are there any people out there that are animal lovers AND gun lovers?

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First, excellent idea for a thread. I'm vegetarian as well, have an overdeveloped reverence for life, and have no qualms about quelling a threat in a vigorous fashion. I'm also NRA and several animal charities, and sort of had to reconcile that in my head.

I support responsible hunting. Taking all you can eat, eating all you take. Sadly, the season approaches where I'll find headless carcasses all through the woods.

I've read this whole thing, not sure where all the personal attacks are coming from, as I said, I thought this was an excellent idea for a thread.
 
blofeld,

like i said, there is one in every thread. brucerducer thinks he can start a flame war by trying to make this thread about animal rights activism when no one else in the thread other than him has said anything regarding the rights of animals. the thread was supposed to be about people who love animals but still see the merit in hunting for food and sport (as long as the remains will go to good use).
 
I love my dog, and every dog I've ever had, and most other dogs as well (too bad most people aren't as pleasant as most dogs are) Because of messed up knees I don't hunt deer, etc anymore, but still shoot varmints. Don't know anyone/thing that eats prairie dogs except coyotes, badgers, rattlesnakes, and birds of prey. Ranchers and farmers will poison them, which IMHO is dangerous because poison is fairly indiscriminate, so shooting them is good practice environmentally.

My Cairn Terrier is also a varmint hunter, but loves most other dogs and people. :D
 
I am a cat lover. I have no use for Dogs but I have 2 cats. I had 4 but the ex took 2 of them in the divorce.
That being said I have no problem with anyone choosing to hunt as long as they are not doing it just for the kill.
 
Legal in my state is the dreaded English Sparrow. Can someone give me the rationale?

Again, I think the vast majority of hunters do more for conservation than most animal rights groups, and if there is a logical reason for some of the animals on the menu, I'm curious as to how those animals impact their environment.

Does anyone eat racoon or groundhog? Are squirrels worth the effort? And the sparrow, really, why?

I'm not trying to stir what seems to be an already volatile issue, I am genuinely curious.

Thanks in advance.:)
 
The English Sparrow is a non-native invasive species that clogs gutters and nests in barns, sheds, and purple martin houses. It is not a part of the natural fauna of this country, and therefore on the 'ok' to kill list in most states. Consider it the 'dandelion' of the bird world. If you live in the city/suburbs you can kill the dandelions, but must tolerate the english sparrows. Those of us that are blessed enough to live in the country can kill both. Same situation for the non native starling and Norway rat. We have dozens of wonderful native sparrow species who's environment we to support.

BTW, I have studied ornithology, feed birds, worked on state/federal bird censusing projects, and regularly fill my bird feeders.
 
Thank you, Bhk. I assumed there was a reason, but couldn't find it, and therefore couldn't justify it.
 
You are welcome, Blofeld.

To many rural folks, squirrels are considered good eating. I remember when my then five-year old daughter told my wife that squirrel and home grown broccoli was her favorite meal for dinner (we thought it a little strange). She then changed her favorite meat to venison, then to beef. Now, as an adult, she became a vegeterian! Go figure. Athough she now states if she had to eat meat it would be hunted meat, not the stuff raised on a farm.

Groundhogs are shot because they dig their dens in farmers' fields and eat their crops. I had a local farmer call me for help last year due to a family of groundhogs that had pretty much leveled a half-acre of soybeans - he was not happy. Groundhogs also regularly dig their dens under the foundations of farm buildings and on pond dams (not good).

Raccoons are generally killed (shot and trapped) for their pelts. Whether one agrees with this practice or not, it is both a big business and a recreational pastime in rural America.

I consider myself fortunate. I grew up in the upper-middle class suburbs, and was blessed enough to have financing to pursue advanced college degrees. As a teenager, I was exposed to hunting/shooting mostly through my grandparents. When it became time to get a 'real' job, I chose to live in the country and have never looked back. I know many city dwellers who may visit the country on weekends. My wife and I do the opposite: live in the country and do 'country things,' and then go to the big 'city' ounce or twice a month for a touch of so-called 'culture.' We greatly appreciate both!
 
rabbits taste like chicken. no joke. i was surprised at how much a rodent can taste like a bird.

Just FYI , rabbits aren't rodents. They don't belong in the rodenta family.
 
*ISSUE THE FIRST*

brucerducer thinks he can start a flame war...etc---AgainstThaGrane
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In point of fact, you fail to provide a single quote wherein my remarks are characterized by FLAMING anyone.

________________________________________

**ISSUE THE SECOND**

"...by trying to make this thread about animal rights activism when no one else in the thread other than him has said anything regarding the rights of animals."-----AgainstThaGrane

It seems that you like to keep the subject void of all contextuality. That way, it is possible to engage in an Animal Rights Advocacy by way of popular opinion which serves to marginalize those who employ firearms to engage in lawful activity regulated by the States and Federal Gov't, as well as the laws of other nations.

_________________________________________________________________________________________


***ISSUE THE THIRD***

"
the thread was supposed to be about people who love animals but still see the merit in hunting for food and sport (as long as the remains will go to good use)---AgainstThaGrane
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).

So? How does that disinclude legal and ethical propositions which do not specify that the remains are put to any specific use?

For that matter, what specific "good use" are you recommending?

