I want to hunt, but I believe I'm unable to do it

[ConHog]

While mowing last night, near our garden bed, I was watching my mowing line when movement up ahead caught my eye. I looked up and saw a large Doe about 40 feet from me (estimate - I was half-way along our 60' garden - she was just beyond the far edge of the plot)standing perpendicular to my travel, but head and eyes watching me. She was beautiful. Her coat was nearly the colour of my dog. Beyond her another 20 feet was a young buck, his ~8" antlers just sprouted. Both stood and watched me. I shut the mower down and stared back. After a few seconds, they gracefully walked across our driveway and towards our pond. I started the mower and followed some - they went up to the apple trees in the back of the house, then around to the far side of our pond, and snacked on a couple nibbles of weeping willow. On foot, I approached my side of the pond as the young lovers pranced down between my willows, and out to our tall grass and evergreens.


I was thinking - I cannot fathom putting a 12 gauge slug into either of their chests. I wanted to pet them, not kill them. Yet, I want to have the skill to harvest the deer. However, being around my dog - a real emotion/instinct-driven creature with a heart and lungs and whatever...man...I'm not sure I could do it.

Is all life too precious? Would probably be easier to take down a feral pig or something not as pretty as a deer, maybe...
'

I don't hunt. Plenty of wildlife around here, and I DO let a few people hunt on my property b/c a fact of life is that if people didn't hunt the deer around here they would over populate and end up dying of illness and such; but I am picky about who I allow to do, it has to be people who I KNOW are using the animal as a food source. Myself, I don't care enough for deer meat to hunt them; but to those who do I say enjoy. To those who trophy hunt I agree with you. Disgusting. Join the military and shoot at someone/thing that can shoot back.


I don't fish either, for much the same reason. Don't care enough about the fish to do so, and I can afford to buy my meat, but again, we have a river that runs through the back of property and I DO let a select few use my property while fishing (I don't own the river so anyone can use that)

[logroller]

What position do people take on nuisance animals: rats and mice, squirrels and gophers, rabbits and possums....things like that; is it ok to kill for quality of life? I mean, cattlemen don't like losing animals to squirrel holes. Farmers dont like rabbits eating their crops. And mice and rats, well, they're just disease transport. When is it ok to kill for our convenience; where do you draw the line?

[ConHog]

What position do people take on nuisance animals: rats and mice, squirrels and gophers, rabbits and possums....things like that; is it ok to kill for quality of life? I mean, cattlemen don't like losing animals to squirrel holes. Farmers dont like rabbits eating their crops. And mice and rats, well, they're just disease transport. When is it ok to kill for our convenience; where do you draw the line?

For the most part we try not to kill anything on our farm. Even snakes as much as I hate them, if they leave me alone, I leave them alone.

[PostmodernProphet]

fishing is easier....we have catch and release....(though if you promise not to tell my kids, the reason they always managed to catch more fish than dad was that I generally didn't bother to put bait on my hook.....I just enjoyed sitting on the shore with my cap over my eyes)......

[jimnyc]

fishing is easier....we have catch and release....(though if you promise not to tell my kids, the reason they always managed to catch more fish than dad was that I generally didn't bother to put bait on my hook.....I just enjoyed sitting on the shore with my cap over my eyes)......

Very true, I love fishing! The only time I would ever keep would be like a 10lb Largemouth Bass and above, to stuff the bastard. Other than that everything gets dumped right back in the water. I'm sure they aren't thrilled with having a hook ripped through them and dragged to the surface, but after all, they started it by trying to steal my food!