I know that all vegetarians aren’t automatically against hunting or for PETA type animal rights, but a large majority are. How often do you go to a site dedicated to their lifestyle and find a link to ‘animal rights’ or ‘PETA’? A lot, as is the case with Living Without Meat.
In the animal world, its eaten or be eaten, the hunters are doing what mother nature would be doing if we hadn’t removed all the natural predators. Now, it is up to us to do the job.
I ran across the above quote while reading a response to an opinion piece on hunting in a newspaper. As you can tell, it is in support of hunting, not against. And it is a sound argument, even one that I have found myself using from time to time. But after reading it, it got me to thinking.
There are a few things about this argument, as stated here, that are a bit off, and seem to be quite often. First, all the natural predators haven’t been removed. What is more accurate is that we have reduced the number of natural predators to the point that they are no longer effective in naturally controlling the population.
Living smack dab in the middle of Ontario’s “cottage country” definitely has its benefits, but it also comes with a few drawbacks as well. There are the beautiful lakes and beaches, the grand provincial parks, and the breathtaking scenery and history. The biggest plus is the small and mostly quite towns. That is, until the weekends.
The weekly trek of “cottagers” from the big cities, like Toronto, is a phenomenon that simply amazes me. If I lived in the city, I would want to escape it as well, so I understand their desire. What gets me is that by them doing so in the numbers they do; they bring many aspects of the city with them so their plight seems a pointless one.
I’m a big fan of the CBS show Criminal Minds, but I was a little disappointed with the newest episode which originally aired on May 2. The episode was titled Open Season, and yes, it was about hunting and hunters. The blurb for the episode says it all.
The BAU is called to investigate after the bodies of missing people are discovered in a remote region of the Idaho wilderness. The gruesome find also leads the team to determine the unsubs have been hunting humans for sport.
Another post by the wife
Right off the bat I’m going to point out that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an American, but I’m embarrassed for Cliff, as an American, when I see wingnuts like Dan Simpson spouting their verbal diarrhaea to the masses. Let’s take his ideas point by point (it’s easier to swallow drivel that way).
Now, how would one disarm the American population? First of all, federal or state laws would need to make it a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison per weapon to possess a firearm. The population would then be given three months to turn in their guns, without penalty.
3 months, eh? (note Canadian lingo). How generous. For the sake of extreme generosity, let’s say there are only 1 million of the suckers floating around between Canada and Mexico. That would mean 11,111 firearms would need to be turned in each day all across the country. Anyone see any red tape/logistic problems there? From what I understand, a trip to the DMV would be a vacation compared to a trip to turn in your guns. FYI, there are an estimated 193-250 million firearms in the good ole US of A. Crunch those numbers.
The word radical quickly brings to mind a myriad of negative connotations for most people. It’s a word that is increasingly used and thrown around to label people or groups in today’s world with little regard to the actual definition of the word. Maybe a review of the meaning is in order.
Radical is often times used to label anyone who supports gun rights and the Second Amendment, with little care for the fairness or validity of doing so. How often, though, do you see the term used to describe anti-gun groups and some of the ideas they have? In all fairness, I believe this is one instance where the use of the word radical has become skewered in America today.
It isn’t much of a surprise to hear the call for tougher and more stringent gun laws after the shootings at Virginia Tech. As many writers and bloggers in the outdoor community have already stated, it was only a matter of time. I haven’t weighed in on the issue because it has been so well covered, but I find myself not being able to keep quiet any longer.
The world is full of what-ifs. We always wonder what would have happened if things would have been different. And it is always easy to imagine another outcome that is more pleasant than what actually did. The ‘would the Virginia Tech tragedy have happened if there had been tougher gun laws’ question is one of these.
Just a little over a month since the infamous Jim Zumbo post calling AR-15’s “terrorist weapons”, papers continue to write about the incident. Maybe not quite as quick as it spread across the internet, the story has spread across the globe. This morning I stumbled across a newspaper article from Australia talking about Jim Zumbo, the NRA, and the controversy over the Second Amendment in the US.
It seems that hunters always end up being the bad guys these days in movies. It doesn’t matter if it’s animated films like “Open Season” or live action films like the new, independent horror movie “Hunting Season”. In the case of the two I mention, even the titles can be directly connected with our sport. I have to say, I am getting tired of the negative image such films give us.
Here is the synopsis for “Hunting Season” as it appears on the official website for the film.
