Saturday 9 May 2009

Why we hunt

Well done to Holly Heyser who has posted this video on her NorCal Cazadora blog - it's an excellent effort to explain the paradox of how it's possible to be a 'hunter' (in the US sense) and to love nature.



3 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...

James,

It seems that way doesn't it, a paradox.

I'm raising a mockingbird (American songbird) by hand. It seems that some people think that as a hunter, I can't possibly care about animals. But I have found that the majority of people who hunt, also spend the most time actually, physically caring for wildlife.

We are the first to raise a clutch of mallard eggs next to the TV, pull a coyote out of a hole in a frozen river, or bottle feed a baby raccoon.

Best regards,
Albert
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles.
The Range Reviews: Tactical.
Proud Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit.

PS: have you been to Hubert Hubert's blog Rabbit Stew? He is anew hunter, and he writes exceptionally well.

vicky said...

'Hunters' just have a closer relationship with nature than the 'others'. We see life and death, the 'circle of life' if you like, where other people close their eyes to it. We know the fox kills to feed it's cubs and, if it kills too much of what we need to feed ourselves (directly or as part of our livelihood) we must kill the fox. But we don't want those cubs to starve to death so we impose rules and close seasons on ourselves, we let a few stay to keep the rabbits under control.... 'Outsiders' do not see this balance, don't understand that life and death are normal. That just because you kill doesn't mean you can't care.

Holly Heyser said...

Nicely said, Vicky.

And Albert, I'm fixing to right a post that will mention you and your baby bird, if I can just get out from under this avalanche of grading...

Thanks for the mention, James!