On Jun 17, 2009, at 8:34 PM, Alex Stanley wrote: > Some years ago, I witnessed a coyote chasing one of our cats up a > tree, right in the back yard. My policy is that on most of our 190 > acres, the coyotes can do whatever the hell they want, and if a cat > gets caught out there, so be it. But, right around the house, I have > a zero tolerance policy for coyotes, and in the past, I've shot a > few of them. Our coyotes aren't very big.
I feel the same way, although I haven't shot anything, it's New England custom for everyone to have some sort of "varmint gun" handy when such situations arise. I only have 20 acres, but my neighbor, recently deceased, has 500+ acres. Prime hunting grounds and near a mile of lakefront. > >>> And, guys who only hunt bucks also do nothing to control the >>> deer population (because one buck can service a huge number >>> of females.) Hunting does is what controls the population. >>> Most deer hunting states won't even give you a buck tag until >>> you've taken a certain number of does, but Iowa doesn't do that. >>> My sole interest in hunting deer is the meat, so I only hunt >>> does (buck meat is much less desirable). >> >> One has to wonder if the almost universal desire to "kill a >> buck" is a type of oedipal complex. > > I let a friend of mine come out here to hunt, and he shot a buck > last winter. One reason he likes hunting out here, besides the fact > that it is perfect deer ground, is that I have a tractor with a > front-end loader. I went out in the tractor to scoop up his buck, > and the stench of it nearly made me gag. The fascination with trophy > bucks completely escapes me. I'm curious since my own dislike of venison is it's gamey taste (although I do like male deer bologna or sausage). It's common in cow meat to castrate the males used for meat. Could it be the un-castrated male "buck meat" that I'm reacting to? Is doe meat "sweeter" and more palatable? > >> Have you read the book "In Defense of Hunting" by James A. Swan? >> He's an expert on sacred space and the sacred aspect of hunting. >> Show me a real hunter/huntress and I'll show you a man or woman >> with a very deep appreciation for the interconnectedness of life >> and reality. > > No, I haven't read it. My perspective is that biologically, humans > are omnivores, and that from my own experience, a vegetarian diet is > suboptimal for my physiology. What isn't at all a consideration for > me are any fear-based religious dogmas. I don't regard diet type as > having anything whatsoever to do with spiritual awakening. As Rory > remarked this afternoon, the Gita says to be *without* the three > gunas. When I trained in Ayurveda--pure Ayurveda, not the Maharishi variety, we were taught how to prescribe various animal meats. It's interesting, the whole vegetarian trip is relatively late in the Hindu mindset. It's largely derived from Jainism and Buddhism, not original Hinduism. From an original Shaivite perspective, it's looked at as a type of deviation from the natural order. > I do try to avoid factory farmed meat, so I buy some local, pasture > raised lamb, and I took up deer hunting. I still buy organic Smart > Chicken at the grocery store, which I'm sure is factory raised on > grain, but I'm less fussy about that because chickens naturally eat > lots of seeds, so grain-fed chicken doesn't bother me as much as > grain-fed grazing animals. If local pastured chicken becomes > available, I'll buy it. I'm fortunate in that we have one of the oldest organic co-ops in the US here in Maine and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) is looked at as the standard in these parts. It's common to find organic butcher meat side-by-side with vegetarian deli food.
