What's the thrill of hunting?

[Chlidonias]

I'll answer your post in pieces Monty and then I'll leave it, because you don't seem to be able to actually say why you like the killing part of hunting (as distinct from just the act of stalking), which was the question of the thread. And that is fine. I'm not trying to pass judgement on killing, I am just interested in the thinking behind killing for sport because it is an activity I don't understand the mentality of. (I hope the following doesn't come across as too heavy-handed, I'm just debating the matter, so don't take any of this as any sort of personal attack Monty )

Right then, the reason people hunt is they like it. Does there have to be any other reason.

no there doesn't have to be any other reason. I said earlier that hunting because you like killing animals is a valid reason, but one has to be honest about that and not try and justify it in other ways to make it sound better, as hunters tend to do. However, whether you like killing or you think of it instead as a necessary but distasteful part of the hunt, the question still stands as to why the need to actually kill the animal if "the hunt" is the important part? Nanoboy and myself have already said we "hunt" animals without killing them ever, simply for the joy of seeing them or photographing them.

People do a lot of things I don't like, so I don't do those things, I don't ask for their reasons.

well this is a forum composed of animal enthusiasts, so you're going to get asked to explain your rationale for killing if you always contribute to hunting threads

In Australia many people have a hunting mentality that they hunt and kill as many introduced species as they can and say they do it for environmental reason. NZ is the same, but there they are often killing animals native to Australian like Possums. I think the environmental reasons are only partly true. I have heard many times those same people say they don't agree with hunting native animals in Africa, especially Elephants. The fact is though that they like hunting, and do not know that sustainable managed hunting protects species, exactly the same as their hunting of introduced pests in Australia.

very true. I would suspect that very very few deer hunters in NZ do it for conservation reasons, they hunt because they like hunting. That doesn't explain it though, that is just stating a fact.

I do not want to kill an elephant, but would like to hunt one. I have read many times about elephant hunting that killing an elephant is a very sad moment. The only happy ones are the local native population who arrive in their hundreds and remove all the meat. There is nothing to be ashamed about in the sustainable and humane killing of any animal if the meat is to utilized or the environment benefits from it's death.

substitute elephant for bongo then. Same thing; you'd probably have no qualms about killing an antelope, am I right? But again you are introducing the side-effects of the hunt (meat going to local people, "environment benefits") as an explanation for the killing, which is side-stepping the question. I can't imagine any sport hunter thinks to himself, "hmm, I'd like to do something for conservation -- I know, I'll go kill a bongo". Any perceived conservation benefits are completely incidental to the desire to hunt and kill the animal in the first place.

I once sort of went wale hunting. I was with an Inuit family in the north of Canada and an animal was spotted which they thought was a Narwhal. We all launched the boat quickly and got to the spot it was last seen. When it surfaced the next time the Inuit man with the rifle was able to identify it through the scope as a seal and we went back to land. If it had have been a Narwhal I would have helped them all I could.

Where do you draw the line. Is it alright to help with killing of a Narwhal if the indigenous people will utilize the carcass. Is it therefore alright to shoot the Elephant as it will also be utilized by the indigenous population.

but why would you have enjoyed killing a narwhal? I would love to see a narwhal, but never would it enter my head to kill it! If I was with an Inuit family as you were, then I would have no real problem with them killing a narwhal for food because they are hunter-gatherers. But I wouldn't enjoy it, and I wouldn't help them because it goes against my nature. And, frankly, comparing helping an Inuit family to kill a narwhal for food with a trophy hunter killing an elephant for sport is ridiculous.

Killing any animal is sad, but they will die of something and a bullet is the most humane. I even feel sorry for all foxes I kill, but that will not stop me shooting them. I feel worse when they kill my lambs or chooks.

Again, you're introducing a separate issue (killing invasive introduced foxes with killing, for example, an elephant for sport). I have to say too that claiming that shooting an animal rather than let it live out its natural life is more humane is just a tad disingenuous!!

 

[tschandler71]

Because it is one the best rushes you can ever have. And it would make economic sense in some of the African Countries. Proper management can create economic interest in preserving the health of the animal herd. It will give the local people a stake in the Animals well being.

