@Mr_A1992 Really? You don’t think it makes sense to kill animals for food, and still be opposed to violence against fellow human beings? It shouldn’t even be necessary to explain this, but I’ll write a few words you can read if you wish.
Summary
Most people eat meat, but most people don’t hunt wild animals. They eat livestock animals, bred for food. They buy the meat in a grocery store, and they don’t have to take any part in the process of transforming a living, breathing animal into pieces of meat, packed in plastic, ready for the frying pan. In this way we have distanced ourselves from nature. Instead of herding a semi-tame animal into a narrow pen, putting a mask over it’s eyes and shooting a bolt through it’s head, I prefer this: When I shoot a deer, that deer has lived it’s whole life 100% wild and free, up until that moment. The bullet goes through it’s lungs and maybe even hits the heart. Shock and adrenaline sometimes enables the animal to run a few meters, other times it falls right over. A quick, clean and humane kill. I have now harvested anywhere from 10 to 100 kg of meat, depending on the size of the animal. Venison (deer meat) is some of the best meat available on the planet, and in this case, 100% ecological. It would have cost a small fortune at the store. I hunt at our own land, and pay nothing for it, except the cost of my hunting equipment. I can’t think of a more sustainable way to acquire this kind of food.
When humans invented agriculture, we hunted less and instead began breeding our own animals to eat. We drove away or killed most of the natural predators to make our pastures safe for our own animals. Also, we let our animals graze in the wild during summer, leaving less place and food for wild herbivores to grow. For the deer population I hunt, the case is this: From the mid 1900’s we have gradually built down our farms, and the number of sheep, goats and cows we send out to pasture is just a shadow of what it was 50-60 years ago. This has allowed the deer population to skyrocket! Nothing stands in their way. We shoot 45.000 deer every year, and still they increase in number! The winters are also getting milder, and small, weak deer that normally would have succumbed naturally, now survive. We see a dramatic decrease in the deer’s average weight, and also an increased spread of diseases in their population. My point is: It’s not simply the best thing for an animal population to be as big as possible. Our actions have allowed certain animal’s populations to grow unnaturally big, that makes it our responsibility to try and bring it back into balance. Every species of animal we hunt here in Norway are under strict regulations. We strive to have full control over their numbers, and every year we adjust the amount we’re allowed to hunt, according to how their populations vary. This is very carefully monitored. If a species is struggling, we don’t hunt it, but take measures to protect it. All this a vital part of the conservation of our wildlife, and we take it very seriously. Trust me on that.
I understand why you say humans are pests. We can be unfathomably cruel to each other, and to our planet. But we have to believe everyone can be persuaded by better ideas, not by violence. Thievery should not be punished by death! Psychopaths, who are mentally ill, should not be killed either. Technically, soldiers are legitimate targets in a war, but a soldier is a human as well. He is someone’s child. He has a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse at home. He may have little children waiting for him in fear. He may be forced to be there by a cruel despot, or an elected, privileged billionaire in a suit, with no regard for anyone’s life but his own. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in.
With that, I suggest we don’t derail this topic any further.
I’m all for discussing hot topics, but feel free to PM me instead. 