A Hunter’s Open Letter to America’s Vegans
Dear Vegans of America, I welcome you to sport hunting with open arms.
Dear Vegans, I’ll start by saying that nobody cares what you choose to eat or not eat–that’s entirely your business and we live in a free country. That said, if the reason you eschew animal products in your diet is that you’re worried about animal cruelty, there is one way for you to open up your menu without violating your personal ethics: hunting. What’s more, taking up the sport of hunting is quite possibly the best way for you to secure the future of America’s wild spaces and the health of the native animals that inhabit it. Here’s why.
Dear Vegans, you should know that the way people hunt in America today is a 180-degree turn from the way people hunted in yesteryear. If you bristled at the way I used the word “sport” in relation to hunting, let me explain why I did that. Back in the Bad Old Days when America’s whitetail, turkey, and bison populations were on the verge of extinction, that was because of market hunting. Market hunting is the sort of wholesale slaughter of native animal populations that make you (and us, by the way!) want to cry. We don’t do that anymore–we give the animals a sporting chance. That’s why it’s called “sport hunting,” not because we think of this ancient human tradition as the same thing as soccer.
Dear Vegans, if you recoil from the idea of factory farming because you believe it’s cruel to animals, then consider how different it is for a wild animal. The whitetail deer you hunt for its meat has spent its entire life out in its natural environment, living the way that deer are meant to live. Then one fine morning, a human it never knew was there harvests it with a rifle bullet that ends the animal’s life before it hears the sound of the shot. No fear, no pain, no lifetime in confinement. I’ll even tell you a little secret, my vegan friends: Even though we hunters know that we gave our prey the best possible death, we still occasionally shed a little tear of joy and respect for the critter that gave its life to feed us.
Dear Vegans, if you recoil from factory meat farming because you believe that it’s an inefficient use of our land, consider what there is to hunt. Animals like deer and turkeys evolved to be part of this ecosystem, and they don’t require “feeding” with crops not native to this soil. Nor do they require that areas be fenced off to keep certain types of wildlife out or in. What’s more, animals that are not a native part of this ecosystem–the invasive species that can really wreak havoc on America’s wildlife–really need to be hunted and removed from the land as much as possible. (Interestingly, most of them are also delicious.)
Dear Vegans, if you worry that sport hunting could endanger species the way market hunting did in the past, please rest assured that nobody wants that to happen less than America’s hunters. This may sound counterintuitive, but it’s true: The best way to ensure the survival of a species is to allow people to pay to hunt a small and replaceable part of the population. It’s not just about the taxes we pay on our guns, ammo, and hunting licenses, either. It’s about the fact that this system causes people to see wildlife as a resource to be protected–if only for their own purposes–and that’s something we have in common.
Dear Vegans, if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that not a whole lot has to go really wrong for food shortages to start popping up. For the last couple of months it’s been virtually impossible to find fresh beef or chicken at the grocery store…but I’m eating venison and turkey from my freezer and couldn’t care less.
Dear Vegans, even if there is nothing in the world that would ever cause an animal product to cross your lips and you’re angry that I even suggested it, I want you to know something: When it comes to protecting America’s wild spaces and the animals that live there, you and I have more in common than you know. And if you’d like to learn more about what hunting can mean to you and your place in the ecosystem, we hunters are here to welcome you with open arms. (We might tease you a little bit about that soy habit of yours, though.)
Romans 14:2 – One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. (RSV)
Activist “anythings” are zealots, and you might as well speak in low tones to a totally deaf & blind person to convince them of any type of change or agreement to your cause or belief……or for them to “lighten up” their extremism. They are as manic as National Socialists or Communists………..the two main examples of extremism on this planet that continually cause death and restriction and destruction of human freedom and excellence.
Look at what happened when they removed all the wolves from Yellowstone.
All the disease and old elk where we’re still living and we’re just taking the resources of the park. When they started reintroducing the Wolves back into the park the balance came back and the Wolves started eating all the old and diseased animals that were taking all the resources that were there now they’re not and it is back to a flourishing ecosystem.
There is a balance that has to be taken in account 4 all of the haunting do you think that all these Department of Land Management and game and Fishing people are all idiots and live in California some of them are pretty smart and they take only and make limits that are what the ecosystem will take. Yes I live in California I wasn’t raised there I wasn’t born there but I live in California that’s not my fault.