Imagine if we managed Rhino's or Elephants like whitetail deer. It would cut down on poaching.

Take African Country A, plenty of Elephants and White Rhino but seriously poor. Imagine if they determine you could safely cull 40 bull elephant and 50 white rhino of any gender. You put those 90 tags into a bid/raffle system. If they go for 100k (if not more a piece) that is 9 million dollars that goes into the local economy. That is just the surface. Now those 90 hunters hold expedition and each drop 200k while they are in Country A that is another 18 million dollars, this time goes to the local guides, cooks, farmers, etc. And because they have jobs they no longer turn to poaching or killing the animals to protect crops.

When the hunters leave the country they have to pay a trophy/export fee of 100k. That is another 9 million dollars. That is 36 million dollars in windfall when the government would have spent 10/15 million on culling operations.

 

[Chlidonias]

Because it is one the best rushes you can ever have.

I think that's the most honest answer one can hope for. Some people just like to kill. The rest of your post however is once again justification for the killing, not the reason.

 

[tschandler71]

I think that's the most honest answer one can hope for. Some people just like to kill. The rest of your post however is once again justification for the killing, not the reason.

We are wired to be predators. We have a large brain, binocular vision and the ability to use tools. I don't see how people couldn't get the thrill out of it. Lots of weirdo's and hippies itt.

 

[Chlidonias]

We are wired to be predators. We have a large brain, binocular vision and the ability to use tools. I don't see how people couldn't get the thrill out of it. Lots of weirdo's and hippies itt.

actually the large brain, binocular vision and the ability to use tools are courtesy of our primate ancestors. Humans are not at all well-equipped to be natural predators, and they have always been opportunistic omnivores, not "predators".

I would also suggest that your quip about "weirdo's (sic) and hippies" is an attempt to drag the debate into name-calling. Do you not have better debating skills than that? If so, please use them.

 

[nanoboy]

So, thrill of the hunt, and adrenaline rush. The reasons appear to be the stereotypical ones, and there isn't anything deeper or too complex to understand after all.

I don't have the stomach to kill an animal myself, so trying hunting would not be enjoyable for me at all - I think that I would be psychologically scarred, more than anything. Now, let's be clear: if my wife and I were bush walking, and we were attacked by dingoes, or a croc, I would definitely defend us and kill the animals if I had to. But, I couldn't kill an animal myself for food (even though I eat meat), or for sport. And that's just me. To each his own.

 

[Steve Robinson]

And that's just me. To each his own.

Sums it up pretty well, I think.

 

[TARZAN]

I enjoy hunting a certain creature enormously which hopefully results in its death which I have no qualms about whatsoever,searching for it in the undergrowth, chase it and then go in for the kill, I get satisfaction and pleasure from this, there it is dead lying in blood, its name is the dog flea, despite whatever prevention you can take to eliminate and eradicate this creature, i.e. flea collars, various sprays etc, occasionally one of the dogs will scratch, you know what it is, get the dog to lie over and sure enough there is the little black bugger in the hair, as much as I am in favour of conserving all animals from snails to whales, the dog flea is one creature that I would very much glad to see extinct!

 

[jay]

Because it is one the best rushes you can ever have. And it would make economic sense in some of the African Countries. Proper management can create economic interest in preserving the health of the animal herd. It will give the local people a stake in the Animals well being.

Imagine if we managed Rhino's or Elephants like whitetail deer. It would cut down on poaching.

Take African Country A, plenty of Elephants and White Rhino but seriously poor. Imagine if they determine you could safely cull 40 bull elephant and 50 white rhino of any gender. You put those 90 tags into a bid/raffle system. If they go for 100k (if not more a piece) that is 9 million dollars that goes into the local economy. That is just the surface. Now those 90 hunters hold expedition and each drop 200k while they are in Country A that is another 18 million dollars, this time goes to the local guides, cooks, farmers, etc. And because they have jobs they no longer turn to poaching or killing the animals to protect crops.

When the hunters leave the country they have to pay a trophy/export fee of 100k. That is another 9 million dollars. That is 36 million dollars in windfall when the government would have spent 10/15 million on culling operations.

