Sportsman Etiquette
By goldeneagle
@goldeneagle (6743)
United States
August 10, 2008 5:12pm CST
I was just reading an article on another site that was talking about why people hunt bears. I agreed with most of what the article said. I then read a comment that was posted by another reader that started me thinking about something. The comment stated that if the author respected God's creatures, he wouldn't kill them. However, if you read the Bible, you will find that GOD states in His word that it is OK to hunt/kill for food. I find it hard to believe that hunters are disrespecting God's creatures by hunting them for food. I do agree that some hunters do it unethically, but most hunters do it cleanly and respectfully. Unfortunately, the few who kill just for the trophy, leaving the meat to rot, give those of us who have been taught to respect the animals and only kill what we can use a bad name.
I do not hunt bears. I have never lived in a place where bears were plentiful. To be honest, the only bear I have ever seen was in the mountains of North Carolina when I was there on a family vacation as a kid, and I saw it from a distance. We didn't have any bears where I grew up, and we don't have any where I live now as far as I know, but I have grown up hunting deer, squirrels, and other animals. I have always believed that a hunter or fisherman should not kill any animal that he/she does not intend to eat, nor should we take more than we can use. Responsible hunters have passed this down from generation to generation as part of the responsibility of being a hunter or fisherman. Nothing angers me more than being out hunting and finding a carcass that has been discarded by a hunter with only the antlers or the head removed, or with only a small portion of the meat removed. If there is a time that a sportsman disrespects God's creatures, this is it. If you are going to kill an animal, use all of it that is usable. Even if you don't want all of the meat, or any of it for that matter, there are other people who would love to have some meat. Giving this meat to others could provide them a meal when they don't have anything else in their freezers, or at the very least, provide them a little variety. Keeping this in mind, hunters/fishermen (and women) should do the right thing and process the entire kill, even if we don't intend to use it all, because someone can use it. I just wish everyone shared my views.
What do you think? If you hunt or fish, do you share my opinion on this? If you don't hunt or fish, do you have an opinion on this? What say you?
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