Out Trail
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Out Trail |
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Editor's note: Our Out Trail articles are intended to be funny or zany. We try to poke good natured fun at some of our sacred cows. This one drew fire from both sides – putting us exactly where we wanted to be. |
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The
Great Hunting Debate In this, our special wildlife issue, you’ll notice we don’t have a single article on hunting. That’s intentional. The magazine is officially neutral on hunting—we don’t condemn or encourage hunters. However, I’ll give my personal opinion, for whatever it is worth. I support hunting but view it as barbaric activity. I enjoy eating meat and recognize that something must die before that can happen. In my youth I enjoyed hunting tremendously—I blasted the hell out of everything allowed by law. But I don’t enjoy killing things anymore. I’d rather have someone else kill the beef I eat (I don’t want to look into those big, dark eyes as I squeeze the trigger). Predators are necessary in any ecosystem. In the Western U.S., hunters and automobiles are the most significant predators for deer and elk. If hunting was suddenly stopped, big game populations would rocket out of proportion. Then many animals would suffer as they starved to death. Hunting is an important tradition in many families. I recognize the value that comes when extended families gather and participate in activities they enjoy, particularly in the out-of-doors. However, I also recognize that the way the deer hunt is managed in Utah makes it difficult for extended families to hunt together. That’s too bad. I’ve seen some hunters engage in dangerous behavior and I have to admit I’d be a bit nervous tromping the hills on the opening day of the rifle deer hunt. When there are a thousand gun-toting rednecks on every hillside and in every canyon, I’d rather be in my boat at Flaming Gorge. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to assume some superior moral attitude. I recognize that I’m a hypocrite because I don’t want to kill the animals I eat. When I hunted I horned my skills and I usually put a bullet through the heart, resulting in a quick kill. Now, as a fly fisherman, I use the tiniest tippet possible and play my catch carefully, gently torturing the fish before I release it. When I was a kid attending Dixie High in St. George, the opening day of the deer hunt was a major holiday. School was dismissed and the entire town pretty much shut down. But even back then I could recognize some of the irrationalities surrounding hunting. One teacher in particular enjoyed poking fun at hunters. I honestly can’t remember what subject he taught because he spent much of the class time talking about football. Old Mert Loveless would say, “If I wanted something that tasted like venison, I’d go out to the coral and find the oldest, toughest ram I could find, shoot it through the stomach, cut it open and dress it right there, drag it around the coral a few times letting flies and dirt get all over it, then I’d cut it up and throw it into the freezer.” Sounds good. For the price of one hunting trip, I can buy a lot of T-bone steak. |
Reader's Response: For Hunting Reader's Response Against Hunting: In your September issue, I couldn’t help but laugh at David Webb’s article, “The great debate over hunting.” Obviously, even the Editor and General Manager of your magazine has not a clue about the controversy over hunting. It’s not just the act of hunting, it’s the mentality. Hunting is not for sustenance, it is purely for sport and anyone who derives enjoyment out of killing a harmless, defenseless creature, for the pure joy of killing and/or acquiring the greatest trophy is not only barbaric, but has no sense of what our wildlife represents and certainly has no respect for wildlife. Mr. Webb seems also confused, more than likely based on his prior activity and upbringing, as to exactly who and what a “predator” is and what “ecosystem” (as used throughout the magazine) really means. If you pitted a gun-less man against a mountain lion, who would be the predator and who would be the prey. Hunters are arrogant, self-serving, prowlers, who just happen to have a gun in their hands. Hunters do not only kill elk and deer, but they also kill the true predators, the lions, the bears, the wolf, foxes, and anything else they can aim at. I’m so sick of hearing the same, ignorant statement from hunters and “people who no longer think they have the hunter mentality,” that the animals would starve to death. If we would just leave them all alone and stop encroaching on their territory, then the real ecosystem would take care of itself. And what a lovely way for families to “come together” and what a heartwarming message to instill in your children, that to needlessly slaughter and spill the blood of a gentle creature, for no other purpose than target practice or the thrill of the kill, is ok. The United States has a higher rate of domestic violence, child abuse, street crimes, violent crimes including murder, and suicides than any other country, and ironically, Utah is in the top ten. What this tells me is that we should be teaching our young children compassion for one another and for all living creatures. Last but not least, you claim to have no other articles referencing hunting. Why then is it necessary to refer to the Yellowstone Elk as the “Trophy” Elk and exactly, what category does fishing come under? Is it not, as well, just another form of hunting? As humans, it is our own arrogance, greed and short term gain, that is ruining our world, destroying and annihilating our wildlife, poising our water, and air, and ironically, poising and killing ourselves. I guess we are getting what we deserve. Let’s just say it like it really is, hunting of all kinds is just big business. Dave, it goes beyond being a hypocrite. Get real, either you are for hunting or against hunting, either you are for killing or you are against killing. Make up your mind! Please, immediately, remove me from your mailing list. Linda Nielsen
Dear Editor: What a pleasure it is to have finally received my last issue of your magazine. I subscribed because of the Saturday morning radio show on KSL. It very much dealt with the issues I would expect from "Utah Outdoors:" hunting, fishing, camping. What I got in the magazine was biking, hiking, climbing, tree hugging and reviews of horribly expensive gear that no one I know uses or could even afford. Much of this doesn't even take place in Utah. I have read articles on Alaska, Arizona, Yellowstone, Wyoming and many other places. There is nothing wrong with them and the occasional article about non-Utah places is good. So often though there is not much about Utah in the "Utah Outdoors" magazine. Maybe (you could publish) an article or two per year on a simple place to go that doesn't require a guide or $3,000 worth of gear. The latest issue cemented my resolve to let my subscription expire. Your "special" wildlife issue had an article about bats, elk (good but it's in Yellowstone) and fish. Good but this is the fall season when from the beginning of September until mid January hunting is king. The biggest Utah holiday, the deer hunt, is next month and no mention of deer in a "wildlife" issue? "The Great Hunting Debate" did me in. Dave Webb is right in stating, "I recognize I'm a hypocrite because I don't want to kill the animals I eat." Weather you do it or you buy your steak at Smith's, it's the same thing. Obviously we don't need to hunt for food. And yes, per pound venison is a bit pricey. But hunting has much more involved than just killing or what it cost to go. Hunting is part of America. Hunting is an opportunity for family gathering. Hunting, as was pointed out, is needed to control populations. Hunting is getting back to nature in a way that nothing else can do. Some of my best hunts were those on which I never took a shot. If you don't like to hunt then don't do it. But don't call me a "gun toting redneck" involved in "a barbaric activity." The use of the word redneck implies lessened intelligence and some kind of strange relationship with relatives. This morning after camping with my son we drove into the mountains above Brigham City and Perry and saw many grouse hunters. Many were with families. I talked to several and not even one had Billy Bob teeth so common with the rednecks Mr. Webb apparently meets. Just remember the fish you catch on Flaming Gorge are just as alive as the deer I shoot and are just as dead when you eat them. If you openly badmouth hunting then you had better badmouth fishing as well. Lives are taken in both activities (even in catch and release). But I guess the fish that die after release are out of sight, out of mind, just as much as the cow that died was out of sight. I feel better. P.S. I read all the negative commentary about your canyoneering article. In just two articles you have ticked of both sides of your target market. Keep going till Christmas and next year we won't have to see your magazine in the store. Rob
Dilley |