Hypocrisy of meat eaters (from a hunters viewpoint).?

I have a problem with trophy hunters, not people who hunt as a legitimate source of food. I grew up poor, and my father often hunted to feed the family. I grew up eating moose, rabbit, deer and fish. Healthiest meats you can get. I've always had a healthy respect for life and death, and I learned early that if an animal should die to feed me, respect in every way possible. I took that with me into adulthood where I learned to be a chef. I moved to another country and don't hunt. I don't have the time, but I fish once in a while. I do pay extra for meat that has had a better life. Again, respect it in life, and respect it when dead by treating the meat well, using good ingredients, and having pride when serving.

Many people don't understand this, or have never been taught this.

Okay, well I may be the first Vegan to step out of the crazy zone here to acknowledge something. I don't think hunting is completely wrong. Now before I get flamed for being a hypocrite I want to make a few statements.

Hunting for a food source when necessary becomes a need at times. Yes hunting for sport is disgusting and wrong but most hunters disagree with the reasoning behind trophy hunts anyway and poaching is just obscenely wrong.

Secondly some forms of hunting actually require skill. Personally fire arms are easy, point and shoot. Bow hunters are respectable because they must take the time to learn to hunt. You know they are dedicated to perfecting their shot and take extra time to insure they are doing it correctly. Plus the animal stands a chance at this point, because you must be within a closer range to hit them and mistakes you make give them an opportunity to escape. (It's more fair)

Finally I would like to say these animals were not raised purely as "food" they have lived a life outside of being confined to a pen. They face the risk of other preditory animals every day, and like I stated before, although I feel Rifle hunters have an unfair advantage, I can respect their right to hunt for food.

As long as you don't Hunt for sport, disrespect the animal, and take unfair advantages(guns,feeders, ect.) I find hunting to be completely respectable.

Yes, that seems pretty hypocritical of someone to eat meat, but condemn others for hunting for food. Well, not so much hypocritical as pot calling kettle black. Hunting is, IMO, unethical, but far more respectable than supporting big ol' gov't subsidized slaughterhouses.

Now, the question of "Would you become vegetarian if you had to hunt all your own meat" has been asked many a times here. I'm sure the breakdown would be something like this:

-I already do

-I could, (I've done it before), I just choose to buy it out of convenience

-I don't think I could.

I have a problem with folks who hunt for sport, use the wrong size ammunition for a target, bait, etc....

You put what you shoot in your freezer? I have no problem with that....

I know more than a few people who would go hungry in the winter otherwise. Some of the soup kitchens in the northern part of my state rely on hunters, especially after tourist season is over.

I do eat meat on occasion , but I agree with you - if people had to skin their dinner, we would have far more people who ate far less meat....

yeah, I noticed that too. Then I went vegan and then still got sh*t. From the SAME people. Whether it be hunting or working with farm animals.

I too have been attacked many times by anti-hunters who seem not to realize that their grocery store or fast food meat also came from an animal and yes I agree that is hypocritical. It is also a demonstration of their own extreme ignorance. I have actually had people tell me that hunting is wrong because "we can get our meat at a grocery store".

Fortunately the majority of people (70+%) who eat meat are not anti-hunting, so most of us don't have to deal with this type of stupidity too often.

Keep in mind that the veg*ns who call you "compassionless" also kill animals, both directly and indirectly, in many ways other than eating them. However they tend to deny that fact when it is brought to their attention.