Pagan views on hunting

[thalassa]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

you misunderstand the meaning of the word invasive and just because a problem has existed for a long time doesn't mean we should ignore it.

All introduced species are not invasive. Just sayin'. You can have a non-native species in a permanent population that isn't detrimental to native species. Like dandelions.

Sure starlings suck...mostly because people shot every freaking bird in the damn sky in this country for oh, two hundred years, and the starlings had no problems taking over the countryside. Sort of like white people. Like...after decimating the native population with diseases in the 17th century, our ancestors just sort of helped ourselves to their lands in the 18th and 19th centuries.

How about horses? Would you kill a horse? Cuz they didn't exist in North America before the land bridge.

Well...we did, but they like...went extinct.

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(sowwy, I've had too much caffeine today)


Biologist FTW.




...I really want to go to Argentina and hunt some beaver. Seriously. I want some beaver pelts, and well, in Argentina, they are an invasive species.

Biologist in a beaver hat...sooper FTW.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

Well...we did, but they like...went extinct.

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(sowwy, I've had too much caffeine today)


Biologist FTW.




...I really want to go to Argentina and hunt some beaver. Seriously. I want some beaver pelts, and well, in Argentina, they are an invasive species.

Biologist in a beaver hat...sooper FTW.

I stand corrected on the horse front. And honestly? I'll keep an eye out for you. We've a lot of beaver in Canada.

(I can't even type that without snickering)

[Oden_son]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

my point in saying somebody misunderstood what invasive means is exactly the point you just made. dandelions are non-native but also non-invasive. earth worms aren't even native to new york but i'm pretty glad they're in my garden. starlings on the other hand, are extremely invasive. they form huge, aggressive flocks which out compete a huge number of our most beloved native species and they're still spreading wider across the country. look up cane toads in australia. do you believe cane toads should be left to destroy australia's ecosystem?

[unrealraven]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

There's a big difference between introduced species and invasive species. Invasive species are species (Animal, plant, microbial, or insect) that are not native and cause economic or environmental harm. Here in the US there are several invasive species with the biggest problem one in my opinion being feral pigs. Where I live there's even a bounty on feral hogs. On a side note the harvested pig's are normally processed and sent to homeless shelters or food banks.

As for the topic I have to agree with just about everyone who's taken the time to post, there is nothing wrong with hunting. Although I cannot agree with the people that trophy hunt and care nothing for the animals or the meat. By that I mean the people that will hunt a elk cut its head off and leave the rest to rot.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

On a moral level: I think hunting for sport is okay as long as the animal is also used fully and the quarry is treated with respect. Hunting for necessity is, of course, completely fine. You gotta eat, yeah? And sport hunting doesn't necessarily imply, to me anyway, that the animal is wasted or that it goes unused. Food and pelt can be harvested from an animal hunted in recreation; just as one might tend a garden for recreational purposes, but find real use in the herbs or fruits taken from the activity. So long as it is not done in a wasteful manner and all due respect is given.

And as a Wiccan...yeah, I have a very atypical opinion here. On a certain level I feel that hunting (depending on how it is done), rather than being something wantonly harmful, is something profoundly spiritual to a male practitioner. Just as the cycles of the moon correspond to the Goddess, and to her female worshippers whose own cycles follow Her pattern, the act of hunting can correspond to the God as a hunting deity.
I feel Wicca is lacking in specifically men's Mysteries, and through activities such as hunting and other outdoor things, men can reconnect to their inner selves in a deeply spiritual way, and find a masculinity that isn't tied to domination and rulership, but rather self-sufficiency and providing for oneself and others.

[Oden_son]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

On a moral level: I think hunting for sport is okay as long as the animal is also used fully and the quarry is treated with respect. Hunting for necessity is, of course, completely fine. You gotta eat, yeah? And sport hunting doesn't necessarily imply, to me anyway, that the animal is wasted or that it goes unused. Food and pelt can be harvested from an animal hunted in recreation; just as one might tend a garden for recreational purposes, but find real use in the herbs or fruits taken from the activity. So long as it is not done in a wasteful manner and all due respect is given.

