Hunting...

[eo_chibears]

I heard some people talking about hunting that I work with. It made me sick to my stomach. The way they talked about shooting a deer with an arrow and slitting its throat when they found it dying was very hard to hear. Is praying for these people the best recourse? I feel bad for judging them as cruel people, but I can’t help it. Any advice would be very appreciated. God Bless.

 

[kmuestwin]

I heard some people talking about hunting that I work with. It made me sick to my stomach. The way they talked about shooting a deer with an arrow and slitting its throat when they found it dying was very hard to hear. Is praying for these people the best recourse? I feel bad for judging them as cruel people, but I can’t help it. Any advice would be very appreciated. God Bless.

I think after the arrow maimed the animal, slitting it’s throat was probably the humane thing to do.

A lot of people hunt and fish. Some do it to feed their families. If my (hypothetical)kids were hungry and the best I could provide for them was deer meat, we would have enough deer meat in the house to sustain us.

Animals aren’t people.

That’s my opinion but its not important. To answer your question:
If you think these people are overly cruel or have some sort of bloodlust, pray for them. If you hope they find the means to provide for their family without hunting, pray for them. If you don’t like people killing animals at all, pray that people will stop killing animals. If it makes you feel better and draws you closer to God, pray for them. Extra prayers can’t hurt anyone.

 

[edward_george]

These people haven’t done anything wrong. What you describe is actually fairly humane and a common practice–although a good hunter with a good aim can get a kill shot and not have to worry about the business of tracking a wounded, dying animal and putting it down. Cruel would be shooting an animal sloppily, then letting it wander around dying all day. What these people did was to put the poor thing out of its misery. Hunting, in and of itself, so long as it is practiced in the realm of good stewardship–hunting sustainably, observing firearm safety, humane practices–is not against Church teaching.

-ACEGC

 

[eo_chibears]

These people haven’t done anything wrong. What you describe is actually fairly humane and a common practice–although a good hunter with a good aim can get a kill shot and not have to worry about the business of tracking a wounded, dying animal and putting it down. Cruel would be shooting an animal sloppily, then letting it wander around dying all day. What these people did was to put the poor thing out of its misery. Hunting, in and of itself, so long as it is practiced in the realm of good stewardship–hunting sustainably, observing firearm safety, humane practices–is not against Church teaching.

-ACEGC

The animal never would have been in misery had they not shot it to begin with. These same people seem to kill many more animals than they could possibly consume for food. I got the feeling they actually enjoyed the act of killing the deer. I will pray for them. Thanks for the response.

 

[eo_chibears]

I think after the arrow maimed the animal, slitting it’s throat was probably the humane thing to do.

A lot of people hunt and fish. Some do it to feed their families. If my (hypothetical)kids were hungry and the best I could provide for them was deer meat, we would have enough deer meat in the house to sustain us.

Animals aren’t people.

That’s my opinion but its not important. To answer your question:
If you think these people are overly cruel or have some sort of bloodlust, pray for them. If you hope they find the means to provide for their family without hunting, pray for them. If you don’t like people killing animals at all, pray that people will stop killing animals. If it makes you feel better and draws you closer to God, pray for them. Extra prayers can’t hurt anyone.

I will definitely pray for them

 

[jwinch2]

Have you ever been in a slaughter house where beef cattle, hogs, chickens, turkey, etc. were being killed? Its a nasty and messy as anything you could imagine and usually far more disturbing then hunting.

Hunters need to be sure they are skilled enough to get good shot to the vitals so that the animal dies quickly whenever possible. Taking enough gun along is also important. Having a gun which is too small of a caliber can cause the animal to be maimed but get away leading to needless suffering.

Many would argue that hunting and living off of what you hunt may be more humane then buying your meat. No matter what you read on the label, there is no such thing as “free range” at the grocery store. There is only a slightly larger cage.

The overwhelming majority of hunters I know do their absolute best to be as humane as possible and they all eat what they kill. My only concern with hunting is with those who do it for trophy or, those who just do it for the kill such as people who go on prairie dog shoots or that sort of thing. To me that is wrong, and immoral. Hunting for food on the other hand, in my view, is perfectly fine.

