Extreme Hunting

[GiggLeGasm]

I've never initiated a thread here. I'm more of a silent observer with occasional input. I happened upon a story this morning and I'm wondering if my response is too far away from center in either direction. So.. because I believe this forum represents a pretty broad spectrum of lifestyles and viewpoints, I thought it might be an interesting topic to share.

In general, there is a comedian who has elevated attention on extreme hunting by posting negative comments on his twitter feeds.

http://distractify.com/alex-scola/tweet-tweet-bang-bang/?ts_pid=2&ts_pid=2

One of the hunters has suggested that his attacks are sexist in nature and that his comments are causing a social attack which threatens her safety.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32349098/extreme-hunter-blames-ricky-gervais-for-death-threats

Personally, I was unaware that these animals were raised for the sole purpose of being killed in sport. I just can't fathom that someone would seek to learn this sport, or that killing animals who have been relatively tame is sporting. I'm not sure I understand this. If it is what I assume it to be, I don't understand how there isn't public disapproval.

What is the general opinion?

 

[BotanyBoy]

I think these coward hunters should grab a straw and suck it up....

Don't want to be criticized for it? Don't go about gloating how you managed to squeeze a .338 Lapua on a cat from 3/4 of a mile out like a fuckin' bitch.

Extreme hunting...LOL you can't call it that unless the game shoots back

 

[Que]

I thought this was going to about my idea of issuing hunting tags for ISIS.

 

[Ishmael]

I've never initiated a thread here. I'm more of a silent observer with occasional input. I happened upon a story this morning and I'm wondering if my response is too far away from center in either direction. So.. because I believe this forum represents a pretty broad spectrum of lifestyles and viewpoints, I thought it might be an interesting topic to share.

In general, there is a comedian who has elevated attention on extreme hunting by posting negative comments on his twitter feeds.

http://distractify.com/alex-scola/tweet-tweet-bang-bang/?ts_pid=2&ts_pid=2

One of the hunters has suggested that his attacks are sexist in nature and that his comments are causing a social attack which threatens her safety.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32349098/extreme-hunter-blames-ricky-gervais-for-death-threats

Personally, I was unaware that these animals were raised for the sole purpose of being killed in sport. I just can't fathom that someone would seek to learn this sport, or that killing animals who have been relatively tame is sporting. I'm not sure I understand this. If it is what I assume it to be, I don't understand how there isn't public disapproval.

What is the general opinion?

And where in the world did that come from? I could find nothing to support that assertion.

As far as Gervais is concerned, he's an ignorant ass.

Ishmael

 

[Lord Pmann]

I actually had this discussion with someone last week. I am all for deer hunting and all of that, as it helps control the population. But I find this hunting to be a bit extreme. I really dislike hunting just for sport. I mean, if these animals were used to feed people or whatever, okay. But just to get a trophy of an exotic animal? That's kind of morbid, in my eyes.

The guy with whom I had the discussion last week was one of these hunters. He traveled to Africa to do some of these hunting trips. According to him, the animals they hunted were only old or animals that have been abandoned by their pack and would suffer an ill fate. I don't know how that could possibly be known, but I'm just telling you one bit of their justification.

Either way, it's not my thing. I couldn't even shoot a deer, personally. No problem with it, but I couldn't do it.

 

[chillywilly2]

If YOU aren't going to eat it, don't kill it.

Other people don't need you doing their killing for them, except the people that go to meat markets....you can't expect them to kill their own cow.

I really don't get Giraffe hunting...that one blows my mind

 

[trysail]

There are millions of wildebeest on the African plain. Not one of them will die of old age.

-Nature
(for auslanders- a U.S. Public Broadcasting System program)​

​

 

[oggbashan]

In the UK, shooting grouse is expensive because the moors are carefully managed. That requires skilled gamekeepers.

Some nature organisations approve of the grouse moors because the management of them is sustainable, and provides habitats for rare flora and fauna.

Most of the UK's countryside is managed for profit. Grouse moors are not much different from intensive agriculture except that they use land that wouldn't produce a viable crop.

The same thing happens on Trout streams. They are carefully managed for water quality. Any pollution is noticed quickly. Any invasive weeds are removed.

But big game hunting is different. Most large African animals are threatened by human activity including poaching. Shooting African wildlife is destroying species. What used to be acceptable up to the 1920s is not acceptable now. Royal Tiger hunts are obsolete, and so they should be. Killing a tiger that has become a maneater (usually maneaters are too old or injured to hunt other game) is management. Killing tigers just as a sport is the triumph of money over the environment.

 

[JohnnySavage]

I defriended a guy I've known for years on FB because he kept posting pictures of the animals he killed on his annual safari. I'm not opposed to hunting, I just thought it was gratuitous.

His justification was that he pays about $20,000 in fees for the safari that goes toward conservation efforts, and all the animals killed is given to the locals for food.

It was still sickening (to me) to see him posing with all the different dead animals.

I'm with BB - it's not sport if the game isn't shooting back.

Or even better - hunt a lion with a knife.

 

[dolf]

nothing he said was sexist, or incitement to violence, or threatening. he's in no way responsible for the sort or creeps who issue rape threats or threats against her children, and her whining like he is just makes her look pathetic. all the mean man did was take the piss out of her. boofuckinghoo.

 

[dolf]

for the record, i'm not against hunting. if you want to eat it, or it needs culling, fire away! but grinning pics to brag about how cool you are for doing it are slimy.

 

[Jennifer]

Why would anyone want to hunt and kill a giraffe? And I don't buy that bullshit that the meat is used to feed locals.

BB is right, it's not extreme hunting if they can't shoot back at you. It's just like shooting fish in a barrel. Gross.

