Is Hunting right?

[Cortheya]

Please describe for me then what defines a sentient being. And please do not quote a dictionary or wikipedia.

The ability to feel (that is to say, perceive subjectively) makes a creature sentient. While we have no way to truly show that animals are sentient, there is no reason to assume that they are not. They react in all the sorts of ways you would expect a sentient creature to act.

I disagree... I feel that a sentient being is something that is self aware and can make moral choices. That is what defines humans from animals. Do I think that over hunting is wrong? Yes. Do I think that hunting for sport is wrong? No. Do I think that torturing animals is wrong? Absolutely but hunting is not torture.

 

[Kollega]

You're misunderstanding it..They're not doing it because they like to hurt living things..Is fishing wrong too?

I said "sadistic". I don't like "sportsman" hunters,and then there are those who brutally torture squirrels "just because".

 

[Gator the Dark Freelancer]

That's BS. Animals are animals. I think killing them for food is perfectly reasonable. Killing for sport....to each his own. I just know I won't because I couldn't hit a bull's butt with a bowl of rice.

 

[MasterSqueak]

There's a differance between having dogs tear things apart and hunting.

The whole point of sport hunting is usually to kill the animal as quick as possible, such as instant-kill shots to the head or behind the shoulder blade.

And hunting is necissary to keep animal populations from exploding.

 

[Del-Toro]

Hunting is as natural as the berries on bushes, don't believe me? Just look at the daily lives of tigers and wolves, and to a lesser degree foxes (I seem to be under the impression that they are omnivorous). If it's done properly, then it's done (relatively) humanely, and many hunters eat what they kill, just as many fishermen catch and release, or at least eat their catch, in this capacity, it wasn't done for it's own sake, and at least the animal got some use, just as it would have had it been caught by another local predator, which, because of their tendency to attack the livlihoods of farmers, and the summary retaliation, are now rather sparse. I don't really see the point of hunting for trophies ,then again you could probably eat the rest of the animal,I don't see why it has to be one or the other. In that capacity, you can't really assign a black or white alignment to it, it's a grey area, as are so many other things we argue over, they aren't inherently right, but not inherently wrong either. In gamer terms, you won't gain any paragon, but don't expect to gain renegade either.

 

[jpoon]

I'm all for hunting and I believe it is a right among the people of America. If you need food why not get fresh food from mother nature, damn well beats anything you're gonna get from any processing plant. Many times the animal populations need to be curbed for a few species, deer being one that comes to mind, the bastards cause problems when there are too many of them in one area, elk being another. I say kill 'em if you will eat em or if you will use their loot! Plus there's surely a few extra experience points for a good clean kill!

 

[orangeapples]

Meh, humanity has always had problems with killing. it isn't until recently that they got a conscience about it. Good for nothing science. It is all science's fault that people feel guilty for killing.

j/k

hunting is something that people do for survival. sometimes people just need meat. They don't go around looking for animals to kill.

sometimes, hunting becomes a massacre. Some rich people go to hunting farms. Areas of forest which had fences built around it so the animals cannot escape. Here they can simply corner an animal, shoot it and call themselves a hunter. More often than not, the animals in the farm have no way of hurting the "hunters" A little while back, Dick Cheney was at a quail hunting farm and shot that one guy he was with.

To be honest hunting is not a sport. I just feel that it is a sport when both teams understand the rules. with hunting, the hunters know the rules, but the animals do not. It is hardly an even playing field when the goal of the game is that the animals die.

 

[inflamessoilwork]

You can't call shooting a deer from a mile away with a rifle "hunting". Grab a knife and go after it, then we'll talk.

 

[historybuff]

We have hunting seasons in America. My dad, grandpa, cousins--all hunt deer in November. My sister's boyfriend hunts bear up in northern Michigan (but he's crazy, I mean, I'd hunt a deer but I'm not hunting a fucking bear).


But as far as just needlessly mutilating an animal--not doing anything productive with it--that's just wasteful.

 

[Biek]

I dont mind hunting much as long as its done responsibly. Same goes for fishing. Endangered species shouldnt be hunted, period.

 

[Grand_Arcana]

TC, that's not hunting. That's just sadism. Really, it's no different than dogfighting rings.

-snip-.

