[NOTE: The email starts off with my co-worker. He in turn forwarded it to his brother-in-law who is a hunter.]
From: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 9:50 AM
To: Co-worker
Subject: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
http://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/another-photo-of-the-poor-deer-with-an-arrow-though-the-face/
From: Co-worker
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 9:54 AM
To: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
Horrible, I just forwarded the link to my best friend and brother in law who bowhunts for deer.
From: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 10:28 AM
To: Co-worker
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
Tell him that bow/arrow hunting should be outlawed. If hunters are going to kill animals, they should make sure it the kill is as swift and as painless as possible. Hunters should ask themselves, if I had a choice how would I want to die, a long slow painful death or a quick death? They should keep this in mind when they are out murdering animals for “sport”.
Did you see the cat that was shot with an arrow? WTF?!?!
From: Co-worker
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 10:21 AM
To: GirlforAnimalLibereation
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
The Hunter’s Response :
That website is blocked, for whatever reason, but I read about this. What a shame. If I was responsible for something like that, I think I would give up hunting. Shot placement is so critical, and in my opinion an ethics issue. I can imagine a scenario in which a shot like this is understandable, the arrow hits a twig and deflects into the head, or something like that, but that’s why it is so critical to practice, know your limits, and air on the side of caution when taking a shot.
From: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 9:57 AM
To: Co-worker
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
Please tell him that when they shoot an animal with an arrow, to make sure the animal dies and doesn’t wander around WOUNDED for days/weeks possibly even MONTHS before succumbing to infection, starvation or both!
Did you see this from the same blog: http://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/environmental-cops-bust-connecticut-man-for-drunken-archery-hunting/
And this from another blogger: http://our-compass.org/2013/11/06/norwich-ct-information-sought-cat-shot/
To: GirlforAnimalLiberation
From: Co-worker
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 11:21 AMTo: Asnes, Susan
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
The Hunter’s response:
I think the notion that suffering should be minimized is one that almost all hunters agree with, the rest are whackos. The first and last sentences I disagree with or don’t understand, the last one being a logical fallacy. In terms of pain, and assuming a “clean” shot, I am curious why this person thinks dying from a arrow wound (through blood loss after a razor sharp incision from an arrow flying 200ft/sec.) vs. dying from a bullet would (shock, blood loss, frequently including such things as having the bones blown out of the backside of the animal) is any more painful? I dont know, it’s at least plausible to me that dying from a arrow wound is the least painful way to die. Some other questions: should eating meat be outlawed all together? What are the appropriate punishments that should be levied on people who have eaten meat in the past, the same, more severe, or less severe than murdering people? Is dying from an arrow wound in the wild less or more painful than being raised in a crate and injected with growth hormones, then being electrocuted until you’re near dead, hung from your feet, and your neck cut open? Is there a perfect correlation between the personal choices this person makes and his view on what should be legal? Has this person ever seen or touched a bow or arrow?
From: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 11:49 AM
To: Co-worker
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
Hi,
I’ll start with the easy question: Yes I have handled a bow & arrow and practiced on non-living target not living, breathing, sentient beings.
I am not a veterinarian, doctor or a scientist so I cannot say for certain if being shot with a bow/arrow is less or more painful than a bullet but it seems to me, the margin for error with bow/arrow is greater than a bullet. I realize the wind can affect the shot of a bullet, just as easily as an arrow but it seems to me, the chances of your shot going off course via an arrow is greater than a bullet. Here again, I am no expert.
As a vegan, I do not believe animals should be exploited – period, whether it be for food, clothing, entertainment, research etc.
Should eating meat be outlawed? If I had that power, then yes, it would be.
Punishment should be “levied” on those who commit egregious acts towards animals, not necessarily those who are blithely unaware of what happens to that cow, before it lands on their plate. I’m willing to give people the benefit of the doubt that they are clueless as to how their food was raised and murdered before landing in the super market. That being said, however, once a person becomes educated on the exploitation of animals, IMHO it is his/her moral responsibility to stop contributing to the exploitation.
Just sayin’.
People who murder other people are heroes in my book. LOL! As a general rule, I hate the human race to which I am a part of, sorry to say.
Is dying from an arrow wound in the wild less or more painful than being raised in a crate and injected with growth hormones, then being electrocuted until you’re near dead, hung from your feet, and your neck cut open? Tell your friend, NO – BOTH ACTS ARE EGREGIOUS. ANIMALS DESERVE COMPASSION AND KINDESS AND SHOULD NEVER BE EXPLOITED BY LOWLIFE HUMANS!
Is there a perfect correlation between the personal choices this person makes and his view on what should be legal? Nothing in life is perfect. As much as I would love to see hunting abolished because I do not believe it to be a sport or necessary. I will never see eye-to-eye with a hunter on this argument. And please spare me the “culling for the greater good of the animal” speech because I’ve heard it all before. IMHO, nature can take care of itself and has for long before humans came along and effed it up. I long for the day when Mother Earth rids her immune system of the one species that has put this planet and all its inhabitants in a state of crisis. Humans do not trump animals – we all live in symbiosis. Those humans who believe we rule over everything are the reason this planet is in a state that it is in and why species of animals have gone extinct or are near extinction. I mean, correct me if I’m wrong but you don’t see non-human animals hunting other animals for “sport” and then mounting the heads of their kill on a f*cking wall.
