So the Bobz, Andy (the Bobz cousin) and myself were having a discussion on hunting last night. Albeit a drunken one! Hell, it is when most of our best discussions happen!
It turns out we disagree on hunting.
Bobz says that we shouldn’t hunt for sport; people shouldn’t ENJOY going out and killing animals.
I say who cares if they ENJOY it, as long as they eat the animal they shoot, then all is good and right with the world.
Bobz says that we shouldn't HAVE to hunt in this day in age; we have grocery stores for that.
I say why pay someone to kill, process, package and transport meat that one could go and kill, package, transport and store MUCH, MUCH cheaper. It cost approximately 80 cents per pound to process meat that YOU hunted (deer or otherwise) as opposed to $3.50-$5.00 per pound of meat in the grocery store. And how do we know that the person that killed and processed that meat didn’t ENJOY it?
Bobz asks if I would kill my own food; the answer is a resounding NO. I would cry. I love live animals too much. I like my meat very dead by the time it gets to me.
I say animals (deer and alligators in these parts) need to be hunted to keep the populations down.
Bobz says we are the ones that have moved into their land and they shouldn’t have to be killed just so we can live.
I say that unlike humans, an animal such as a deer can breed as young as 6 months old and carries its baby for only 6 months. The reason this is the case is because of the circle of life - it is prey for many, many predators, including humans. Deer is one of the common and small amounts of animal that can feed a human sufficiently for multiple meals AND for multiple people, and should be noted for its fairly easy processing; an alligator, not so much, besides, the only good meat is in its tail anyway.
One thing that I didn’t point out last night, in my inebriated state, was something that I know Bobby holds very close to his heart: the effects of our carbon footprint! I totally could have won this debate last night! Why didn’t I think of it then!??
SO, the carbon footprint of non-local meat that is raised and processed is HUGE. You have the massive cattle farms, the people that work these farms to pay, the travel of the meat and all that goes with that to keep the meat as fresh as possible…
If you kill your own food (or for people like me and Bobby who can’t kill our own food, purchase your meat (and/or produce) locally from local farmers) the carbon footprint is SIGNIFICANTLY decreased!
Anywho, according to this site less than 7% of the country hunts anyway.
Whew. Ok, give me your thoughts out there my meat eating lovers! And you non-meat eaters too! What does thou opine?
