Do you have remorse

After killing an animal? What are your thoughts/opinions/stance. I have copied a post my cousin sent me he got off another forum, and thought it was worth sharing. This is the response to the same question.



“Kind of hesitate to comment. It's personal, and with me, somewhat situational. Not totally rational.

When my son was approaching the age of being old enough to actually kill something besides fish (first shotgun), we had a little talk. Well probably two or three. But the gist was that we should always feel some remorse at killing. We have snuffed out the life that God breathed into one of his creations. That is our station in life, to use and have dominion over His other earthly creations, but NOT to disrespect or squander or waste them any more than we would waste the gifts and legacies of our earthly fathers.

Of hundreds of days hunting, fishing, guiding with my son from the Sea of Cortez to Alaska, two days I will never forget were when he killed his first dove with his single shot 20 ga. at age 8. We were celebratory and happy and riding home he fell silent and then said
"Dad, you know what's the only bad thing about shooting stuff?"
I said no, I didn't.
"You can't let them go afterwards if you want to". (He was already a good fisherman).

And after he battled his first marlin to boatside a couple of years later and the Mexican deckhand drew his finger across his throat in the classic question. I explained to Pete that it was his decision to kill or release the fish. It wasn't his vehement answer as much as his look of disbelief that i remember.

I still enjoy gunning birds. I have really enjoyed the hunts I've been able to make since my heart attack, especially those with my son, and old friends from the "brotherhood". But I can say, back in the day, when Rockport was on fire and I was running hunts down there three days a week and holidays and part of my vacation and putting groups on 30, 36, 42 birds per day after day, I did get burned out. Especially knowing many clients used those birds for nothing but a target and then a photo prop.

So, say what you will, I believe you turn a corner at some period. Sometimes it's a single event, sometimes it's an accumulation, sometimes a single event tips the scales. And I think many people, like me, need some adversity, some reason to miss it, to fully appreciate it.”

Yes.

I believe it is instilled compassion. I hunt, but the justification is i eat what I shoot. I cannot stand to see an animal suffer. It hurts me to see that. Hunting hogs with dogs.....gets to me. my hang up......I don't judge it's just not for me. The dove,it's off with the head as quick as possible. I practice and practice to make a clean and accuraute shot. To me it's the least I can do. I am a hunter. I enjoy it...death comes with the territory.

Is hunting wrong? No, but everything in moderation, IMO.


Shane

I don't and don't care to shoot anything anymore except pointed birds. I only do that for the dogs. Call it remorse, or whatever you want to call it, but something came over me, and that's the way it is.

I don't have any remorse for killing an animal but I do say a Prayer thanking the Lord for allowing me to!!!

There have been times that yes, I think I have felt remorse. But 99% of the time, no, but I do not let the meat go to waste either. They should be harvested for a purpose.

I pull the trigger for only 2 reasons. Food and protection. I am not a trophy hunter (I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Trophy Hunting, so don't hear what I'm not saying) I don't feel remorse per say, I do feel a sense of respect and awe.

Not necessarily remorse but I don't think I've ever killed any type of game animal without pausing for a minute to think about where it's been and what it means to me. Even the nuisance animals have a moment when it was necessary to kill one. I always take a little time to get right with nature.

Although I get excited when a big rack bucks walks by I don't shoot anything just for a trophy - no eat/no shoot for the most part. As I've mentioned in several posts....."I guess I'm just not mad at the deer (animals) anymore".

i hate to see people killing any animals and letting it go to waste, i see it alot with hogs, guys kill 8-10 hogs and then just throw them into a field. They could dontate them and at least get some food on the table for ones in need

