I don't understand why people like killing animals for pleasure. IE hunters-can anyone explain

Question

I know I will get a very negative response from some. But I really don't understand it. To derive pleasure from putting a bullet into an animal is completely alien to me. I understand that some animals need culled or in some societies for hunted for food. Farmers also have to protect their stock. But to me it's cowardly to hunt down and kill a defenceless animal. Hiding behind a rifle some with expensive sights and calling it "sport" is a nonsense. Sport is competing against equals and hunting isn't in any-way a clash of equals

Answer 1

Well just because you go hunting doesn't mean you actually bag anything. Plus every year the B.L.M. does wildlife surveys to see how many animals can actually be hunted every year. They only give out a certain amount of permits to help keep #'s low at a level where there isn't to much competition for food and the animals starve during the winter. Plus asking why people like hunting is like asking why womeon like shopping. They just do. It's fun for them.

Answer 2

I mean I do not take pleasure in killing animals, but I do enjoy a good steak here and there.  Hunting is also a means of population control, and if it must be done either ways why not try and test your skills.  Because humans wish to use guns as part of a sport to have an equal competition that would mean men hunting men, which is just slightly frowned upon... Animals are a means to provide oneself with food, clothes, and pride.  How can you not see certain animals as equals?  If every person that went out into the wilderness and killed everything they targeted then yeah you could say it was unfair, but when you look at it from my point of view, most of the times humans are outwitted by the animals, so yes we may have some advantages but animals are in many ways our equals

Answer 3

ill make it as simple as possible. Its fun.

to them its fun and enjoying(not in a cruel ways for hunters) its just basic human instincts. now theres alwase going to be haters of hunting. honestly im not a fan of hunting. although i do have a gun.

its funny how someone put its connects "men" with nature. not all men hunt. woman hunt to.

acually there are alot of primitive emotions we feel and we can't control them.

Answer 4

just putting food on the table

Answer 5

i totally agree with you, i understand animals are needed for meat and control of wildlife population but i think all these things can be done humanely.

i totally despise people who can take pleasure in killing and leaving an animal there, dead, for no reason.

we are no longer basic hunter gatherers but we are a civilised society of people who understand that suffering should not be imposed on anyone or anything un-nessacreily.

Answer 6

I agree that hunting in order to eat is OK.  And farmers killing rabbits to protect their livelihood.  

But yeah, the image of a bunch of rich people with guns setting out to hunt for pleasure makes me uncomfortable.

I have done some shooting and I actually quite enjoy it, but I like it for the skill and have only shot at targets.  I guess there's a thrill to shooting at live animals that I just don't understand.

I don't buy the argument about animal numbers getting out of control.  If that's the case you cull rather than hunting.  

I do know, though, that humans aren't the only species who kill for pleasure.  Sharks, for example, do the same thing.  They kill and then don't bother eating their prey.  The thrill of the chase seems to be their goal (if sharks can be credited with motivation).  In fact, many carnivorous animals seem to enjoy the hunt for its own sake rather than as simply a means of finding nutrition.

If I'm honest, it's the ritual elements of hunting that bother me.  It's as if people take excessive pleasure in the whole process.  A farmer who goes out with his rifle muttering, "d**n rabbits got it coming" isn't ritualistic and therefore seems more palatable.

I will never hunt and I would be quite happy to see hunting outlawed.

Answer 7

It is all about your perspective. I am NOT a hunter. However, in their defense, we are human, therefor we are at the top of the food chain. God put animals, plants and water here for our existance. Its one thing to torture an animal. But its your motive that makes the difference. Are you killing for cruelty? Or are you killing for food? The idea of killing just for a "trophy" can be argued. Outside of that, most hunters will eat their kill. I know I would if I shot lets say a deer. I would make the most of it. Where and how do you think that last T-bone steak you ate came from? Remember. animals can feel pain obviously. However they do not have a soul, so therefor it i s not murder.

Answer 8

i have no idea how poeple can kill poor animals in cold blood. it is cruel to end one of natures cr3eatures just like that for fun

Answer 9

Okay.  If you feel that way, you'd probably be more supportive of Roman Gladiator fights.  At least two warriors have an equal chance against one another, huh?

Sorry for my sarcasm, but sometimes some animals (such as deer) overpopulate because humans have eliminated the big predators (such as wolves) from the area.  The surplus of uncontested deer pose a threat to both vegetation and people (deer and car accidents are very deadly and costly).

Besides, at least the expensive hunting rifles generally put the kill down with as little pain as possible.

Now if you were complaining about something like whaling, I'd have a whole different opinion.

Answer 10

I totally agree with you. It's absolutely pointless to hurt an animal for your pleasure. I don't see why the point in doing it and what they get from that. why can't hunting be illegal? Its the same (to me) as dogfights and all those things that people do to animals, yet people still do it.

Answer 11

You point out several acceptable reasons: 1) Hunting for food 2) protecting livestock from predators 3) culling animals that have over-reproduced. These activities don't necessarily involve warm and fuzzy feelings ("happiness is a warm gun...") and it is entirely possible that those who are hunting, protecting or culling are enjoying it less then you would. But people gotta eat. You are making the assumption that all of us who might need to kill an animal in the course of our day are doing it with the same gusto that some animal-rights activist rock diva might snort a line of coke. Also, anyone who has gone after Cape Buffalo will tell that it isn't a "clash of equals" (those suckers have all the advantages including bullet resistant hide, hair trigger territorial instincts and a set of horns wider then a HUMV).

