HUNTING WILD ANIMALS IS NOT A SPORT

We need to redefine hunting, but I can't come up with a better term for it.  Hunting actually implies that the sportsman actually pit his skills as a hunter against the instincts of a wild animal, but that isn't what usually happens when a man takes a rifle in hand and goes into the animal's world.  It takes some skill to learn to use the rifle, to shoot well, and it likewise takes skill to learn to hunt.  To do so means the hunter needs to study what he hunts.  Too often, though, the so-called hunter rides in a jeep or other all terrain vehicle in search of the animal, and in the company of a guide who's an expert at finding the game.  Here in Texas, we have game ranches, which means the hunter doesn't hunt at all.  He's directed to where a fenced in animal can be found, and then he "harvests" it.  In my opinion, that's chickenshit, a violation of every rule of sportsmanship a good hunter abides by.  In other words, the hunted animals should have a sporting chance to avoid being killed.  If it doesn't, we can rename the so-called sport of hunting and call it killing.  I guess that's just a crude term for "harvesting."

Even if the hunter does it right, actually goes into the wild and pits his skills agains those of the hunted, it's not a fair match.  The deer, if that's the hunted animal, doesn't have a gun and can't shoot back.  Some animals manage to avoid being killed in this uneven match, but that all depends upon the skill of the hunter.  Fortunately for the wild animals, most hunters aren't good at what they do, and that's why they resort to game ranches where they can harvest their prey.  Or they hire expensive guides who can find the animal for them.  Hunters, it seems, are always looking for ways to make their task easier and more convenient, and that takes almost all of the sport out of hunting.

I've been a hunter, and I've killed my share of wild game . . . and I say that with a lot of remorse.  I still own quite a few guns that now reside in hidden places, seldom ever see the light of day.  I haven't fired a bullet at a wild animal in many years now, but I was never a chickenshit hunter.  I've never killed a trapped animal, nor have I ever hired a guide, and I came home from many a hunt empty-handed.  Still, I got to the point where I considered even doing it the right way was the wrong thing.  Hunting isn't wrong for everyone, and that's a fact.  The health and security of some wild animals depends upon the hunter in some areas to keep down their population, and I know quite a few hunters who are very much concerned about conservation of natural resources . . . and that includes the game they hunt.  My distaste for hunting is aimed mostly at the lazy hunter, the cowardly "harvester" of trapped animals, the hunter who goes after animals there's no earthly reason to kill.

What prompted this short blog was a picture I saw of a hunter kneeling beside a jaguar he'd killed.  Yeah, a beautiful cat that is almost extinct in this country, and some asshole shot it.  For what purpose?  Because he's a moron with a gun, or did he want the beautiful hide?  Doesn't matter.  He's still a first

class jerk, and I hope he rots in hell for it.  And as Forest Gump would say, "That's all I've got to say about that."