The Necessity of Hunting

The Spanish philosopher, Jose Ortega y Gasset, wrote: “One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted.”

For the best among us, hunting is a devotional activity. It is about complete immersion in our humanity; it is about the long trek of evolution; it is the heartbeat of our species; it is our souls, for lack of a better word. But not one of the best hunters among this tribe of sportsmen would continue if we were not also serving conservation and the very animals whom we hunt.

Cecil the Lion died during an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe, and that country is taking action to prosecute the wrongdoers and improve the implementation of its game laws. Why? It was the money that hunting brings into that trackless economy that funded the very park which kept Cecil safe for most of his life.

For my urban friends in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, trophy hunting is inconceivable and signing petitions to ban it seems like the very least they can do. It is the very least, and the very worst. Conservation does not advance anywhere without ensuring the well-being and support of the people closest to the resource.

I recall reading some years ago an article by testosterone-deficient lib who'd been taken hunting by a friend. Somehow, he successfully harvested a deer. The emotion he experienced at that moment was difficult for him to describe. He said, as he knelt beside the lifeless buck, he felt . . . he felt . . . gratitude.

This perplexed him as he wasn't sure to whom this feeling of gratitude was directed.

So he thanked the deer.

Alas, the godless.

I have no problem with someone going to Africa, BFE or anywhere else and hunting anything legally-however, none of the lovely platitudes in the 2nd paragraph pertain to “trophy hunting”.

I hunt only what I want to eat-not trophies. I go into the woods on my own little feet, with my rifle and look for game-that is what my family taught me is “hunting”.

Trophy hunters are notorious for removing the head from their kill and leaving the rest of the animal in the field-a waste of meat. They trespass, crossing fence lines indiscriminately, they participate in canned hunts-the killing of trapped, often semi-tame animals, which is illegal in many places-and many do not care about making a clean, merciful kill-like that assh*** who poached the lion, causing it to suffer because he was a bad shot.

You can’t buy a set of cojones by shooting a trapped animal-either you are sure of your masculinity, or you are not-a “trophy” won’t do the trick...

If someone wants to shoot a dangerous animal-let them go into that totally wild animal’s habitat, stalk the animal, make a clean kill and pack it out of the field-and obey all the game laws while they are at it-they can come here, go into the woods and fields and shoot some of the big, dangerous wild hogs that eat the vegetable crops and attack animals and people-and they are good to eat...

Most ranchers out here stopped booking trophy hunts years ago because it ended up being unsafe and expensive as far as property insurance was concerned-they are back to leasing to meat hunters, who at least obey the law...

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