Are you also against bow hunting? How about raising domesticated animals and then slaughtering them for food?

Answer 12

I hunt for for food and I use a muzzle loader which is one shot at a time. I feel prefer this style of hunting because I feel I'm connecting with my aniet sisters from long ago.

Answer 13

Because they're sick.

Answer 14

I take it youve never killed an animal then ate it.

Often hunting is required for food etc but the actual chase and tracking is quite enjoyable.  

Answer 15

It is clled sports in the hunters anglers. what more can I say this has started years and years ago when food was so hard to come by and man needed to stay alive. from their it became a sport. It is not wrong to hunt. if you hunt by gooly you better use it for food other wise i belive it is wrong. so hope i answered this for you  

Answer 16

First off I will say I am not a hunter.

With that said, hunters help keep the population down. Too many animals and too little food equals suffering for the animals.  

Answer 17

You are a deer. Choose.

1) A bullet through the heart, serving as a magnificent trophy in a great hall, for the admiration of generations of animal lovers to come;

2) Being torn apart while alive by wolves.

The pleasure lies in meeting the considerable challenge. See if it is easy. See if you can even find an animal to shoot after spending all day in the wild.

Answer 18

without hunting many of the animals would starve and decay causing disease. Hunting is also a type of culling process to keep the herd in containment. There is a plus side for those of us who enjoy fresh meat, fresh air and have no other occasion to get out into the wilds.

I'll agree that many of the ones who go hunting are only there to kill something and often I have found evidence of those leaving their kill in the woods. This action is frowned on by every serious hunter in the world. My motto, taught me by my grand dad is, "If you shoot it, eat it."

Answer 19

You do have a great point, BUT if hunting was not allowed then we would be very overpopulated with wildlife.

As far as killing just to kill, that's not acceptable. If they just killed the animal and left it lying down rather than taking it home to be eaten or to sell the skins, that is pretty brutal

Just keep in mind what would happen if hunting was not permitted. It would be more cruel to allow the animal population to get out of control

Answer 20

When i was little i was raised into a hunting family. I was raised around rifles and whent hunting many times but i never accually killed something nor did my dad. I don't like killing animal's and that's why i never really had the gut's to kill something on purpose. I don't think hunter's like killing things, i think they like to try to find the things more and too be out in the wild.

I agree with you though. Some people are heartless people and kill animal's that are nearly extinct. Personally, the good hunter's that abide by the rule's are ok.

Ever since i accidentally killed a bird i felt bad. =p

Answer 21

I for one completely agree with you. I find it barbaric and there no sport to it, In fact I find it cowardly. When they shoot a Dear or an Elk,Bear anything they may very well be destroying an entire family, these animals have offspring just like people. Defending yourself or survival are the only reasons for deliberately killing an animal. Shame on hunters, go out and do target practice if you have that urge to shoot. Better yet, spend your hunting time helping animals instead of killing them.

Also I just read someone's reply...hunting for the pelts is not OK.

Answer 22

I totally agree with you. But i also believe, as stated before, it is a primal instinct. However, our primitive ancestors didn't have guns. I think some people hunt as an act of control. They believe that with these tools they will go home with a "prize" every time causing a sense of control over another creature's life.  

Answer 23

God put the animals here for food so. These beautiful animals are not like pets. They will kill you if you get in their way . Just think about this, as many deer that's killed and the woods are still full of them , how many would there be if they were not killed? We live in the country and my husband hunts. We eat a lot of venison. It saves on the grocery bill and it's really good.  

Answer 24

I agree with you entirely! Hunting is kind of neanderthal if you ask me. Maybe men use guns to hunt because like Pam Anderson said "their real equipment doesn't work" lol. They are trying to compensate for something!! In our society we do not need to hunt for food, my personal opinion is that people do not NEED meat to survive, it wasn't put here for us to eat like some hillbillies seem to think, so protecting livestock is bogus and foreign to me. I'm sure I'll get a ton of thumbs down for this, but it's my answer and my opinion.

Answer 25

it's a primal thing, built into our DNA. It's a way for some men to connect with nature.

In many areas, it's also absolutely necessary for the sake of the environment and the health of the animal population

Answer 26

I totally agree with you. I hate men sometimes cause most of them love to do that. Shooting a defensless deer or rabbit or whatever, its so cruel. If it were up to me, all hunting for sport would be outlawed except for hunting for food and culling. Theres just no purpose it doesnt help anything.

Answer 27

Because there mean heartless people.

Answer 28

I tried to reason with a bear but it just ignored me

Answer 29

I guess you could take a club out into the woods, and hunt bear with that.  It would definitely put things on a slightly more equal footing.  I read where hunters actually commit a far smaller percentage of murder than the general population.  Maybe hunting takes away our natural urge to kill something.  Who knows?  Actually, humans and cats are the only animals that just kill for recreation.  All other animals kill for survival. Humans really are a scary lot.

Answer 30

I completely agree with you!!! Animals are defensless and innocent!!! People who think hunting is a sport and is fun are mindless black-hearted people. I belong to 5 different anti-cruelty to animals organizations and i am proud to help these animals but i can't seem to get this concept into hunters heads. They are cowards, your right!!!! Sticking a bullet into a beautiful wild and free and INNOCENT animals is cruel and evil. You hunters are in for a treat once i become an animal activist and an animal lawyer. Animals deserve a chance to live a happy healthy and worry free life.