/
 
Not sure what you mean by "Animal Lovers". I'm not protective of wild animals to the point of actually doing harm to them by letting their population get out of control where they'll die horrible deaths by starvation, road kills and human harm. I'm all for having hunting seasons to cull the herds but want hunters to use utmost care in dispatching the animals as quickly and humanely as possibl
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I agree with that.....there was a show on this weekend about the overpopulation of snow geese. They said it had grown almost 4 times the # of what it was 15 years ago. If Im not mistaken it was like 10 million birds. They said the population was to the point of pushing other migratory birds out of their native areas and eating all their resources. In cases like that and the wild hog I see no problem in harvesting them.
The deer population is way larger than it was 20 years ago in most states and most of that is due to hunters creating and managing food plots and habitat for them.

And the poster who asked about eating racoons, yes, there are people who still eat them.....myself NOT included but I do know several people who eat them as well as possum and nutria (big rats)...
 
I am a vegetarian and a gun owner, but not as obsessed with the issue as many here seem to be.

I don't really have a problem with real hunters, who obey the laws and respect the wildlife, its not the act of death that bothers me when people hunt - its when people wound or don't have a clean shot and the animal dies suffering.

People who trap or run around the woods shooting things just to shoot I personally hate, they show such disrespect it almost makes my head want to explode.

I also don't view real hunters to be the ones who put out salt licks and camo boxes, that's the same as going to a shooting range, the only difference is what you are shooting at is alive.

All the "hunters" I personally have ran into have been real jackasses, but I am sure not all are like that.
 
Hi Blofeld,

Sparrows, or for that matter any bird in large numbers, are a threat to both health and safety. When they roost in the crevises of the roofs of grain bins their guano contaminates the grain stored. In storage shed that guano is very high in both nitrogen and phosphates. When it rots in large quanities the heat given off is capable of causing fires. Especially in buildings where the owners are careless of cleaning up petroleum products.

Groundhogs leave very large and very deep burrows in fields. When the guide wheel of a tractor or combine or even worse a grain wagon breaks through one of those there is a good chance of upseting the machinery with grave danger to life and limb.

Item last: I know quite a few people that will eat groundhog and consider it a delicacy. As for raccoon, the pelt is still a valuable commodity though not worth as much as- say -when my Dad was a boy. I've met people that considered the lowly muskrat proper table meat as well as horse, dog and even rat under certain conditions. While I personnally would not eat muskrat, horse, dog or rat it's not for me to tell them they are wrong to do so.

Selena
 
i love dogs, and like most animals, other than cats. i still shoot, hunt, sometimes i eat what i shoot, sometimes i dont. i went through a stage where i wouldnt shoot anything i wouldnt eat. but i have gotten over it. woodchucks, crows, skunks, possoms, etc., beware!
 
Thanks for the legit responses to my legit question. But the last post, skunks? Forget the moral/ ethical reasoning, why would you even attempt that? Why risk it? I wouldn't care if it was the tastiest critter with the worlds most valuable pelt, some things aren't worth the possible consequences.:)
 
But the last post, skunks? Forget the moral/ ethical reasoning, why would you even attempt that? Why risk it? I wouldn't care if it was the tastiest critter with the worlds most valuable pelt, some things aren't worth the possible consequences
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Keeps the nosey neighbors away for good the first time they smell that skunk. "What are you doing...what's that smell? (nosey neighbor runs away)..." LOL

Seriously though, skunk fur is quite nice. It is bad if you put the knife too deep while cutting and get that nice skunk smell really strong...
 
NO CATS!!
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There's a feral cat that comes around in the winter begging for food, and I give it some to keep it from starving....but do you think that cat would come when I say, "Here Kitty, Kitty!"?

No. She goes: :neener::neener::neener::neener:

Which serves to show that some of the human species probably don't exactly qualify as intelligent! Heh heh!
:what:
 
I was actually a vegetarian for some time, not because I'm necessarily against eating meat, I love it. I'm against the kind of treatment that most livestock and poultry have to go through, even cows and chickens used for milk and eggs.
Just look at some of the undercover videos taken by members of the ALF. I am no longer a vegetarian because it's getting harder and harder, but i keep my meat consumption to a minimum. Try the MorningStar veggie-chicken patties and nuggets, really do taste like chicken. :p
Having said that, i have no problem hunting, only if i intend to eat what I kill. Atleast if i shoot it, I can make sure I kill it properly. When it's for your own consumption, then it's only natural.
 
Re: ALF

/

Just look at some of the undercover videos taken by members of the ALF.----Boris
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Thanks for the comment Boris.

Would you please identify who the ALF is?

There are so many groups and so many acronyms that I don't immediately know who this is. :)

/
 
I like and respect animals, but at the same time I am a realist. People have hunted and eaten animals since the beginning of time, and I see no reason to change now just to accede to someone's idea of what is politically correct. That and I enjoy hunting, and understand its importance in controlling animal populations. I think hunters in general are a lot more respectful and supportive of wildlife and natural resources than some hippie liberal in Berkeley, because the hunter actually uses and enjoys these resources, and wants to preserve his hobby and way of life. He is not doing it out of some touchy-feely PC notion. Ever wonder why lumber companies plant far more trees than environmentalists? It's because they want to preserve their business, much like the hunter/fisher/camper.
 
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