307trout wrote:
I'll try to offer an honest answer whether you question was genuine or not.
I think its similar to how you respect an opponent, or a rival in any competition. I harbor zero ill feelings towards the animals I hunt. In contrast, the more I learn about them, the more times I try and fail to get within hunting distance of them, the more time I spend living in their environment, the more I admire and respect them. I had about zero feelings towards elk when I started hunting them. Now, 3.5 years later, having killed 2, I hold them in very high esteem. Their daily movement strategy, using mountain thermals, movement, and daylight/darkness to protect themselves from predators of all kinds is incredible as is their physical toughness and stamina.
Having said that, I also feel a slight remorse when I'm successful. Taking a life for my own gain isn't something that the vast majority of hunters take lightly. The elk that comes from my freezer, having been killed by me and carried out of the mountains on my back, is treated with great respect. My daughters know that they'd better not waste any of it because we all value what it took to bring it to our table. We had elk loin grilled with spinach and feta salad last night as a matter of fact.
The antlers on my wall remind me every day of one of the most important weeks of my life. Non hunters tend to think of the trophies as an expression of ego and I'm sure that's true for some, but for many, I'd even say most of us, they are important reminders of the experiences that led to them being there. My DIY, public land, solo 5x6 280" elk antlers and meat mean more to me than my 3 NCAA-II individual title awards.
In the general absence of guns, the concept of hunting in Oz is somewhat foreign. As such I never thought I'd say this, but I think that if I believed all hunters were like this I'd have few issues with the concept.
I also accept it's somewhat hypocritical to eat meat from shops and criticise hunting for food.