BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
What do you think about Trophy Hunting? Have you ever done it? Would you consider doing so?
This conservation came up with a handful of the older guys I hunt with the other day and their answers had me taken aback.
All but one were adamant that they would never trophy hunt, that trophy hunting was unethical, that trophy hunting was not hunting etc.
I was bringing up the hunting African Game as an example where the use of trophy hunting is used in conservation efforts. Every single one of them believed that trophy hunting was not meat hunting and that all meat was wasted once the animal was harvested.
A couple of them were against the idea of "scoring" trophies altogether even though these guys have hunted for "12 point bucks" and "Boone & Crockett" moose/bear etc. This distinction was lost on them.
Which camp do you belong to?
Hunting is hunting. Whether you choose to shoot a small animal that isn't a trophy because you want to eat some deer, or whether you want to hold out until you see a large old male, it doesn't change a thing. People that claim that they are "meat hunters" are just people who want to shoot the first animal they see. People who are stuck on the idea that a "trophy hunter" doesn't care about the meat are just ignorant of the facts. The most satisfying trophy is a full freezer, but the longest lasting are the horns or antlers.
The only thing that we didn't eat in Zimbabwe were the baboons and the jackal that we shot. Who cares.