-snip-

BTW, if you're not a vegetarian/vegan, how do you condone the raising and slaughtering of animals for your "unnecessary" consumption? Eating meat is by no means a necessity. At least the animals in the wild have a fighting chance compared to those that are raised for slaughter and are guaranteed to die. Here in the states there are plenty of laws and regulations in place that limit hunting. They regularly monitor populations of the animals and only give out so many permits to make sure to not harm the herds. I'm not sure exactly how it is in the UK but I doubt if it's much different.

I don't condone the way that farm animals are treated: stuffed into tiny cages to never see the light of day, but eating meat is a necessity. People who are vegetarian may not drop dead, but most people would suffer health problems for it in the long run. In fact, since our early ancestors hunted, meat should be considered a standard part of our diet. Eating meat is part of the reason that we are so intelligent. The calories, vitamins, and lipids are necessary for proper brain development (not to insult vegans or anything.) In general, predators are smarter than prey.

_

Now, I feel that hunting predators is wrong. Wolves are about to be free game, and there are people out there how have no problem hunting them to extinction. (Sarah Palin had no qualms with hunting them from a fucking helicopter for god sakes.) That being said, if we hadn't driven wolves and other predators to near extinction, we wouldn't have to hunt deer for population control. Im also extremely perplexed at the fact that people actually want to hunt Bald Eagles in America, and at one point almost drove them off the face of the Earth. I mean, why would you want to shoot our national bird of all things?

So I really don't see the point, aside from the meat (I've always wanted to taste venison). Even so, since deer are no where near becoming extinct, there's no reason to outlaw it in America anyway.

 

[Vuljatar]

The thing is not that they're fully sentient. The thing is that,i repeat,they feel pain. And if hunter hunts out of his sadism,not neccesity to feed himself,there can be a lot of pain.

Sadistic hunters share a page with Dr.Mengele in my books,because... well,they like to hurt DEFENSELESS living beings.

Do you know any sadistic hunters?

No? Neither do I.

I can't answer the question "Is hunting right", because that is subjective. If you don't like it, then it's obviously not right for you. However, I can say that if the question was "is hunting wrong", the answer would unquestionably be no.

 

[sumanoskae]

Let me put it like this, you're a dear, life is hard enough with predators and such, and then some random guy with a gun comes out of nowhere, kills your mom and mounts her head on a wall. The old moral law, treat everyone else the way you want to be treated. Hunting is only justified when it?s necessary for survival, just like killing of any other kind

 

[BlackJack47]

After reading an article about people in London and Liverpool, catching urban foxes and cats and having their fighting dogs mutilate them for fun, i found myself very unhappy with humanity.

I don't agree with any form of hunting unless its necessary for food. I am not a vegetarian but hunting for sport just seems sick you know.

Obviously this is an opinion alot of people out there who do agree with hunting and i very much doubt they mutilate animals.

So what are your views? Should we stop hunting, make more strict laws, or whatever you want to say.

I am very interested in comments by people outside of the UK.

Thanx for reading.

P.S. I'm just an animal lover. Not an eco-terrorist.

People that live in the city don't understand anything about hunting, its not all for sport, a large amount is population control and stopping the spread of disease. If dogs living in the wild caught and killed a fox it would be natural and you wouldn't mind... but as soon as we domesticate them you hate it, grow up.

Thanx for the flame, I make an open discussion and you find a problem with it. It is you who need to grow up, i treat your views with respect please do the same.

 

[oppp7]

There's also hunting to keep a population down, but ya, hunting for fun just breeds psychos.

 

[sms_117b]

Hunting is a great part of the English/British heritage, I'm all for it.

To those not in the know, I care so little for animals I'm almost a pro-animal testing activist.

 

[ShavingCream]

I hunt for sport, but we eat what we kill, unless it is something small,
3 dove = not enough to eat, leave for scavengers
10 dove = mmm, dove stew
not to mention, for those who say using a gun is cowardly, we weren't made with claws or teeth, and we certainly can't "snipe" a deer from three miles away

 

[Davey Woo]

Hunting for survival is a natural thing, it is what we did before we became "civilized" Hunting for fun isn't natural, and the way it is carried out I think is unnecessarily cruel, in that sense, I disagree with hunting.