Six friends go camping deep in the woods for “the best weekend ever.” But after an encounter turns tragic, a pair of sadistic hunters sets out to wreak relentless, violent revenge.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard and/or read the phrase, ‘The Second Amendment is not about hunting’ recently. Of course it isn’t, it is about our constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms. No place in it does it once mention the word hunting, but hunting is inherently linked to it. Without the Second Amendment, there would be no hunting.
I know that the phrase is being used as a wake up call to those hunters who haven’t grasped this concept yet. Those few so blind that they aren’t able to see that once one gun is taken away, it opens the way for all guns to be taken away, right down to their hunting rifles and shotguns. The reality of the situation is something that each and every hunter needs to realize, and many of them do.
The Jim Zumbo fiasco and its aftermath has no doubt made a lot of people take things into consideration they hadn’t before. As I’ve watched the drama unfold over the last week, there has been one very common request of Mr. Zumbo from many non-hunting gun owners. ‘Never go back to hunting again and dedicate yourself to sport shooting and fighting for the Second Amendment.’ Not a direct quote, but paraphrasing the general jest of many comments that say that in one way or another.
I’ve thought about those comments all weekend, and the longer I think about them, the more they bother me. Not only are they unrealistic, they are very unfair coming from the people that are shouting them. Many of you may disagree, but let’s stop and take the time to really look at this from an unbiased point of view here.
Everyone knew the fallout from the comments made by Jim Zumbo on his now defunct Outdoor Life blog would be major, but how deep it goes is somewhat surprising to me. The “terrorist” and “banning” remarks Zumbo made were bad, no doubt about it. The turmoil that’s erupted though has the potential to be more damaging to gun owners and their rights than any one of the now infamous Zumbo quotes. The thing that surprises me the most is where this turmoil is stemming from.
Gun owners, both hunting and non-hunting shooting enthusiasts, are now supplying additional ammunition for the anti-gun supporters. While there are many level headed people on both sides of the fence, there is a large number of both too busy pointing fingers and laying blame to even realize what the hell they are doing. I, for one, say it is time for the to take the time to stand back and take a look in the mirror before they continue running their mouths.
I was again reminded this morning, while watching cartoons with my kids, of what an unrealistic picture they paint of animals. During a song on one show, they were singing about polar bears and part of the lyrics went: “big, white, gentle, and fluffy” (maybe not in that order). Yes, they are big, white, and fluffy, but gentle isn’t a word that comes to mind when I think of them.
No wonder so many children find the idea of hunting so appalling when they are bombarded by such skewered views at every turn. In real life, animals may be as cute and cuddly looking as they are portrayed in cartoons and other children’s programming, but they are by no means gentle and friendly. They may not be man-eaters, but they can still be dangerous.
For quite some time I’ve came across ‘Hunting for Bambis’ while doing hunting searches on Google. I had never clicked on it because the title alone brings to mind anti-hunting sentiments based on Disney’s classic animated film. Well, I finally clicked on it this morning. Boy, was I surprised!
There isn’t one bit of anti-hunting propaganda on the site. In fact, there is little to do with what most sportsmen would consider traditional hunting at all. For them, ‘Bambis’ are what they call naked women that men pay 5-10 thousand dollars to hunt with paintball guns in the deserts surrounding Las Vegas.
Hunters tend to be very vocal in their opposition against gun control. More often than not, this paints them in a bad light to the general public. While there are plenty of radicals out there, many hunters have sound and logical reasoning for their views on the issue.
While I’m not able to speak for all hunters, I do feel my views on it are fairly common ones throughout the hunting community. No matter, though, they may give people a little insight into what I feel is a reasonable stance on gun control. At the very least, it could provide some food for thought.
Gun control itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s when it’s carried to an extreme that it becomes an issue with me. There are plenty of good laws already on the books that would do a good job of gun control if they were enforced, or if they were even enforceable for the people they need to target. Many of the new proposals and laws currently target law-abiding gun owners, not the criminal elements they should be.
Hunting Sense: Where It’s Always Open Season.
Can’t get out to hunt? Read about it! Keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the hunting world, learn new tips and tricks from experienced and novice hunters alike, or join in and give us your thoughts on anything hunting related.
If you’re out of your tree [stand], HuntingSense.com is the place to be!
Hunting Sense Author(s)
» Cliff