I hate to see anyone kill just for sport and then leave the meat lay for wolves and coyotes, even wild hogs. They are still pork and very editable. Like hunters who kill for horns and then leave the meat. Low lifes in my book.
John: I understand. But here in Texas the wild hog issue is intolerable. I don’t shoot them for sport, I kill them for necessity, If we didn’t, they would overrun my property tearing everything apart. And they are known to kill people, so…. get rid of them. And my meat-eating friends will only take the tenderloins anyway, they say the older hogs taste awful. We had a fellow trap them and raise them for meat, but he died and I have no one to take over that dangerous chore. A sow can produce 20 to 36 piglets per year, and that’s hard to keep up with. We are anything but low-lifes, but I get your point.
Dear Mr. Munson: It’s really not fair to pick on Vegans. It is simply a food choice. I’ve been vegan a number of years but because of cholesterol issues. Actually I am a hunter, and gunshop owner. Others eat the meat unless it’s’ wild hogs, which I just leave for the coyotes or burn. Maybe just address this to anti-hunters instead. Veganism is just a small part of the whole anti-hunting movement. I can tell by your tone that you really have little patience with vegans.
What I have noticed, however, about many non-meat eaters is that they wear non-leather goods. Which is replaced with plastics, an oil and gas product. Then they protest oil and gas projects which provide the base chemical ethylene that makes the plastics they wear and call “vegan leather”. But they are usually young and quite stupid. They could wear wooden shoes, but they would likely also protest forestry projects… They can’t win. So it boils down to ethical choices. The only water-wheel powered food processors I know of are apple mills,to make cider.. But it’s’ mostly for the nostalgia on a weekend afternoon.
I’m sorry this comes across as picking on people for their food choices. That’s not how I feel at all, but your point about thinking about the issue in terms of opposition to hunting instead is well-taken.
Marcia, while I agree with your premise, I also have to agree with Trace. He’s not “picking on” Vegans, he’s answering them. Most Vegans I’ve met ( I live in CA, I’ve met plenty ) are very vocal about the meat industry and doubly so about hunting. Personal choices are exactly that… Personal choices. I personally am a non-hunter. I love firearms, and target shoot and plink regularly. I just get my meat prepackaged from the store year round.. I can’t bring myself to shoot an animal. What I am not is an anti-hunter. I KNOW what hunting provides. Besides the obvious population control, necessary due to human encroachment / habitat destruction, the money provided through licenses, tags, and an 11% tax ( 11% on long guns, 10% on hand guns ) on all hunting and shooting related products. This comes from the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Act, passed in 1937, and is now known as Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration. It provides the money to keep National Parks open and running, as well as BLM land purchases for wildlife habitat. Collecting over 7 BILLION in excise taxes since it’s inception has funded many different programs as well as the aforementioned Parks / Habitat restoration. I silently thank hunters every time I utilize what they have funded. Hunting may not be everyone’s “cup of tea” but it is a valuable part of our heritage that provides benefits to all citizens.
In all fairness, the life of a wild animal is not the idyllic Disney existence. They endure cold, hunger and the constant struggle to evade predators. If you have seen any real wildlife shows, you know that becoming the meal for a large predator or pack of wolves and the like is not a quick, painless or sporting experience. Most hunters at least strive for the quick, humane one shot kill although not all are successful. Also, if the population of any species gets too large, starvation and disease will thin the population if predation does not. Sport hunting is far kinder than the alternatives.
One clean shot– usully never happens — too many people who can buy a gun do not know anything about gun safety, recoil, proper bullets and their trajectories and killing powere — how to shoot it, let alone know anything about deer anatomy and where to shoot to make the cleanest kill, how to follow a gut shot deer in thw woods, how to work the gambrels ater you’ve downed an animal that looks like it’s dead. And… how to clean it and haul the meat home.
So if this is your concern, dispose of your rifles, apply for all big game hunts and never fill the tag! You can save 1 animal guaranteed by wasting an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors,, share a great comradery with family and friends even after the harvest, with a good barbecue!
No lifetime in confinement, absolutely. No pain, no fear, not necessarily. There’s too many folks out there that call themselves hunters who don’t spend enough time at the range or in the woods. Poor shots due to lack of practice, “buck fever” or whatever, can definitely cause pain and fear.
Nice arguments. Very informative. Good luck getting an activist vegan listening to you, though.