Just Caught and Killed my First bit of Game

reply to post by Nucleardiver

I feel no guilt nor did it affect me as I killed the little fellow. No adrenaline rush, no nothing. Just pure cold killing.

wiki.geneseo.edu...

Native Americans in Western New York hunted for subsistence; animal meat was a complement to foods gathered and grown. However, they displayed a tremendous amount of respect for the animals they killed. According to Daniel K. Richter in The Ordeal of the Longhouse, the Iroquois believed that all things had spiritual power and could harm or help humans as they desired. Animals could provide nourishment for humans, but they had to be respected first (24).

The Iroquois, for example, would not allow an animal's body to touch the ground after it had been skinned. Such an act was considered disrespectful, and they feared that if the animal's spirit became offended it would not allow its body to be "taken" (Waugh 131).

Many Iroquois crafts might be seen as an attempt to connect with the spirits in nature, and thus gain their favor. They often used animal products like shell or bone in their crafts, or made carvings shaped in animals' likenesses

Why the Raccoon Washes his Food and Wears a Mask," "Greedy Fawn and the Magic Chestnut," "Why Crows Steal Corn and Have No Home" (Ha-yen-doh-nees).... animals functioned as teachers in Seneca Indian society. As Cayuga Chief Jacob Thomas puts it, "Remember that animals know more than we do" (Thomas 129). Native Americans clearly placed a good deal of stock in the wisdom of the animals that surrounded them.

In part of Basic Call to Consciousness, a moving piece written for the meeting of the Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations in Geneva, 1977, the leaders of the Six Nations Iroquois urge the world to consider the plight of nature in today's world.

"We believe that all living things are spiritual beings," the leaders declare, a statement which sums up the Native American view of animals as sacred. Describing the influence of European colonizers on the Americas, the leaders complain, "Over one hundred forty species of birds and animals were utterly destroyed... largely because they were unusable in the eyes of the invaders.

"Basic Call to Consciousness, written THIRTY YEARS AGO by the Iroquois Federation of Northeast tribes, conveys a perspective that is both forthright and logical, pointing out that Western culture has been horribly exploitative and destructive of the natural world."

firstpeoplesvoices.com...

“Human beings are abusing one another as well as the planet they live on.

The destruction of the natural world is a clear indication of mankind’s spiritual poverty...Hundreds of species of birds and animals have been utterly destroyed since the Europeans arrived in America...The forests have been leveled, the waters polluted, the native peoples subjected to genocide...Western technology and the people who have employed it have been the most amazingly destructive forces in all of human history....

“The way of life known as Western civilization is on a death path, and its culture has no viable answers.
The appearance of plutonium on this planet is the clearest of signals that our species is in trouble. It is a signal that most Westerners have chosen to ignore.

“We, Natives, think even the systems of weather are changing. Our ancient teaching warned us that if man interfered with the natural laws, these things would come to be.

When the last of the Natural Way of Life is gone, all hope for human survival will be gone with it. And our Way of Life is fast disappearing, a victim of the destructive processes of so-called progress.

“We know that there are many people in the world who can quickly grasp the intent of our message.

But experience has taught us that there are few that are willing to seek out a method for moving toward any real change. But if there is a future for all beings on this planet, we must begin seeking avenues of change.

“The people who are living on this planet need to break with the narrow concepts of human liberation and begin to see liberation as something that needs to be extended to the whole of the Natural World

personally i am loathing the day that i have to shoot or trap my own game for food. i have had normal pets along with the ones found in wild like ducks and rabbits and as sappy as it sounds i cant see myself killing another living thing. but i guess time will tell.

I assume this was not a wild duck from US? If it was, season is not yet in, and you must possess a federal duck stamp besides a hunting permit from the state you live in. If a tame duck...happy eating

Awesome ,dude!
Took my 10 year old son quail hunting and fishing last weekend.
We ate good.

Some of those opposed to the op's thread,do you eat meat?
If you do,where do you think it came from?
Have you ever been to a slaughter house?
I have,and believe me it is way more humane what the op did then they do there.
I could go into details and turn all of you into vegetarians.