Animals should be taken out of the equation completely. If hunters want to hunt something, they should hunt one another. 🙂
From: Co-worker
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 2:31 PM
To: GirlforAnimalLiberaetion
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
The Hunter’s response:
It’s a little hard for me to take this seriously. I mean, if she’s right then I should disregard her because who would take advice from a “human” like her — a lowlife species for which the only solution is eradication from the planet so that non-human animals can thrive. If she’s wrong, then she’s wrong. Either way, I should ignore her. Plus, most of this is total nonsense. We should not necessarily punish meat eaters as long as they are ignorant? I hate the human race? Come on…
But if I wade through the nonsense and try to get to the underlying theme (apart from the human guilt), I think there is probably a lot we can agree on. That we should respect living, breathing, sentient beings; be mindful of their suffering and minimize it to the extent we can. To preserve and take joy in the natural world around us.
I also really do respect people who are vegetarians/vegans, in particular those who do it for ethical reasons (admittedly, I don’t like it when they label me as a murderer and say I should be punished for disagreeing with them). It’s not the choice I make, but my observation has been that many of these people are upset by factory farming, destructive fishing practices, the needless suffering imposed on animals, and follow their conscience. I applaud them for that.
Now, there is some stuff that I really object to here. It seems to be she distinguishes between humans and the nature that surrounds them — that we should wipe out humans for the benefit of “nature.” I don’t view humans as being distinct from nature, I view us (albeit a unique species) as a part of nature, and with a “rightful” place in it. For me, part of that experience is hunting animals and eating their meat, just as we evolved to do and have been doing for a million years. Even if the “natural” role of meat in a human’s diet is debatable, if I am going to eat meat, I think the best way for me to do it is to hunt my own. I have to live face to face with the consequences of letting that arrow or bullet fly, which brings to the forefront of my consciousness the seriousness of taking an animal’s life — especially big game. I learn to only kill what I will eat, the elements of fair chase, the ethics of killing quickly and minimizing suffering, the necessity of wild places and the critical role that conservation plays. All of that is not only a “natural” experience, but one that benefits the animals I am hunting (on the whole) and the ecosystem they live in.
In conclusion I would remind her that I am an animal, a homo sapien and therefore DESERVE COMPASSION AND KINDNESS AND SHOULD NEVER BE EXPLOITED, and further (as an animal) would ask to be, taken out of the equation completely, and allowed to live naturally and unimpeded by evil humans like her.
From: GirlforAnimalLiberation
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 4:35 PM
To: Co-worker
Subject: RE: Why I hate hunters. Let me count the ways!
Oh brother, here we go, the big bad vegan is taking a whiplashing from a highly educated white male hunter.
As I read through you brother-in-law, the Hunter’s comments, and I found it interesting that he thinks I am trying to be “right”. This isn’t about my being right. This is about what is right for the animals and the planet. I do not believe I am out in left field with my thinking that a good percentage of humans are f*cking plague on this planet — not all humans are deserving of life. They’re just not. Sorry. This is my opinion and my opinion alone. I don’t think your friend should lump all vegans/vegetarians together. I’m sure there are plenty of vegans who do not share my views.
Does your friend honestly think I want to punish people for eating meat? What I want is for those who choose to eat animals to educate themselves on how the food they are eating landed on their plate. I believe, although cannot prove, that a vast majority of people have absolutely no idea; either that or they are willfully ignorant.
Also, I love how your friend insults me by saying, “as I wade through the nonsense”. Nonsense to him, but then again, his justification is nonsense to me. So I guess we are even.
As for this statement: “the elements of fair chase, the ethics of killing quickly andminimizing suffering, the necessity of wild places and the critical role that conservation plays. All of that is not only a “natural” experience, but one that benefits the animals I am hunting (on the whole) and the ecosystem they live in.” Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t! Tell your friend that this statement is so overused by hunters that he and his fellow hunters should record it and sell it on iTunes. I am so sick and tired of listening to the Hunter’s diatribe that they are “conserving” wildlife as well as the ecosystem. Maybe HE believes this, but I guarantee you most of his fellow hunters could give a rat’s ass about conservation and the ecosystem. Incidentally, what are his feelings on the delisting and hunting of wolves? Tell me something; those hunters that are assassinating wolves by the hundreds on a daily basis, that’s right daily, are they eating the meat? Are they killing wolves for survival? What benefit is there to the ecosystem by hunting wolves. Wolves were nearly pushed to the brink of extinction, and will again if some hunters have their way.
I don’t care what your friend says, not all hunters hunt for the meat. Some hunt because they like to kill. It’s that simple. A good percentage of them are nothing more than a pack of camo-clad serial killers thirsting for blood.
In conclusion I would remind her that I am an animal, a homo sapien and therefore DESERVE COMPASSION AND KINDNESS AND SHOULD NEVER BE EXPLOITED, and further (as an animal) would ask to be, taken out of the equation completely, and allowed to live naturally and unimpeded by evil humans like her. My guess is, your friend is probably white and I already know he is a male so the likelihood of him being “exploited” are slim to none. As for my being evil. How so? I’m not the one murdering animals for sport or so I can eat. You know, I love it, we vegans speak up for the voiceless and we are labeled as “evil” or “terrorists” and yet your friend murders animals and he’s an upstanding citizen.
Tell your friend to recline back in the comfort of knowing that he has more rights and more latitude as a white male hunter than I could ever hope to have as a white female vegan.
Yours truly,
The vegan misanthrope who is full of nonsense.
🙂
Girl for Animal Liberation 