Monday, December 2, 2013

Horrified by Hunting? You Know, That's Ok.

I know many hunters that find themselves in the pretty odd position of justifying their decision to bring food home for their families. It is odd because what we're doing is fundamentally at the heart of our existence: we're providing for our families - just in a slightly different fashion than heading down to the local Coles.

One of the reasons I hunt, and there are quite a number, is that for me it is a way of assuming total responsibility for the process of sourcing meat for my family's table. From the outset I am in control of the process: I chose the beast from which the meat will ultimately come from, how it is killed and how it is treated and prepared, ready for consumption. At no point do I outsource a part of this process; I own it wholly.

In utilising a wild beast, there is the added benefit of the beast having the least possible chance of suffering at the hand of man. It has lived a life - ignoring the fact it is exotic - as nature intended and you can't get much more free-range than that!

I firmly believe that we, not as hunters but as humans, should have the freedom of choice when it comes to sourcing our food. We should have the right to be guided by our own morals and our values and if those morals and values deliver us to hunting as being our preferred means of sourcing food, we should have the freedom to pursue that path.

I can only imagine the hysteria (and justifiably so) if individuals were robbed of the right to choose whether or not to grow their own vegetables or harvest their own water. It would be grossly unfair, some may even say a denial of a basic human right, if that were to occur. Why is hunting any different?

I don't think for a moment that we're about "converting" anyone to subscribe to a life philosophy of providing for one's family on any scale. Far be it for me, or anyone, to dictate to another how they should live their lives, but I and the hundreds of thousands of hunters across Australia would certainly appreciate that same courtesy be returned.

So if you're horrified by hunting, that's ok, just don't try to stop me.