 

[Miles Long]

How is this considered "extreme" hunting? Is it just because it takes place in Africa and the hunters are from other continents? Hunting animals that have been raised in captivity for tourist hunters to come along and shoot them with sophisticated weaponry doesn't sound extreme to me. If you really want to be extreme, go out in the actual wild with just a stick or a rock and see if you can take down a lion or a giraffe. That would be extreme.

The whole "they are already old and about to die" argument doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny. I hope no one uses that logic to put a bullet in my brain against my will when I retire.

In general I'm not even anti-hunting, although it's not something I've ever wanted to do. I grew up in an area where deer hunting was/is a popular pastime, and the truth is in that location the deer are way overpopulated and causing a lot of damage, so there is a case to be made for getting their numbers lower. My grandfather was a big raccoon hunter, too. I'm not sure why that doesn't bother me and the "extreme" hunting does, because at heart they are probably very similar.

Also, I'm an unapologetic carnivore. I love a thick, juicy steak, and if I were to try to toe some dogmatic kill-no-animals-ever line, I think one could probably argue the raising of livestock for food is as bad or worse than tourism hunting. It might be hypocritical, but I'm still going to eat meat and not lose any sleep over it.

I don't think people should be making death threats to those hunters. Dedicate that passion to changing the laws if you feel that strongly about it. I also think trying to blame Gervais's stance as sexism is total bullshit. It's a weak attempt at deflecting the criticism, and I doubt anyone took it seriously.

In short, I think that kind of hunting is despicable. And even if I'm hypocritical for thinking so, that doesn't somehow make it ok for them to do it.

 

[PeteHulbert37]

I am a hunter. By that I mean I pursue free range game animals during a regulated season by methods that are legal. Most hunters I know don't see this as "hunting". They refer to it as trophy shopping or a "canned hunt." if there are fences then it isn't hunting as far as I am concerned.

 

[BotanyBoy]

I'm with BB - it's not sport if the game isn't shooting back.

Or even better - hunt a lion with a knife.

That's cool too....you take a kukri, spear or club and go man handle you the king of the jungle or a Kodiak gangsta then yea....that would be pretty extreme bad ass Spartan status.

And just as a point I'm with a number of others on subsistence/defensive shooting...it's the intent that makes all the difference to me.

Shooting animals for food/protecting your livelihood is a matter of fact...if you don't make or want to spend the money to pay someone else you have to do it or you're gonna have a bad time.

Trophy hunting? Psycho dickhead shit that makes me want to knee cap them at 800m just to see how bad fuckin' ass they are then.

 

[Jennifer]

I am a hunter. By that I mean I pursue free range game animals during a regulated season by methods that are legal. Most hunters I know don't see this as "hunting". They refer to it as trophy shopping or a "canned hunt." if there are fences then it isn't hunting as far as I am concerned.

Exactly. Fences are not hunting. I live in Pa and we have the most hunting licenses issued than any other state. Our deer population has to be controlled or else you find them all over the roads, getting killed and causing accidents.

And deer meat is delicious. *drools*

One way to make the hunting extreme is to set out hidden traps and land mines.

 

[yossi]

And where in the world did that come from? I could find nothing to support that assertion.

In South Africa trophy hunting is legal and animals are bred for tourists to kill them in special parks. The animals are often hand-reared and bottle fed, so don't fear people. It means when they approach people expecting to get fed, they receive a bullet instead.

Last year, 5,000 lions were bred for this purpose.

From the second link.

 

[BotanyBoy]

From the second link.

That doesn't mesh with Ishies world view.....you will be ignored. Or called a liar brainwashed with liburhul propagandah!

 

[chillywilly2]

A few years back, near here, a guy got convicted of bear hunting with a spear.

There apperently are laws against bear hunting with a spear.

I think I would consider it extreme hunting though.

 

[Lord Pmann]

Exactly. Fences are not hunting. I live in Pa and we have the most hunting licenses issued than any other state. Our deer population has to be controlled or else you find them all over the roads, getting killed and causing accidents.

And deer meat is delicious. *drools*

One way to make the hunting extreme is to set out hidden traps and land mines.

It's amazing seeing the difference between the roads in PA where hunting is okay and NJ where it's not. Fuck those deer in NJ.

 

[Lorilei]

From the second link.

That makes me sick to my stomach. I hope those people burn in hell.

 

[thør]

If YOU aren't going to eat it, don't kill it.

I really don't get Giraffe hunting...that one blows my mind

Ditto. Except mosquitoes. I kill them randomly and only wish that the little bastards would scream when they die.

Other people don't need you doing their killing for them, except the people that go to meat markets....you can't expect them to kill their own cow.

Some cultures embrace sharing the kill to those who cannot hunt and I have no problem with this.

I do have a problem with game guides, trophy hunters, or any hunters who waste meat or care for it poorly. If you want those antlers or horns, they are the last items to be dealt with and packed out. Yes, I do have a caribou antler in my office that holds my hats, jacket, biking clothes, and some memorabilia.

 

[thør]

A few years back, near here, a guy got convicted of bear hunting with a spear.

There apperently are laws against bear hunting with a spear.

I think I would consider it extreme hunting though.

It was prolly out of season.

I have no problem with people bear hunting with sharpened sticks or sticks with sharp rocks tied to the end of them. Provided it's in season and legal.

 

[chillywilly2]

It was prolly out of season.

I have no problem with people bear hunting with sharpened sticks or sticks with sharp rocks tied to the end of them. Provided it's in season and legal.

I think it was in season but you can't hunt with a spear...in his defense he was from a different country so may not have known.

He got busted because they did a DNA on the blood on the spear tip..he got a poke at one anyway

 

[thør]

I think it was in season but you can't hunt with a spear...in his defense he was from a different country so may not have known.

He got busted because they did a DNA on the blood on the spear tip..he got a poke at one anyway

Damn DNA tests!