Hunting: A sport?

[Rex]

I have a hard time grasping hunting as a sport, can someone elaborate the sport for me.

Now I'm not talking about in the wild hunting lions and such. But rather more domestic like deer and ducks.

 

[huajiro]

If you took the gun away and put antlers on the hunters, yeah, that would be a sport.

 

[jewscout]

I'm not sure about the sport aspect but i love some deer meat mmmmmmmmmm

 

[Jaymes]

I totally agree with you, Jewscout. Deer meat is delicious.

And I also abhore hunting as a 'sport.' It makes me sick to see hunters on TV killing as many ducks as they can, or as many this or that or whatever. There's no excuse for that. You hunt for food, or not at all.

 

[kreeden]

Some view hunting as a sport . I say give them a camera then . It is much harder to get a good picture of a live animal then of a dead one . But that is only if you view hunting as a sport ...

 

[Quoth The Raven]

not really sure how hunting is calisfied as a sport either, but horse riding is envolved and that is counted as a sport :|

That's fox hunting, and that's a fairly nasty sport as practiced in England.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Well Rex, I'm not sure how deer and duck could be classified as more domestic than lions, but beyond that, I don't have a big problem with hunting. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but a lot of times there are practical reasons for hunting. Up here in Ohio, we've got deer, duck, wild turkey, you name it. I remember one time when activists got an ordinace passes which shortened the season for deer hunting. I'm sure they thought it'd be a good idea at the time, but the deer population got out of control as a result, and there was a huge increase in deer related car accidents and injuries.

 

[Pah]

I define sport as an athletic contest between human individuals or teams where style is not a factor. That eliminates hunting; fishing; cheerleading; horse, car, boat, and dog racing; gymnastics; poker; and diving (among others). It would include lumberjacking, Celtic events, all racket sports (among others).

Bob

 

[Ceridwen018]

Lol, Bob.

I ride horses, and would have no problem explaining the immense athletic and strategic qualities required from the rider to do well in the many horse sports--even racing.

 

[Rex]

Well Rex, I'm not sure how deer and duck could be classified as more domestic than lions, but beyond that, I don't have a big problem with hunting. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but a lot of times there are practical reasons for hunting. Up here in Ohio, we've got deer, duck, wild turkey, you name it. I remember one time when activists got an ordinace passes which shortened the season for deer hunting. I'm sure they thought it'd be a good idea at the time, but the deer population got out of control as a result, and there was a huge increase in deer related car accidents and injuries.

domestic as in sitting in a tree or bush and spreading some seed to hunt them, rather than going hunting for a lion.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Why do you think it's ok to hunt lions but not deer? Or am I misunderstanding you?

 

[Rex]

Why do you think it's ok to hunt lions but not deer? Or am I misunderstanding you?

Ya it's a misunderstanding. I just think "hunting" a lion is more hunting that deer or duck or whatever.

 

[Pah]

Lol, Bob.

I ride horses, and would have no problem explaining the immense athletic and strategic qualities required from the rider to do well in the many horse sports--even racing.

I'm not ignoring the strenuous effort required but the main athletism is done by the horse or dog or car. Without the horse or car, the rider is powerless. Now, this is not to say I don't enjoy those contests. I also see that master chess players are frequently debiltated at the end of a match but I enjoy chess as a game.

I was once asked by my daughter Holly, (a high school cheerleader) to define sport in the hopes that I would call cheerleading competition a sport and the question floored me for quite a while. What I said above was what I arrived at after many weeks of thought.

No offense meant - it's just my definition

Bob

 

[Ceridwen018]

Gotcha, Bob. It's cool.

 

[Yerda]

That's fox hunting, and that's a fairly nasty sport as practiced in England.

Banned as of next March...with dogs that is, it's still okay to hunt foxes on horseback (with dogs technically but the dogs aren't allowed to actually kill the fox). A bit stupid, yes, but a step in a society where aristocrats still weild considerable power.

Hunting is probably defined as a sport to allow lazy men with huge guts to sit around with the lads all day drinking beer and playing with guns. Sorry about the stereotyping any hunters.

 

[Jaymes]

Hunting is probably defined as a sport to allow lazy men with huge guts to sit around with the lads all day drinking beer and playing with guns. Sorry about the stereotyping any hunters.

Saying sorry doesn't make the generalization okay. That's not a hunter--that's a lazy guy with a gun.

 

[Dr. Nosophoros]

I enjoy hunting myself, I enjoy eating dead animal flesh- there is no difference if I go to the woods and shoot a deer, turkey, rabbit or if I go to the store and bought a package of meat or go through a drive through and pick up a meal with meat in it, it's the same, an animal had to die so I could eat it's flesh- it's not my fault they taste good (LOL). I don't enjoy killing anything, but it is a necessary end result of hunting to get the meat you want. Quite honestly, I enjoy the hunt better than the catch but when I take a nice big bite out of a juicy venison steak, these thoughts seem to fade away, but I personally wouldn't classify hunting as a sport.

I think hunting/fishing is great for kids also as long as the proper respect is taught and given to the game and nature, which one must teach by example. I think the big disconnect is when people feel that somehow they are disconnected from nature and are the masters of it instead of a part of it that leads to callousness, cruelty, and waste. It's one thing to kill an animal to eat, it's another to just kill something to kill it. Regardless to what some anti-hunters say, I feel the majority of hunters out there are ethical, but it's just like anything, we have our idiots to. I can see calling target shooting a sport, whether in practice or competition whether its stationary, moving (clay targets etc.) because it is a test of skill with a tool, somewhat like golf or billiards, but I feel calling hunting a "sport" actually cheapens it.