Originally posted by Bonkrh
personally i am loathing the day that i have to shoot or trap my own game for food. i have had normal pets along with the ones found in wild like ducks and rabbits and as sappy as it sounds i cant see myself killing another living thing.

but i guess time will tell.

When you get hungry enough,you will.

Originally posted by TheRedneck
"The predator does not mourn for his prey."

I don't remember who said that but it is apt. You had a need for food, maybe not at the moment, but in the near future. You fulfilled that need by taking a duck. You killed it quickly and cleanly, and you used the duck for your needs. That's called nature. Had you not taken the duck, another animal would have.

You should feel remorse if you kill for fun. You should feel remorse if you kill slowly and painfully. Those are the signs of problems.

So don't feel bad. It's natural. Humans are omnivores. Humans are predators.

"The predator does not mourn for his prey."

TheRedneck

I quoted this because it's very accurate and about as solid as it gets.
As an avid hunter, I have never "trophy hunted".
My father is a serious hunter, but his ideals were taught to me.
we hunted to fill our freezer with good food, and to keep our skills as survivors sharp.
We hunt to embrace nature, and be a part of the real world if even for a short while.
We eat what we kill.

Well, I don't exactly have huge experience with this; the only thing I've ever caught and eaten was one fish on a camping trip back when I was about 12 or 13. I didn't feel any guilt about actually killing the fish, but I do remember feeling kind of bad for it because it was suffering. I had no real idea what I was doing and I did not expect to catch anything, so I just kind of stared dumbly at it after I reeled it in until it stopped moving. I was on my own except for some six year old kid watching me, so I didn't have anyone to tell me if I was doing it wrong or not. I've only gone fishing once since then (didn't catch anything that trip) but I think the one thing I'd do differently is learn how to fish (or hunt or whatever; I've never hunted) and cause the minimum of suffering and distress to the animal. I don't see anything wrong with eating meat, but I think it should be done in as humane a way as possible, and, as others have said, with respect to the animals and nature and what you are doing, and not to waste it.

A sharp break of its neck? i want more details. Did you break its neck with your hands? then how did you catch it?

Did it squirm and fight?

I've butchered a lot of livestock and wild game for food, but I can't say that I ever found any pleasure in the act. I've always been told animals have no souls, but sometimes I wonder. Out of respect for the animal, I try to make every kill as clean and painless as possible.

reply to post by 200457

Don't feel bad! My favorite food is deer jerky. Now how am I gonna get that without killing a deer?

Actually, there is a way.

I obviously can hunt and believe in hunting, but I am not an avid hunter. Deer season is during the winter, and I hate cold weather. But there are plenty of people around here who would hunt even if deer were not edible and the very air froze around them. Every year, invariably, the deer processors have carcasses hanging from customers who only want that trophy... something I couldn't care less about.

So every single one has my name and phone number on their call list, along with how I like it processed. One call and I have meat for my family and the animal goes to good use. Most local hunters know I will be ecstatic to take their year-old meat off their hands to make room in that freezer for this year's deer.

A couple of those processors make delicious jerky.

I almost always have venison, and rarely trudge through frozen mud or lie in a half-frozen ditch waiting on an animal that is apparently smarter than I am.

TheRedneck

Originally posted by michael1983l
No adrenaline rush, no nothing. Just pure cold killing. Now that makes me feel uncomfortable.

Feel gratitude. If it did not die, you would not be able to live.

I had need.
I have dispossessed you of beauty, grace, and life.
I have sundered your spirit from its worldly frame.
No more will you run in freedom
Because of my need.

I had need.
You have in life served your kind in goodness.
By your life, I will serve my brothers.
Without you I hunger and grow weak.
Without you I am helpless, nothing.

I had need.
Give me your flesh for strength.
Give me your casement for protection.
Give me your bones for my labors,
and I shall not want.

Fluffy, Fluff-fee! Now where did that darn duck go?

