This past weekend, I just passed a bow shooting test so I am now licensed to use a bow to hunt in the state of Alaska, in certain areas. This got me to thinking: How does hunting fit in with different cultures?
I understand not everyone agrees with hunting and I respect that opinion. However, it seems to me that if someone is willing to eat meat they should be prepared to kill an animal; after all, that's what they are doing, even if they are removed from the actual act itself. For me, hunting is all about a way to connect with nature, challenge myself physically, and to provide meat for me and my family; I am not concerned at all with killing for fun or for trophies. It seems more humane to me to hunt for a wild animal and kill it quickly and humanely than to buy meat from a store where the animal was kept in a feedlot crowded with other animals while living in its own feces. In my bowhunting course, I learned that it only takes 10-30 seconds for an animal to perish with a good shot, and often they don't even realized they've been hit; people told stories about animals they'd shot who went right back to feeding!