If the hunt is for financial gain (ie ivory) then the bigger the tusks the better. This has led to populations of tuskless elephants as the big bulls with large tuisks are also the older bulls that are also the breeders.
For rhino horn, rather than kill the animal would it not be better to sedate it, cut the horn off and sell. The animal would still live.

I have killed chiclens for food, I have killed small animals (budgies and other birds) that were sick and suffering, that were unable to be healed. I certainly got no rush from killing.

 

[grafxman]

Since I'm a hillbilly from West Virginia I can't fathom killing something just to have a trophy. I killed my first deer when I was 12 years old. Even before then I had killed dozens of squirrels and rabbits. I used to get up at 3 AM, go up and down the creeks, break the ice and set my muskrat traps underwater. A pelt would get me perhaps twenty five or fifty cents. I didn't eat the muskrats but I did eat just about everything else. During my life I've probably killed several thousand wild and farm animals. It was always for food, pest eradication or to sell a pelt.

When it comes to hunting it is important to note there are many different types of hunting. I've mostly been a user of rifles and handguns with the occasional use of a shotgun. I once assisted a friend in his gun shop on weekends. One day a man came in and described to me the best day he ever had hunting. He bragged about how he killed 92 ducks at Guana River just south of Jacksonville FL. I was speechless. He did that before there were any regulations. How or why anyone would do something like that is completely incomprehensible to me. It does explain why there are bag limits. The shop owner, who was a master class pistol shooter, told me many shotgunners are just like that, bloodthirsty.

I haven't gone into the woods to hunt with anything other than a camera for years now. I still murder in cold blood every vermin I can around my house though. That's usually rodents or other pests. However I just can't kill a dog or cat. I would have a very, very hard time killing a wolf or coyote. They would have to be attacking me or something like that. The same goes for a cat.

In the USA hunting is a very important part of wildlife management. Game wardens require salaries, land must be managed, purchased or leased. Anything to raise revenue for those purposes is very welcome. It is well known that organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, an organization of duck hunters, have been instrumental in protecting the environment and ensuring ducks and simultaneously other water dependent creatures have a place to live and reproduce.

In Florida just about all the Wildlife Management Areas where my photographs were taken have hunting seasons. It's important to ensure that law enforcement officers are in the field and available to enforce game laws and guard against poaching and people exceeding their bag limits. Their salaries are paid for by hunting license sales, duck stamp sales, etc. Hunters are generally recognized by knowledgeable people to be the original environmentalists.

In answer to the original question, if someone is deriving some sort of thrill from killing then I suggest they proceed immediately to the nearest shrink and find out if they can channel their thrill seeking to other endeavors such as sky diving, bungee jumping, swimming with great white sharks, etc.


Flickr: grafxmangrafxman's Photostream

 

[Weasle]

I cannot give other peoples reasonings but here are mine.

I am not a hunter, have never been one. But I would like to at some point in my life hunt an eland. I believe it is a truely magnificent animal and well worth respect. I also happen to find the meat tasty.

In order to get this meat I do not need to go kill the animal myself. I can buy it with only minor inconvinience.

But I think that if such an animals life must be cut short I should do it myself, to earn in part the right to eat the meat. I am not sure I would enjoy the hunt and will probably feel terribly guilty after, but at the same time I will have done my own dirty work. My logic may be a bit scewed but for me to hunt this animal is a matter of respect.

Also If i have to kill a cow in order to eat meat I will, that doesnt mean I will enjoy the killing. I have spent enough time on farms that I think cattle are kinda cute.

Also note: I have seen a number of wild eland and done some photo hunting so the stalk isn't the point either.

 

[nanoboy]

I cannot give other peoples reasonings but here are mine.

I am not a hunter, have never been one. But I would like to at some point in my life hunt an eland. I believe it is a truely magnificent animal and well worth respect. I also happen to find the meat tasty.

In order to get this meat I do not need to go kill the animal myself. I can buy it with only minor inconvinience.

But I think that if such an animals life must be cut short I should do it myself, to earn in part the right to eat the meat. I am not sure I would enjoy the hunt and will probably feel terribly guilty after, but at the same time I will have done my own dirty work. My logic may be a bit scewed but for me to hunt this animal is a matter of respect.