I get the sneaky suspicion "Fluffy" is no longer in his pond at the neighbor's house!

It's a quiet neighborhood without poor Fluffy!

reply to post by TheRedneck


That all depends on where you are... Right now it's bow season in south west Wyoming till the 30th then directly after it's rifle hunt.. I went hunting two weekends ago... it was 70 degrees outside.

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To the OP:

It's ok that you didn't feel any remorse after killing the duck.... I do hope you had respect for it though..

I do feel however that a hunter should feel remorse if he wounds an animal.. The objective of ethical hunting practices is to kill your prey with as little pain as possible... Unfortunately even the best marksman will wound an animal every now and again..

If you do wound an animal it is only ethical that you track it as long as it takes to find it... (It's not hard to track a wounded animal... they bleed a lot) You should feel remorse for this animal..

I will say though OP if it was a larger animal you would have felt a massive adrenaline rush.

Somebody will always put you down for the choices you make in life.

So you have to have a personal code of conduct. If you just "make it up as you go along," you end up hood-winked by moral monsters who will con you into doing things against your (or anyone's!) morals. You might wake up one day inside of a real-life "Milgram Experiment."

When it comes to killing animals, here is my Code.

-Animal life has value. It is not for us to waste it

-Don't cause pain thoughtlessly (killing as an experiment, or leaving trash around that will harm an animal.).

-The benefit derived must outweigh the cost of causing harm.

This ends up being fairly straightforward: Eat what you kill; kill what you eat. Any trophies or mementos taken are incidental to the taking of the meat.

I usually hunt does, because the meat is better. I have taken a buck, and saved the antlers, to rattle other bucks in with.

I cannot imagine hunting a bear. I don't want trichinosis. I suppose if I needed a coat bad enough; or if a bear was threatening someone's safety, and couldn't be avoided. (i.e., was attracted to my campsite and continually prowling aggressively for food.).

I cannot imagine taking a magnificent grizzly or polar bear and reducing it to a rug in my den. I CAN imagine reducing a cow to 6 months of beef, or a deer to 3 months of venison. I can also imagine taking a duck (legally!) and dressing it out because I wanted to smoke it and serve it on a special occasion; or because I wanted to learn to dress and cook it for a future emergency.

But hey, that's me.

If you eat what you kill, you should feel no more remorse about it than the meat you buy in the nice cellophane wrapped packages at your local grocery store. Those animals were once living, breathing creatures too. The only difference is someone else did the killing and butchering.

I have a simple feeling to the "we shouldn't kill animals for food" thinking.

There is plenty of room for all of gods cute little animals right next to the beans and potatoe's on my plate. That may sound cruel to some, but I believe that not letting them serve their purpose as the creator and mother earth intended is more cruel.

However I am a firm believer that when you kill an animal for food you should always honor that animal and while dressing it you should offer up it's spirit and pray for it's safe passage to the spirit world so that it may return to the great spirit.

reply to post by Nucleardiver


Agreed. The whole circle of life thing.

No deer dies of old age. There are no convalescent homes for mature bucks. The ones the hunters miss....

are ripped apart by wolves or coyotes.

I understand the circle of life idea, and if we didn't eat animals..they probably would end up taking over the planet.

But as I was reading over this thread.. I thought to myself...what if other life forms..such as aliens..had their own ideas of who God was, and how that deity viewed life forms.

What if they were taught that they were the top of the food chain..and we were only created for food, slave labor, or scientific experimentation for further advancing their knowledge ?

We could argue with them, that it isn't right..but they could as easily say...OUR God says its ok..and since we are smarter..have more advanced technology....its obvious we are at a higher life level than you, and therefore get to use you for whatever purposes we see necessary.

We will thank our God and offer your spirits up ,as we kill some of you with as little pain as possible.... and will toast our god , and be grateful for life, as we burp in thanksgiving.

Yeesh..I just had another thought.. what if that is already happening..

reply to post by michael1983l


This is a very disturbing post and worse is that your so happy about it.