Hunting

ANNOUNCEMENT

I will try to return papers (part 1) by Friday or Monday.  The delay will mean a later due date for the whole paper.  New due date is April 25.

HUNTING

Sport hunting (for food) - e.g. recreational deer hunting (today)
Trophy hunting - e.g. big game African safaris (Friday)
Subsistence hunting - e.g. Eskimo hunting (Monday)
Canned hunting - e.g. 777 Ranch


THE ACT, THE AGENT

1. The act--wrong or not wrong?
2. The agent--do hunters have reasonable motives?  do they have character flaws? 

•  wrong act, problematic agent (wanton pet euthanizer)
•  wrong act, unproblematic agent (pet euthanizer who reads wrong label)
• permissible act, problematic agent (recreational pet euthanizer)
• permissible act, unproblematic agent (responsible euthanizer)

 SPORT HUNTING - THE ACT

• Individualism--each animal has moral significance--we should assess whether hunters do wrong to individual animals
• Holism--only whole ecosystems have moral significance--we should assess whether hunting harms the ecosystem, not the individual animal--holism is "off the chart" (not in any of the camps)

WRONG VS. WRONGER

1. Is sport hunting (for food) wrong?
2. Is it worse than eating a hamburger?

 SPORT HUNTING - THE AGENT (Kheel's typology)

1. The happy hunter-motive is enjoyment, learning rules of "fair competition" (what are Kheel's doubts?)
2. The holist hunter--motive is to maintain healthy ecosystem (what are Kheel's doubts?)
3. The holy hunter--motive is to "revere and respect" nature (what are Kheel's doubts?)
4. But all three are also after...(according to Kheel)...masculinity, a quasi-sexual experience

WOMEN HUNT TOO....

INTERVIEWS

 #1

HUNTER:  I grew up hunting with my dad and all of his brothers and some other family members. It has grown to be a passion of mine and I truly love and enjoy the outdoors. When I am sitting outside I feel closer to nature, and I enjoy the freedom and the feeling of being out in the wild and in the open air. 

I never really feel bad because I mostly shoot for food. But at the same time I also go hunting for the thrill and passion, which I guess could be considered bad, but I personally don’t feel that way. I guess other could see hunting as a moral or ethical dilemma but for me it’s a sport and its something I truly enjoy.

#2

STUDENT: Hunting is a male dominant sport, and it is very clear that it is the male bonding experience and the amounts of alcohol involved that attracts the males; I personally believe it is an excuse to drink and behave like teenagers with no chaperones around. 

#3

HUNTER: As a kid, I would hunt green iguana, spiny-tailed iguana called “Garrobo,” armadillo, pigeon, and rabbit. At first, I learned from observing and watching the elders. I was told not play with or torture the animal. Then, my dad taught me children to hunt with a slingshot and with traps. I hunted with my brother and cousin at the ages of eight through ten. At nine years of age, I moved to the city and did not need to hunt anymore because I had a job. I hunted because my family needed food to eat. “Garrobos” and Iguanas are hunted during the day. Pigeons, rabbits, and armadillos are better available at night.

#4
STUDENT: How do you feel after you kill the animals?
HUNTER: I guess it might seem sad but it's really exciting when you make a kill because it is hard to do.

#5
STUDENT: My last question was whether or not he believes in the idea that “hunting plays a major role in the maturation process of young men? And if so, do you think the skills they learn from hunting will aid them as adults?” (Kheel p.460). X answered yes, he strongly believes it is a good way to learn morals and values. Through hunting experiences with his father growing up, he has learned many morals, a lot about nature, and the world around him.


#6

HUNTER: It’s not about eating the animals. It’s more for fun. It’s like guys who go fishing. People don’t think there is anything wrong with that. It’s the same thing. It’s fun and more of a competitive thing. Some days we don’t get anything, but the days you get something it’s this huge rush and a lot of guys are proud of their kills” 

#7

Do you feel a spiritual connection to the animal you kill?

“I do. I know many people don’t. Though, it’s something ‘real’ is the only way I can describe it. You respect the animal and don’t want it to feel pain. Though, it’s a connection that’s very hard to describe. I think that when you first start hunting you don’t understand, or if you never hunted it’s hard to describe. Though, it’s a connection and feeling of nature and a respectful kill.”

Why do you enjoy hunting?

“Well it’s a way to get away. Though, it’s something I have done growing up all my life, and it’s a way to…I don’t know ‘feel manly’ I guess. Working in an office all week is tiring sometimes it’s the perfect get-away. Though, I also enjoy cleaning the animal, and eating it. “

#8
Being a hunter myself, I find that I am a mixture of the different types of hunters Kheel discusses. I am a happy hunter in the sense that I enjoy the sport. I think it is a good way to bond with the person you choose to hunt with (my dad) and I like the adrenaline rush that comes with firing a rifle with such accuracy to perfectly hit a target from several hundred yards away. I am a holist hunter in the sense that I believe population control (deer and hogs) is the only way to successfully balance out an environment. If we did not have population control hunting then these species would cause even more problems to the ecosystem. I am a holy hunter in the sense that I do believe that being out in nature, killing and preparing my own meal that is 100% completely natural and acquired by me and putting in the hard work to do so makes me closer to nature and animals. I am a huge animal lover and I am 110% against factory farming, however, eating meat that I hunt myself is, to me, more than ok.

#9
HUNTER:  I like being in the outdoors and I like the tradition of it. It is something that has been done in the United States for man, many years and I think that it is cool that people are still doing it today. I enjoy harvesting wild meat. I think it tastes better and it is more satisfying to eat. It feels like an accomplishment to enjoy something that you have been patient and worked for. Also, hunting is necessary. Where I grew up in St. Louis, deer are run rampant. If they were not hunted, they would destroy vegetation, and could even injure people by running in front of cars. Another aspect of hunting that I like is that it is a bonding activity. It is something that you can engage in your whole life and pass on to your children.