Also If i have to kill a cow in order to eat meat I will, that doesnt mean I will enjoy the killing. I have spent enough time on farms that I think cattle are kinda cute.

Also note: I have seen a number of wild eland and done some photo hunting so the stalk isn't the point either.

That's some interesting logic there, and I see your point - to some extent. I can't really disagree with that.

What's the conservation status of eland? Are you allowed to hunt them legally though? Although, I suppose, as Danny Archer said, T.I.A.

 

[Weasle]

Its a fairly common antelope and there are a number of places that breed them specifically for hunting.

I for one dont approve of hunting any vunerable species and dont understand why its done, there enough common species that its unneccessary.

 

[kiwipo]

Some interesting comments on here, but really the answer to why hunters hunt is usually simple, they like it.

There are a couple here who describe it as the greatest rush ever, and say unless you have tried it you wouldn't understand it. Some seem to think anyone who tried hunting will be hooked on it.

I was brought up in a family of hunters, most of my male relations and quite a few of the female ones too hunted avidly.

I have hunted and shot plenty of animals in my time, from impala to elephant. While I might have got some thrill of the chase out of it when very young, I never got a rush of excitement as some say.

However I have met many hunters who definitely got a huge thrill and blood rush from it. I've watched them blast animals into oblivion with delight, and then drool over the carcase is if it was a work of art.

Some of them think it is the ultimate challenge, taking on a lion or a bull elephant in its natural habitat and killing it. They talk of being on equal terms with the most dangerous nature can provide, and triumph over it.

Well there is nothing triumphant about shooting a lion or elephant, properly organised it's about as dangerous as shooting a rabbit tied to a peg on a lawn.

It not good business for professional hunters to let clients get killed, so while the hunt might look dangerous, it isn't.

The most dangerous part of it is getting shot by an over excited client as he waves the rifle all over the place. Many of them are good shots, but a few get overcome with what Americans call Buck Fever, and their aim and steadiness goes to pieces.

Quite a few of the animals I have shot have been shot after being wounded by hunters.

Some PHs don't shoot wounded animals right away, but track them down so as to give the hunter the satisfaction of shooting it.

Thankfully not the way my father and uncle ran their business.

Ive only just been directed to this thread, I'll be back again.

 

[nanoboy]

On the other thread, the discussion seemed to be more about the pros and cons of hunting, whereas this thread only tries to get into the mindset of hunters to attempt to understand the pleasure that they get from hunting.

 

[kiwipo]

I cannot give other peoples reasonings but here are mine.

I am not a hunter, have never been one. But I would like to at some point in my life hunt an eland. I believe it is a truely magnificent animal and well worth respect. I also happen to find the meat tasty.

My logic may be a bit scewed but for me to hunt this animal is a matter of respect.

.

I've heard that point of view plenty of times, people who believe an animal is a truly magnificent animal and well worth respect, so in order to respect it you go and kill it.

Nelson Mandela is a truly magnificent politician and well worth of respect, so would you show your respect to him by shooting him dead?

Dammed if I can see how shooting something dead is showing it any respect.

 

[tschandler71]

The true pleasure is in the stalking. I probably pass on 75 percent of the legal whitetail I see.

 

[tschandler71]

I've heard that point of view plenty of times, people who believe an animal is a truly magnificent animal and well worth respect, so in order to respect it you go and kill it.

Nelson Mandela is a truly magnificent politician and well worth of respect, so would you show your respect to him by shooting him dead?

Dammed if I can see how shooting something dead is showing it any respect.

Nelson Mandela is a human.

 

[nanoboy]

Nelson Mandela is a human.

That about sums it up really. Animals are lower life forms compared to humans.

You folks have made me think of something though: I wonder if hunters would be interested in hunting humans? I remember a movie from the early 90s - probably with Steven Segal or Jean Claude Van Damme - that focused on big-game hunters wanting the next great thrill, so they were hunting homeless people. I would not be surprised if there was an underground hunting scene where uber-wealthy hunters fly to developing countries to hunt poor natives. Hey, there's a good idea for a movie/book!

 

[Hix]

Hard Target (1993) - IMDb