General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why is hunting so sacred? [View all]MontanaMama
(23,313 posts)It is about the experience of providing for yourself through fair chase ethical hunting. The meat is excellent, very lean and healthy. It is the goal of an ethical hunter to make sure that the animal is killed quickly and efficiently which is VERY different from the existence of animals in factory farming in this country. It is a family effort when a deer, elk or antelope comes home to get it cut and wrapped. My 12 year old got an elk and a deer this year and worked really hard to get it done. Early mornings in the cold with his dad not to mention the time spent at the shooting range to make sure he was familiar and comfortable with his rifle. He had to take a 4 week long hunters safety course to even apply for the tags. When his hunt was done, he was so proud of his effort. The experience of hunting for the guys in my family is not punctuated by the death of the animal. It goes much deeper than that.
For what it is worth, I was a strict vegetarian when I met my spouse. Not because I was against eating meat but because I felt I could not do the killing myself and felt it was hypocritical to buy meat from the store when I knew the animal was treated so horribly. The game that comes home to our house is from an animal that had one bad moment at the end of their lives as opposed to a bad life start to finish. If we are going to eat meat, it is important to understand that there is sacrifice involved. I take it seriously. I shot one deer many years ago. I cried and cried and then walked over a ridge and threw up. If my husband and son didn't hunt, I would not eat meat from the store.