I have remorse when I kill any animal and I am not saying that I am going to quit hunting or that some animals do not need to be killed, but when it is my choice to take the life from another living creature, it is a big decision. I think this is one reason mankind has a conscience. Killing is the ultimate taking and all animals are more adept at making a living in the wild than man is. You have to have some admiration even for the nasty hogs on nights when it is sleeting and snowing and they are making a living under less than ideal conditions. It is not going to keep me from killing them, but I do admire their toughness and it does point out how inept man is in their world. As you age, you realize your own frailties and with those frailties, you become more vulnerable. Your vulnerability should make you more compassionate towards certain situations and these situations are different for different people. For a long time,I never could understand why my Grandfather never enjoyed taking us rabbit hunting. We did not eat the rabbits, just shot them. Now, I know why he did not enjoy it and I have no justification for hunting rabbits except that youngsters have to start somewhere and with that in mind, maybe I will take a youngster rabbit hunting when I have no desire to go. Most hunters/sportsman grow into and out of different phases of hunting, but hopefully respect for life will be involved in all of those phases. Different strokes for different folks. Personal decisions are just that, personal.

I eat what I shoot or catch. no remorse, it's the way of life.

ya i feel a little sad sometimes, till im chewin on a piece of jerky, animals are majestic, sucks to kill them, do it cleanly and and dont waste it. Give thanks for the life the lord gave you to take, so you can eat.

There is a sadness sometimes and lot of respect for the animal when I kill them, but I know that in doing so I have made room for the new ones that will come the next spring/summer. A balance of sorts I would say.

This is something I have talked to my 2 sons, age 7 and 5, about at lenght. When we are sitting in a blind and watching instead of shooting I use that as a teaching momnet to explain that once the trigger is pulled the animal is no longer able to be let go because it was killed. I use this to explain why we don't shoot the the yung deer or possumes or ...... dead is dead! It is now great to hear the boys tell people how we watch way more animals then we shot because once they are shot they get dead.

I have more remorse when I fail to get a shot off in time.

x2......

x2

we are predators and what we kill is prey. i never have remorse for anything because i eat everything i shoot. its the circle of life. do coyotes or bobcats or mountain lions have remorse for killing a deer or rodent? no, that is just food and life. therefore when i kill something its food for me and the family. dont get me wrong i love to horn hunt and get the biggest buck in the woods, but even though he goes on the wall all of it is used for the table.

Not much remorse for me I eat what I kill most the time deer hog etc but I'm not gonna eat coyotes and bobcats and I've never shot a raccoon or possum armadillo cause there no reason to in my opinion

I've killed game with guns and farm animals with knifes and did not feel any remorse. I killed a deer with buckshot once and he droped. I waited for 30 min to go get him, but when I got close he was still alive and was gasping for air. My issue was that I could not pull the trigger at close range to finish him off. I did pull my knife and stabbed his heart and cut his throat. I just could not pull the trigger at close range.

Not really remorse, but I do give thanks to that animal for the experience of the hunt and the meat that it will provide. I do, however feel genuine regret if something goes wrong that causes an animal to suffer unduly. Several years ago I shot a doe that spooked right as I was squeezing the trigger and the high-shoulder shot hit her just forward of the rear quarters, breaking her back and she started spinning so that I couldn't get off another shot. I had to let her wear herself out so I could finish her off and it literally made my heart ache to watch her suffering.

I have been hunting for many years, and from an early age my mother always taught me.. "only shoot if you plan on eating it". And that goes for the blackbirds in the backyard too. She made us eat one when I was about 7. Not good. Well three weeks ago my son, 14, shot his first. A nice spike. Good clean shot. The buck shook around some, kicked a few times but by the time we got down the steps of the blind he was dead. I hugged my son, congratulations and we walked over to the dear and thanked the Lord for the opportunity to harvest this animal. He asked me about that later. I told him, I will teach you just as I was taught by my father 40 years ago. My mother asked about that deer, but I had to tell her that the steaks were great and the burgers were just as good!!

I worked in a packing house (slaughter house) for 16 years.

Saw a lot of killing and yes I felt bad when I watched the animals being led up to the ramp to be killed and they sensed, smelled and heard what was about to happen to them.

That said, do you have remorse when you go the meat counter at the grocery store?

I don't think so! It's part of life, and man's dominance over the animals, and the earth that provide for man's existence, and they were given to us for the purpose of our own survival, and we shouldn't waste it.

