Ok, so my Dad likes to hunt, and ive been out with him a couple times. The truth is I kind of enjoy it, but Im starting to think that it isnt right. The thing is, I love my dad and I really hate to dissapoint him. And hes gotten all excited because I got my License, and now I can hunt with him. So what should I do? Oh Btw, im not against hunting I just dont know if I want to do it.
I dont think that hunting for sport is necessarily right. If you live in the boonies and you do it for food, then okay. But I think that the sport itself is excessive. The saving grace is that it has helped to keep our 2nd Amendement rights in the American consciousness and kept that right from being legislated out of our hands. I have never formally been on a hunt, picked off some poor birds and squirrels when I was a kid but never hunted. I have been around guns all of my life and believe that if hunting as a sport keeps people in practice with firearms then more power to them. But these rich guys who go on these big trophy hunts just to kill something so powerful and majestic as these animals deserve to be hunted themselves. But oh right...they are just thinning the herd...restoring a balance, but....I dont know if I buy that line...??? You need to come to your own conclusions on the morality of hunting for sport. I for one would have loved to have an activity like this to enjoy with my father, take those things as they come because he wont be around forever. I tend to fall along the thought pattern that the Native Americans had, where they hunt for food and waste nothing. If not then it is a disgrace to god's creatures. Peace
I know the sport can be excessive, but the reason he enjoys it so much I think is to be out in nature. I was just unsure because as I might have said I am a vegetarian, so I wouldnt be eating anything
Perhaps you two could find something else to do to get that father and son bonding time? Would you still feel the same if you just tagged along with him and was just a companion instead of actually hunting?
Seems a little hypocritical if your a vegetarian. You don't believe in eating animals, but kill them? I don't find murdering animals a sport. If you are killing them for food that's another thing, but you wouldn't even be eating them. If you don't want to go hunting I would think your father would understand and respect your feelings.
As a fellow vegetarian, I wouldn't go hunting. I just couldn't bring myself to kill another living being like that. Perhaps you could explain this to your dad and offer to go backpacking or hiking together so you can enjoy nature and have time to spend together. Then you can shoot the wildlife you see with a camera, not a gun.
I think it depends on the situation, why you don't want to go, etc. My dad's best friend LOVES hunting and gets at least one buck every year. His kids were never really "into it" and he never really cared, but now he's just absolutely thrilled that my husband and I are more than willing to go with him when he wants/asks. Does he hunt just for sport, or for food? John (dad's friend) hunts for the meat, not just for fun, and if he *did* just do it for sport, we wouldn't go with him... we don't believe in the useless/pointless killing of animals just for fun, but it's a different story when you're just trying to feed your family. Do you just not like hunting? Does it bother you, seeing the animal being skinned and cut up? If you actually enjoy the sport but don't like seeing the end result, believe me, you get used to it. Most people I know say the same thing - the first time they saw it, they were disgusted and never wanted to hunt/help cut up an animal again. I just see it as a huge chunk of meat with fur, and have no problem skinning, breaking bones, etc. when the hunt is over... but I also grew up watching my dad and grandfather butcher the pigs that we raised from piglets at a very young age. So, if you like it, but the end result is what bothers you, maybe you can just skip out on that part? It's still good "bonding time" with your dad. If you just don't like the idea of killing animals to begin with, or don't really enjoy it and just pretend that you do, you shouldn't. He should understand, and try to find something else that the two of you can do together instead.
How do you feel when you pick up an animal you killed, or when you clean it? I hunted for many years, and I recently realized that I felt really bad at those times, so I've quit. It may not bother you. Let your heart be your guide.