BTW, what do you think happened with all those fish Peter pulled out of the sea of Galilee after Jesus told him to fish in deeper water? There wasn’t a great deal of catch and release going on back then…

 

[Catholic90]

There is nothing wrong with hunting deer.

There are huge deer populations in many, many states, and car/deer collisions are a real threat and danger.

From this link:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries. The actual numbers are probably higher because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s figures for deer accidents, rely on inconsistent state reporting- there is no standard reporting of deer accidents in the country yet, and a “reportable deer accident” varies significantly between states.

 

[eo_chibears]

Have you ever been in a slaughter house where beef cattle, hogs, chickens, turkey, etc. were being killed? Its a nasty and messy as anything you could imagine and usually far more disturbing then hunting.

There is nothing wrong from a moral standpoint with hunting as long as the animal is harvested for food and not just trophy hunting. Also, hunters need to be sure they are skilled enough to get good shot to the vitals so that the animal dies quickly whenever possible. Taking enough gun along is important. Having a gun which is too small of a caliber can cause the animal to be maimed but get away leading to needless suffering. Many would argue that hunting and living off of what you hunt may be more humane then buying your meat. No matter what you read on the label, there is no such thing as “free range” at the grocery store. There is only a slightly larger cage.

The overwhelming majority of hunters I know do their absolute best to be as humane as possible and they all eat what they kill. My only concern with hunting is with those who do it for trophy or, those who just do it for the kill such as people who go on prairie dog shoots or that sort of thing. To me that is wrong, and immoral. Hunting for food on the other hand, in my view, is perfectly fine.

BTW, what do you think happened with all those fish Peter pulled out of the sea of Galilee after Jesus told him to fish in deeper water? There wasn’t a great deal of catch and release going on back then…

Yeah I see your points. I personally do not eat meat, mainly because of the humane issues in how animals are ‘processed.’ I just need some guidance in my feelings towards hunting and meat eating in general. I view hunting and meat eating as cruel and often times judge people for engaging in these activities. I know it’s not right for me to judge people or look down on anybody. It’s something I have struggled with for years. God bless.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

There is an old saying: “If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat”.

 

[Catholic90]

There is an old saying: “If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat”.

 

[Equites_Christi]

There is an old saying: “If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat”.

It is true that animals are for our benefit and, while we should be merciful and considerate, they are ours for the taking as we need them.

But the problem with that expression is that someone could retort, “Well… then why did He make us out of meat?”

 

[eo_chibears]

There is an old saying: “If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat”.

I like this one more, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.” Proverbs 31:8

 

[Allegra]

I didn’t hear the conversation, but in general, hunting for deer is far more humane than supporting the meat industry, which causes much more animal suffering on a massive scale and is not particularly healthy. There probably are people out there who have a blood-lust, but most people who hunt are not of that kind.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I like this one more, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.” Proverbs 31:8

Animals…? Helpless?

Apparently you’ve never been attacked by one.

 

[Allegra]

Animals…? Helpless?

Apparently you’ve never been attacked by one.

My finace and I saw an elk about two weeks ago in the park. He clearly didn’t like us in his area and kept charging at us as we tried to walk around him at a safe distance. I guess he didn’t know that walking paths are for people, not elk. Definatly not helpless!

 

[StarFireKK]

These people haven’t done anything wrong. What you describe is actually fairly humane and a common practice–although a good hunter with a good aim can get a kill shot and not have to worry about the business of tracking a wounded, dying animal and putting it down. Cruel would be shooting an animal sloppily, then letting it wander around dying all day. What these people did was to put the poor thing out of its misery. Hunting, in and of itself, so long as it is practiced in the realm of good stewardship–hunting sustainably, observing firearm safety, humane practices–is not against Church teaching.

-ACEGC

It is very difficult to shoot an animal with a bow and have it die before it takes another step. Bowhunting kills by bleeding the animal out, you almost always have to track the animal. I personally don’t hunt with a bow for this very reason but that doesn’t mean the OP’s hunters made a bad shot.

