TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Hi JAC. I agree with a lot of what you say. I do not personally believe you should kill something you are not going to consume. I am not in favour of Trophies being taken simply for a mount (whether that be fish or game). But, at the same time I realize predator populations must be managed and someone has to do the culling. If the government pays to have the population thinned those kills will not be consumed either, so really their is little difference in that respect. I do not hunt, but I am not hypocritical about my right to fish vs someone else's right to hunt. Many Sportfishing enthusiasts take trophies and have them mounted as well. I do not agree with that either, but I would not personally try to deny either group the right to do so (even though I think it is wasteful). The problem here is that this issue is very divisive among the outdoorsmen who still enjoy to hunt and fish. The old saying "divide and conquer" totally applies here. Whether you ethically agree with trophy taking is not what is of paramount importance with this issue. Whether you want to be told you shouldn't be allowed to hunt or fish because others do not ethically agree with those practices is the issue. My ethics may differ from yours, and others. Who truly has the right to impose their morals and ethics on others is the real issue here. Just because my ethics are against trophy taking does not mean I have the right to tell a fellow fisherman he can't take a trophy home to have it mounted (if he so chooses). Be careful if you take a stand on the ethical high ground here, because next year someone with higher ethical standards will be telling you that hunting is immoral and will be trying to take away your right to hunt. That is what is at the root of this issue. This is not an issue over trophy hunting, this is an issue over sportsman having the right to kill. The others in society with a higher ethical standard are adamant that humans don't have a right to kill any animal. Today trophy hunting is the target for these zealots with their anti hunting agenda. Once the trophy hunting battle is won they will be moving on to banning any form of hunting. So all I can say, is choose your side carefully in this battle over hunting rights. Make no mistake this is not a trophy hunting issue to them, it is a hunting issue, period. These groups are ethically opposed to any form of hunting, not just trophy hunting. This battle is only beginning, the zealots with their higher moral standards think they have a right to enforce their beliefs on the sportsmen of this province. Don't get fooled into thinking their campaign is going to stop with trophy hunting, because it's not. These groups are fundamentally opposed to all hunting and fishing and they are not going to stop until both are banned.There is a lot of support to end trophy hunting, I think u will see this used in the next elections. I'm a serious hunter maybe 30-40 trips a year. Kill what you eat that's it, and end the whitetail doe season haha. If you kill a bear just for the rug and don't take the meat seems wasteful!! A NHL player shooting a bear in the rain forest when he didn't have a license didn't do the trophy hunting sport any favours. What do you guys think would be said on this forum if some guy caught a 300lbs Hali and cut the head off and through all the meat back in the water. Waste!!
Nog, very nice report on the anti hunting rally, and nicely done. Hopefully this ban doesn't gain support with the politicos. Keep up the good work.
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