Should Hunter's be Ashamed ???

[Will]

Who feels that Hunting and Hunters as a rule have been forced to "Hide" what they do from society in general ?

We now are asked not to "display" animals when transporting them etc. We should hide them from "view" so as not to offend others.....

Great Tips are surfacing on many sites on how to Prop up your Animals for photo shoots so as to make the animal appear "unharmed"....even to the point of sewing mouths closed so the tongue doesn't protrude...nothing wrong with a great quality Pic for the Hunter to cherish but come on....I've even seen Fellas chastisized for posing with the animal while holding thier Rifle, seems some feel the "weapon" should not be in the Pic.

Many Hunters have actually begun to Believe ALL this crap themselves....Misguidedly calling it Ethics etc. What a Crock of crap !

You Killed an Animal........Yes I said KILLED, not "Harvested"
Deal with it !

I for one refuse and always have, to "Hide" what I'm doing from anyone.

I Hunt, I kill things, it's what I am. I decorate my Home with pieces of Animals........some call them Trophies. I eat and help feed my Family with Meat from Dead things.

Continuing to "Hide" our Lawful Activities from Society's Mainstream only serves to further the "seperation" that the Hunting culture continues to face.

Time to stop being ashamed of what you do and bring it back into the light

[CanuckShooter]

I don't agree totally with you. I 'harvest' the animals that I kill to eat....it's the varmints that just get killed.

We need to return to our roots.....when hunting to feed our families was our tradition...and not something to be ashamed of.

[Mauser98]

Two years ago I killed a nice bull moose. When it came time to come home, I tied the rack to the front rack of my quad that was then loaded into the trailer. I deliberately put the rack on display as a bit of an experiment to see reactions if any.

I was amazed. I got nothing put positve reactions(pumped fists, flashing headlights, smiles etc) from the time we left Chetwynd to Horsehoe Bay.

At the ferry terminal, people came by to admire and ask questions. All very positive. Not one downer.

I refuse to use the term 'harvest'. About the tamest I'll go is "I took a nice bull last year" but usually I say 'kill'. I 'harvest' potatoes.

When I kill an animal, I feel pride and satisfaction with just a touch of saddness and I'll be god-damned if I'm going to hide out.

[Kevin21]

I am wondering myself on what to do with this situation yes I live in PG but how are my neighbours going to react when i do Kill something? I plan on going out in the next couple of weeks to get a bear, Am I going to be able to hang the cape in my yard or am i going to get screamed at? I am new to the hunting game and I awit my first kill but i have thought about this a great deal and not sure what to do.

[Krico]

I feel no need, and refuse to, "hide" anything to do with the fact that I hunt. I take every opportunity to explain to non-hunters the reasons why I hunt, and most people I find are simply curious and appreciate when someone takes the time to speak with them. I also don't feel a need to show off to the public, which is I think what is meant by "display." If there's an animal leg sticking out from the truck box so be it, I just don't feel the need to rope animals to the hood of my vehicle.

[Bigbear]

No Damed way should we fell ashamed. The only negative results would be from a City person who has never or never will get out in the outdoors,Or has had Wild meat on the Table. The 30 something , Preppy croud. There has been hard times in my past were we had to depend on Wild meat to get By. I personaly have never had a Bad reaction. Nothing But positive. I think on the most part, thru advertising and good will thru wildlife organizations, Hunters are looked as another method of wildlife Conservation , besides the CO's, and group of people who still live by the life of the early Canadians who founded the Vast great country of Ours.

[CanuckShooter]

I am wondering myself on what to do with this situation yes I live in PG but how are my neighbours going to react when i do Kill something? I plan on going out in the next couple of weeks to get a bear, Am I going to be able to hang the cape in my yard or am i going to get screamed at? I am new to the hunting game and I awit my first kill but i have thought about this a great deal and not sure what to do.

Rule Number 1 >> Don't take any chytt from anyone....if they wear leather shoes, or eat meat of any kind...they are no different than you except they prefer to pay someone else to KILL for them...they are the weak ones that will all die of starvation before they get blood on their hands...no loss to us.

[BearSniper]

Will...

Buddy I sense the reactions to the Coyote photo may have got you thinking and thus you made your post about being ashamed of hunting.

I want you to know I agree with you that we should not be ashamed of our sport and be proud of it. I have no problem with trucks/campers towing trailers going down the highway in the fall with a big set of antlers on top of a tarp in the back. Everyone else knows what they're doing and they just have to accept it. Hunters exist. Period.

Hunting is a part of our national heritage and history shows that the europeans came here to trade furs with our fellow original native hunters. To this day our first nations brothers hunt all over for survival. I mean come on, ever heard of the Hudsons Bay Company ?

I think also the proud trophy pictures posted with your kill is perfectly fine and we shouldn't shy away from it.

However, the photo of the Coyote with the huge hole in it perhaps should not have been shown. I think theres a difference between a great trophy shot, as in Hunter 1947's avatar, and many other avatars, and the blown apart coyote. All I'm saying is that picture is now evidence. Evidence that our opponents would use against us. Why hand them the tools by which they can attack us ?

I totally agree with you that hunting involves death and we put the dead things on our walls and eat them. Got a few of those myself. But, theres a subtle difference in the "style" and "graphic" of the photo. Also, as one of the other members pointed out, that picture was a very good example of very poor shot placement.

Just my 2 cents.

Bottom line: I too, won't be ashamed of hunting.

[Gateholio]

I don't hide and I dont' harvest....

When you "hide" something, it becomes a "dirty little secret" and therefore becomes something that peopel are not used to, which makes it easier for them to condemn it.

A classic example of this is gun ownership in Canada- when the more restrictive laws came into force, most gun owners werent' affected- they didn't own those sort of guns, anyway, so they didnt' care.

But they somehow felt that if they started to "hide" what they were doing wiht thier trap shotguns and deer rifles, they woudl fly under the radar..so gun racks in trucks starte to dissappear, and gun owners tried to appease the public and the politicians by "hiding"

Well, we all know how that turned out.

No, far form hiding anything, hunters shoudl be on display. I'm not sure if Ted Nugents "in your face" technique is the best way to do this, but being constantly in the public eye, especially when there are conservation projects on the go, is necessary.

Put on your best face, but dont' hide who you are and what role hunters play in management and conservation.

[pupper]

I dont hide what I do, but I am a sportsman who respects the game I take and make use of it for nutrition, trophy, hide whatever it may be.

some people like killing for the sake of killing and like to showcase gore and it looks bad for the whole group of hunters.

You can do what you want but like it or not we now live in a PC world and sometimes it sucks, but if we as hunters want a voice, privelages, and freedom we will have to play by the rules of society otherwise run the risk of being outlawed for disrespectful behavoir.