New man but he shoots as a hobby ...

[jumpinjax]

He seems lovely but he's told me from the outset that he shoots as a hobby.
I don't have any major feelings about shooting one way or another , because I know so little about it but now told me that he's going on a big game shoot in Autumn and I don't know what I feel ... except maybe pity for the animals.
Would you get rid straight away?

Those two are not the same.

Deer culling is an unfortunate necessity because man has killed their natural predators, causing overpopulation.

The first you mentioned called "canned hunting".

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/03/canned-hunting-lions-bred-slaughter

Do you mean a 'big' game shoot (e.g. a grouse or pheasant shoot in the UK), or a 'big game' shoot (i.e. a safari in Africa shooting elephant, rhino, big cats etc). Neither is ideal but the latter would be a complete deal breaker.

@Mothercareyschickens see this deer stalking package company as an example
https://criddlefieldsports.com/shooting/stalking-experience/

We shoot. We eat what we can, the freezer is full of local, free range good meat. The local shoot supplies the pubs with wild duck and partridge, and the guns and beaters take home pheasants. Any left over can be taken to anyone who wants them, and as I don't like to see them go to waste it isn't unknown for me to process 50+ birds! Then I send the meat to people I know who are struggling or would appreciate it. We have venison, rabbit, pheasant, partridge, duck.

No elephant.

I have tried to go vegetarian in the past but, unfortunately, it's not sustainable for me for various reasons. I'm autistic and have a very limited list of "safe" foods, plus an autoimmune condition, horrendous IBS (often triggered by vegetables and legumes), and a newly minted allergy to mustard seed, which has also made me allergic to several fruits and vegetables. I really struggle to reconcile my views on animal welfare with the fact that I eat meat but if I didn't, there wouldn't be much left

Putting the horrors of the meat/dairy industry aside for a moment, I simply couldn't be with someone who enjoyed looking a living creature in the eyes and then shooting it. Big game hunting is especially abhorrent because there's no defending it, it's simply a trophy "sport".

Is it actually legal to shoot elephants anywhere? I'd imagine these shoots were very far from legal frankly.

Absolute hard no. Dump NOW.

That’s made me feel sick. How hideous.

Lots of my friends shoot. I work my dogs on local shoots. All meat goes into the food chain or my deep freeze. Free range. L

Deer need culling as they are causing great damage to woodlands (both ancient and Forestry Commission), agriculture and spreading ticks and tick-borne diseases in areas where historically they haven't been a problem. I

If he means going to Africa I would want to know more though.

I wasn't aware of that sort of package.
They are basically selling killing for kicks - I don't like that at all.

What sort of human thinks that shooting elephants and big cats is any sort of decent thing to do? A selfish, murderous, violent psychopath, in my view.

Sadly, yes it is. And other endangered species such as rhinos, lions, leopards and tigers. People even shoot giraffes and zebras. One of Donald Trump's sons (I forget which one) is into this and posts pictures of himself grinning with his latest 'conquest'.

I would have said that before I looked into the animal agriculture industry. I'd happily shoot my own lunch. The way we treat and kill animals in this country is fucked up.

Gassing pigs with co2 (They suffocate. Then have their throats cut for good measure). Killing many boy calfs and chicks on the day of their birth as they are 'useless'. Keeping 'free range' hens in cesspits after cutting their beaks off so they cant peck one another to death from the stress.

All just awful. Would prefer to hunt my own food any day.

I too have no experience or real knowledge about hunting of any kind outside of hearing about grouse shooting on the Archers.

But even I, the clueless town dweller, with no knowledge of this subject, had a full on horrified visceral reaction when you said he was travelling across the world to kill elephants and big Cats.

how on earth does anyone anyone not have the same reaction?

Either you are so shockingly naive that I’m amazed you’re able to function in the modern world, a psychopath, or a troll.

Either way, get a grip of yourself.

It happens now in Zimbabwe. In other African countries, basically, it's money. if you offer enough you can kill these beautiful animals in Africa. I worked there for 7 yrs in conservation.

Well, it's totally up to you, isn't it? If you're uncomfortable with it, then you're uncomfortable with it, no matter what anyone else says.

I personally wouldn't date a man who did things I was uncomfortable with, whether that was shooting or anything else.

All the people saying 'Well unless you're a vegetarian you can't say it's a dealbreaker' or extolling the perceived virtues of a deer hunt are missing the point. People are entitled to set their own boundaries in their own relationships regardless of whether they match yours.

There is no such thing as an unreasonable dealbreaker. If you find a specific behaviour or opinion to be deeply unattractive, for any reason, then it is your dealbreaker, and that is fine. I personally could not in a million years find a man attractive if he shot animals as a hobby, just as I could not in a million years find a man attractive if he believed in horoscopes or liked Jim Davidson. Just an instant turn-off and a reliable indicator that we were fundamentally incompatible.

I feel like I'm always the true neutral fence-sitter on these types of threads but well, it's complicated.

The main reason African animals are endangered is habitat loss, not trophy hunting. Trophy hunting does lead to more habitat being conserved, not only for lions, say, but because you need to essentially preserve a whole area full of antelope and various species for the lions to hunt. As PP said, it makes it more profitable to use the land for habitat preservation than for other types of development.

To the extent that I have a personal ethical problem with this, it isn't hunting "defenceless/majestic" animals, it's that I'm not entirely convinced that (animal) conservation is a better use of land than other types of human development, e.g. building a village school or factory that would benefit humans rather than animals. It depends for me on the specifics of the hunting outfit tbh and how much they work with the local community.

I was almost going to write unkind things about other options for him, but ....hey....he could volunteer at wildlife sanctuaries.....give them his money and leave the animals better off. Lots of boasting value there. And he can exhort his dickhead big game shooting friends to do the same. Now THAT would be an attractive reversal.

@mistermagpie you are right, there is a huge difference. Pigs, cattle and chickens produced for the sanitised supermarket meat industry often have horrific, cramped, short lives. At least game birds have a chance of a free range decent existence. The difference that really bothers is the method of the kill - and what is so very wrong to kill your own dinner if you are a meat eater?! Most people who shoot have a vast amount more knowledge and respect for the countryside that your average suburban individual who unwraps their plastic covered meat in kitchen far removed from the inevitable death of the animal.

I'm not sure what you mean, @Thelnebriati ?

I don't think that paper is a strong argument for either side of the conservation debate.

No I couldn’t go with this

Absolute No with a capital N from me

and I wouldn’t even want to sit opposite this man at work let alone have a relationship with him (although yes I know I would and I would be professional about it yada yada but I’d definitely be judging him silently and he wouldn’t get any of my biscuits!)

And I’m probably BU myself but I would judge you as my friend if you stayed with him.

I cannot get my head round what sort of person derives pleasure and thrill from killing some of the most majestic, endangered and magnificent creatures on earth. It’s bordering on psychopathic to me.

It’s sick behaviour

So sad

No one goes big game hunting any more. It's just not done!

Well they're still advertising "trophy hunting" holidays, so I guess some do; the one I just looked at is from £36k for an elephant one

And leaving the countless other issues aside, what's "controlled" about it? Even if they pretend to protect the healthy animals, mothers with young, etc, these visitors are bringing a lot of money into countries which don't have a lot, and no doubt they'll want them to enjoy themselves and come back - so just what are the chances of proper control then?

I wouldn't breathe the same air as this guy.