groovitudedude;1733536; said:
Yes, I agree that it is ridiculously biased. But, I have good news! They have recently come up with this thing where you can enjoy the outdoors without killing any wildlife. I forgot the name of it, but I think it's called "Camping" or something like that. I'll have to go check it out sometime.
Anyway, how will you feel, if, in 20 years the animals that you are hunting now are extinct? I mean, there's already enough stuff ruining the environment and killing animals. I know I sound like a tree-hugging hippie, but this is the reality. Unless you HAVE to hunt to survive and/or you live in the mountains, I can not see doing it for fun.
The deer, moose, and elk are in no danger in Canada, at least not from hunting.
Urbanization kills animals by permanently destroying habitat. That is why I find most people who are against hunting or any natural resource management hypocritical - they live in cities that have essentially sterilized the land.
Camping isn't the same... it is fun, but it is like Disneyland - you aren't part of nature, you are a visitor that stays on trails and pretends to 'rough it', and then you go back to the city and feel like you are one with nature.
I'm part of nature, and picking wild mushrooms, hunting, and spending as much time in the bush helps me remember this. Going into a managed camping spot with all your gortex and expensive gear, and thinking that you are experiencing wilderness, is delusional.
Also, if we all waited until we 'needed' to hunt for survival, who would know how to do so? That knowledge would be lost.
We have to remember our roots and not lose our knowledge of the land. I know the edible mushrooms and plants in my area, and I always laugh to myself when others are afraid to eat mushrooms I brought back - people are inherently afraid of things found in the bush versus the supermarket.
I think that not seeing the need to continue the hunting and gathering traditions of our ancestors because it 'isn't necessary' is basically bourgeois, urbanized idiocy. It is fine for natives to do it, but not us? So wait - are they closer to animals, and we are above living off the land?
Almost 90% of Canada is Crown Land - owned by the people, not privatized. I grew up in a big city dreaming about the wilderness, and when I finally experienced the vastness of it in my country, I wanted to know as much as I could about it... and learning how to survive and what to use is the most intimate knowledge you can acquire, and it makes you feel one with the land... You stop romanticizing nature and realize what it really is, and that makes you want to protect it even more.