To the OP, most hunters care a great deal about animals. You can’t hunt an animal and not learn to respect it. All those taxes paid on guns and hunting equipment go to maintain public wildlife areas. Hunting is also regulated to help control the populations. On years the animals have not been doing well you can’t hunt them. On years the population is out of control you tend to be able to hunt more. Out of control population is a threat human lives, especially with deer. In my state almost every year there is a death related to a car hitting a deer.

Some hunters do hunt more than they can eat. They generally donate the extra meat to a food bank or soup kitchen. Other hunters freeze the meat and eat it throughout the year. When they eat their game meat they aren’t buying the processed meat in the stores.

I’m sorry you find such practice cruel. But honestly for my family it is a huge lifeline. We couldn’t afford to eat buying meat every week all year and we certainly couldn’t afford a meatless diet.

 

[Dan_Daly]

There is an old saying: “If God didn’t intend for us to eat animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat”.

It is an interesting saying, especially considering that man did NOT eat meat, at least not as a regular part of his diet before the Deluge. God permitted the practice of eating meat as a condesencion to human weakness after the Flood. This also ties into the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays and other times.

As far as hunting goes, not it isn’t cruel or sinful unless someone does so in a cruel or sinful manner. There is also nothing wrong with taking joy in hunting, as long as one is enjoying the good, and not indulging in sadism.

Pax

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

My finace and I saw an elk about two weeks ago in the park. He clearly didn’t like us in his area and kept charging at us as we tried to walk around him at a safe distance. I guess he didn’t know that walking paths are for people, not elk. Definatly not helpless!

It’s common knowledge that we humans are only superior due to our intelligence. Our brain is our only true natural weapon. For the rest of the animal kingdom, they have:

Claws
Fangs
Venom
Spikes
Horns
Stealth
Bulk
Size
Strength
Savagery
Antlers
Speed
Stingers
Tentacles
Acid

There’s a reason why so many writers of both science-fiction and fantasy have a tendency to place such features on humanoid characters. Here’s a hint: It’s not for show and even we, with all our brains, still envy other species.

 

[Allegra]

It’s common knowledge that we humans are only superior due to our intelligence. Our brain is our only true natural weapon. For the rest of the animal kingdom, they have:

Claws
Fangs
Venom
Spikes
Horns
Stealth
Bulk
Size
Strength
Savagery
Antlers
Speed
Stingers
Tentacles
Acid

There’s a reason why so many writers of both science-fiction and fantasy have a tendency to place such features on humanoid characters. Here’s a hint: It’s not for show and even we, with all our brains, still envy other species.

I don’t know about all that. There are thousands of species of animals that live around me and I can count on one hand the number of them that I would be likely to lose a fight to.

Number one is elk.

 

[eo_chibears]

It is very difficult to shoot an animal with a bow and have it die before it takes another step. Bowhunting kills by bleeding the animal out, you almost always have to track the animal. I personally don’t hunt with a bow for this very reason but that doesn’t mean the OP’s hunters made a bad shot.

To the OP, most hunters care a great deal about animals. You can’t hunt an animal and not learn to respect it. All those taxes paid on guns and hunting equipment go to maintain public wildlife areas. Hunting is also regulated to help control the populations. On years the animals have not been doing well you can’t hunt them. On years the population is out of control you tend to be able to hunt more. Out of control population is a threat human lives, especially with deer. In my state almost every year there is a death related to a car hitting a deer.

Some hunters do hunt more than they can eat. They generally donate the extra meat to a food bank or soup kitchen. Other hunters freeze the meat and eat it throughout the year. When they eat their game meat they aren’t buying the processed meat in the stores.

I’m sorry you find such practice cruel. But honestly for my family it is a huge lifeline. We couldn’t afford to eat buying meat every week all year and we certainly couldn’t afford a meatless diet.

I appreciate your position. But honestly a healthy meatless diet is not as expensive as lots of people seem to think it is.