The Young Thinkers' Society

[Katie Kolodzie]

Okay, everyone who was at teh Salon of the 27 is probbaly sick of this topic, but we got into a LONG discussion on the ethics of hunting. I am a hunter (bow and arrows only) and I eat whatever I kill.
I personally don't find any ethical problem with this, since I would just buy a steak from teh supermarket instead of the venision or turkey that I eat. The animals doesn't suffer any more when it dies than if it was caught by a predator like a mountian lion.

Seanen most certainlydoes have a problem with it, but I dont' think i could do it justice. Seanen, explain if you want.
_________________
Despair is for those who can see all ends. Can you? Then hope.
-Gandalf

[sb311]

I wasn't at the salon, but I can contribute (I think) because I am a vegeterian. So yes, I am biased because I have a moral problem as much to buying steaks in the supermarket as hunting. But, about the hunting...

Basically, I think that there are a few things wrong with hunting (and I'm not really preaching at all, or telling anybody they should stop....these are just my reasons for disliking the practice.)

First off, predators like mountain lions need to eat "venison or turkey" to survive. It is part of the food chain, the circle of life. But humans can survive very well without meat of any kind. So, picking off venison or turkey from the wild rather than buying it is depleting the predators' supply of food. It's kind of like...doing it just because you can.

It is a fact that animals are specifically created just to be killed for meat. In my very-vegetarian opinion, that is bad enough. But these animals ARE designed to be eaten. And wild animals are not. (Health-wise, isn't it more dangerous to eat wild animals? Bacteria and all?)

I also think that dying by being attacked - with a gun or with an arrow - HAS to be suffering. I mean, it hurts! Humans don't hunt each other, and so I have a moral aversion to hunting the defenseless ones. The poor creature already has a tough life, with horrible environments, dwindling habitats, depletion of resources...I think it's exercising too much of human power to hunt.

Anyways...I could get into the whole argument about vegetarianism too if anyone wished to pick that bone with me...lol

[Katie Kolodzie]

Belive it or not, wild meat is acutally less dangerous than cow meat. This is becuase that sick animals are usually eaten pretty quickly, and if you process them yourself you can be sure you do everythign right. If you take it to a game butcher to get it processed, they handle much, much less meat so there is less risk of contamination and etc.

By the way, I think you reasons are valid reasons for personal choice. My mom's a vegetarian too, and I understand why some peopel chose it.
_________________
Despair is for those who can see all ends. Can you? Then hope.
-Gandalf