And as a Wiccan...yeah, I have a very atypical opinion here. On a certain level I feel that hunting (depending on how it is done), rather than being something wantonly harmful, is something profoundly spiritual to a male practitioner. Just as the cycles of the moon correspond to the Goddess, and to her female worshippers whose own cycles follow Her pattern, the act of hunting can correspond to the God as a hunting deity.
I feel Wicca is lacking in specifically men's Mysteries, and through activities such as hunting and other outdoor things, men can reconnect to their inner selves in a deeply spiritual way, and find a masculinity that isn't tied to domination and rulership, but rather self-sufficiency and providing for oneself and others.

you kind of said what i was trying to say in a better way. when i go out hunting, i do it because i feel like i'm one with nature. i can feel that i'm doing what most don't anymore; i'm leaving society behind and becoming a part of the natural cycle again. i never feel closer to nature than when i'm hunting and it is a way to get in touch with my masculinity. i don't feel any dominance toward nature, i feel gratitude for being a part of its magic.

[Threshold]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

On a certain level I feel that hunting (depending on how it is done), rather than being something wantonly harmful, is something profoundly spiritual to a male practitioner. Just as the cycles of the moon correspond to the Goddess, and to her female worshippers whose own cycles follow Her pattern, the act of hunting can correspond to the God as a hunting deity.
I feel Wicca is lacking in specifically men's Mysteries, and through activities such as hunting and other outdoor things, men can reconnect to their inner selves in a deeply spiritual way, and find a masculinity that isn't tied to domination and rulership, but rather self-sufficiency and providing for oneself and others.

Clap clap clap clap!

I am not Wicca but I share the same thoughts on this. I think many people who use the term "hunt for sport" think that means lots of people dress in camo and sit in the woods and enjoy watching animals suffer and bleed...ah the gore!

Hunting for sport often means acting on a profoundly deep and instinctual aspect of human nature. Fully experiencing oneself as part of the throb of the ecosystem. Using all one's instinctual skill to connect to one's animal self and the environment in a wholistic way.

When one loses themselves in the hunt, it IS a profound experience, we come to know ourselves on a whole new level. We come face to face with aspects of ourselves that have much to offer.

Hunting is a part of human nature. And humans are part of nature.

Many pagans say they believe that, then proceed to rail against humans as if somehow we invented ourselves and our natures, and are not manifested from the same process that brought forth all of creation.

- - - Updated - - -

you kind of said what i was trying to say in a better way. when i go out hunting, i do it because i feel like i'm one with nature. i can feel that i'm doing what most don't anymore; i'm leaving society behind and becoming a part of the natural cycle again. i never feel closer to nature than when i'm hunting and it is a way to get in touch with my masculinity. i don't feel any dominance toward nature, i feel gratitude for being a part of its magic.

YES!

from catching grasshoppers in the yard, to capturing minnows with my hand, to fishing with a line and hook, etc etc...rather than it making me feel dominant, I feel woven back into the fabric of reality.

That moment when I stop being in my head, and realize that my entire self is now responding on instinct, intuition and some sort of "knowing" is as awesome and humbling an experience as I've ever had.

[Gardenia]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

On a certain level I feel that hunting (depending on how it is done), rather than being something wantonly harmful, is something profoundly spiritual to a male practitioner.

Not just to male practitioners. As an example, there are quite a few devotees of Artemis, men and women, who find hunting to be an extremely spiritual thing, a way to connect with their deity, and a way to connect with the animals, land, and their cycles.

[lynx]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

I prefer hunting to buying store bought meat. I can then know that the animal was killed instantly and respectfully. Commercial livestock is treated miserably. "Sport hunting" is a deplorable, senseless act of cruelty.

[thalassa]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

I prefer hunting to buying store bought meat. I can then know that the animal was killed instantly and respectfully. Commercial livestock is treated miserably. "Sport hunting" is a deplorable, senseless act of cruelty.

