things.

How do you loose the guilt of eating meat? Oh, I know. More hot sauce. Never mind.

When you go from having to get food boxes from the food bank in order to feed your kids, to having to buy a second freezer to keep your meat, you get over any "Bambi feelings" pretty darn quick.

As I stated in a previous post, the title of this thread is disturbing because GUILT implies that one is doing something wrong and instantly places the reply as a defense of the wrong that has taken place.

Hunting is not wrong. There is no guilt to overcome unless we allow a manipulative mind to place that guilt on us with a statement that is a magnificent example of lawyer-speak equal to "do you still beat your wife?"

Hunting is legal.
Hunting in many states is considered a RIGHT of the citizen and protected from harassment, except on outdoor forums.
Hunting supports research and management of wildlife and in most states license fees are the only funds allocated for that activity.

No licensed hunter taking game in accordance to legal rules of fair chase has a reason to prove their innocence to anyone and no one has the right to ask a question framed in this manner.

My opinion is that this thread should be locked down due to irrelevance.

I agree...opinions are not going to change....

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Originally Posted by kyratshooter

My opinion is that this thread should be locked down due to irrelevance.

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I agree as well. Lets move on to something new.

No need to close the thread. Just let it die from inactivity if that is the general feeling.

I can't see why people can't comprehend why one would feel guilt from killing another creature. If on no other level any intelligent, compassionate person should be able to understand it at least as thought experiment. And those that can't imagine it, try to imagine this- you step on your dog in the middle of the night and she yelps and scrambles off with her tail between her legs. Would you feel bad at all? Or what if you had to put down a horse you'd had for many years or a dog you raised from a pup? There's really no difference between shooting a deer and shooting your dog except in your own mind. Yet most people would readily do the former and recoil from the latter.

Again, this doesn't mean there's anything wrong with hunting. It just means that some people are wired to feel empathy for more creatures than you are. It's not good or bad, it just is.

We comprehend it and understand the squeamishness fully.

If you do not want to hunt but still eat your steaks rare that is your business, just don't try to justify it with some philosophical BS which is not even the point of the thread.

The point of the thread is that no one has the right to ask the question, "How do you overcome the guilt of hunting?".

If someone were to approach me at the tailgate of my pickup on opening day of deer season and ask me "How do you lose the guilt of hunting?" I could have them arrested for hunter harassment, imprisoned for 90 days or fined $250.

But here it is supposed to be OK.

I grew up hunting and fishing. I've never felt any guilt at all for killing animals, birds, fish, and putting them in the freezer and on the table. I no longer hunt, not because of "guilt" but because spinal, hip and arthritis problems preclude it. I can still get up into the mountains to enjoy the "great outdoors," but my "killing days" are over. Happens to a lot of us as we age. :yes:

S.M.