I have to ask, because we had this convo earlier in the thread...when you say "sport hunting", do you mean canned hunts? Or just hunting that isn't for food?

Apparently there is a difference in lingo for some of us.

[DeadJellyfish]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

Some very good points were made in this thread and I'll probably just be repeating what everyone's said.
Hunting for food and resources is okay. Hunting for sport is not okay. I think it's sad when any living creature has to die. Even spiders and plants. But I realize death is necessary for a number of reasons. Population control, balance, survival, etc. Animals eat other animals. They don't question it, it's just in their nature. I believe that humans, in a sense, are animals too. And it's in our nature to hunt for food and resources. That's why I don't feel bad eating meat. I'm not sure if I could actually kill and animal though. Unless I was desperate.

[lynx]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

Thalassa, I feel that if it isn't for food or defense it is in sport. If you hunt because you enjoy it and you eat what you kill, then that's fine. If you kill and waste the animal then you are sport hunting.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

Not just to male practitioners. As an example, there are quite a few devotees of Artemis, men and women, who find hunting to be an extremely spiritual thing, a way to connect with their deity, and a way to connect with the animals, land, and their cycles.

Oh, very much so; it's not limited to males. I'm just referring specifically to my situation--I'm a practitioner of Wicca, which generally does lack male mysteries, and I worship a Horned God of the hunt. And since Wicca attempts to reach back to shamanistic Indo-European history as a source for its spiritualism, I feel that men (traditionally the hunters in some Indo-European societies) of that religion can have a particular spiritual connection with the act of hunting, especially if they venerate the Horned God, who is (as I said) a god of the hunt, the wilderness, and nature. This doesn't prevent or stifle women from having a spiritual connection to hunting that is equally as strong.

[Jadine]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

I have never hunted, but I would love to go bow hunting (yes I am an archer). Even before I knew I was pagan I would plan on honoring the animal that I hunted. I would put everything to use. I believe that meat farms are terrible, I believe that every animal should know the grass beneath its feet, breath fresh air and get a real since of life before its death. Being kept indoors in tiny cages is cruel.

So hunting in my book is fine, as long as you use everything you can from the animal, as a pagan you would be nuts not to thank it, right?

[njsquarebear]

Re: Pagan views on hunting

As a newbie, I think this is one of the best topic threads I've read here so far.

My suburban father used to shoot deer once a year with his hunter brother who lived in the country (upstate NJ in the early 1960's)... it was one of the few things he'd do to feel a sense of camaraderie with him, since they weren't particularly close I think. My mother hated venison, so did the rest of the family, and would only cook one dish with it for my father and his brother, if they brought one home. For all intents the deer was 'wasted'. It was killed for sport. As a small child growing up, confronting the sight of seeing such a huge, dead animal with lifeless eyes, tied to the top of the family car was quite disturbing, and not easily forgotten! I'd carry that image for weeks afterwards (Of course, having your parents take you to see Disney's "Bambi" - stupidly - beforehand didn't help either!)

I have no desire to hunt animals for any reason, or to fish, for that matter. As an adult I eat a diet now that I'd say is 2/3 vegetarian, because of personal health reasons as well as reducing my support of disgusting factory farms in the meat industry. Eventually I may go to 0% meat consumption one of these days. I thought this discussion was very respectful of each other... and I now better understand all the different sides to this issue, and feel supportive of Pagans who hunt (for the reasons stated previously by folks). No doubt there are also non-Pagans who hunt for these same reason (for food mainly, or population control when absolutely necessary as a last resort, and who utilize as many parts of the animal as possible) and are respectful towards the animal's life.

I wonder to what degree hunters are stereotyped by animal-rights activists (who I generally support, btw) as being "backwoods yahoos doing it for a lark, or just the animal's head as a trophy, and the beer and carousing afterwards".

I esp. appreciated the comments who connected hunting to the gods/goddesses who hunt, as well as being part of a men's mystery tradition.