Anyone who has a problem with remorse for killing an animal needs to take a tour of a packing house just once, and you'll be cured. Hunting is quite humane!

Last buck I killed was close enough that I could hear him take his last couple of breaths. That one got to me for a while.

It affects my son more than me, but he's only 8. When we kill it we eat it so I don't feel bad about it. My boy puts grass or corn in deers mouth after he kills em,I've never told him to. The first deer he shot he stuck grass in its mouth,so I ask what did you do that for he says it's for their last meal. Seemed like a good idea to me so now everything we shoot gets its last meal,it makes him feel better and me too I suppose. Respect I guess.

Jimbo,that is a true statement(hunting is quite humane)Non-hunters sometimes don't realize that.If you are a meat eater,you have no reason to put down hunting...Do I feel remorse? No. Awe is more like it...With that said,I passed on SEVERAL deer this season and did more looking than hunting,in fact yet to kill a deer. My son shot a 10 pt at our place and a doe at a neighbors place, brother shot a spike and 2 hogs so we're good on meat. I have an MLD hunt scheduled in a week or so. We shall see.

No remorse here, I do feel bad about a wounded animal, especially if it's not found. But otherwise,animals die everyday so we can eat what difference does it make if I kill them or the slaughter house does...

^^^ I like the way HnF said this.

I felt true remorse the first time I shot a sparrow with my brand spankin' new daisy BB gun some 40 years ago. After hundreds of shots at targets that day I finaly got the drop on that sparrow. Before it hit the ground it struck me, "what a waste".

Since then I have killed a bunch a birds and animals, but that was my intention. Sometimes for the dinner table, sometimes for removal. Not much remorse nowdays, but I do pause on occasion to think of "...where it's been..."

I feel bad if something is wounded and doesn't go down quickly, or if I see animals being wasted, but I don't have any remorse for taking game animals. I respect the animals and enjoy being part of the natural food chain. We are predators and I believe that many of us still have a primal instinct to hunt and gather. It brings us closer to our food and nature in a way that many people will never understand.

Not a whole lot bothers me, I night give one I've watch a few years a cpl extra pats, but never been remorseful for pulling the trigger on anything, domestic or feral.

As said prior, not so much remorse. But I always thank God for the harvest. I always try to eat what i kill with very few exceptions.

Remorse? No, I feel a little humbled... If it’s legal to hunt I want to go after it, but in saying that I’m not going to kill what I can’t use or give for others to enjoy.. Most of us on here are hunters, but at the moment of truth we morph from hunter to Killer that’s just a fact. We owe it to our prey to be sufficient in doing the job well. I don’t like seeing animals crippled and I certainly don’t want to hear a deer bawl out(experience that once and didn’t like it). This is a good thread, and I’m thrilled to see everyone’s on the same page.. Now, it’s time to chicken fry some backstrap….

No remorse for me. I kill for a reason. Either meat for my table or someone else's. Other times I kill because something needs to be rid of such as an over ambitious armadillo that digs my yard up nightly or a skunk that comes around so often he becomes a nuisance or an occasional coon that robs my wife's bird feeder nightly. Coyotes on occasion when they become so thick they hunt even in daylight hours. Poisonous snakes when they present me the opportunity. When I kill I feel I have served a purpose for myself and others therefore no remorse at all.

+1... except for varmints that need kiling... can't eat them but a buzzard will get a meal.

I dont feel remorse or sadness. I try not to make things suffer for no reason, I will never be one of the shoot the hogs in the guts so they run off people, I would prefer to cleanly kill and eat them and if they stink or I dont need them give them away or lets the varmits eat, if I keep the coyotes fed with a steady diet of dead hogs maybe they will leave my fawns alont

Not remorse but empathy. One moment that big ol' buck was the stud of these woods and then he died at my hands and by my doing. I have a profound respect for the animals I hunt.

With that said, I'm a trophy hunter. I only want the biggest, oldest bucks I can find. However, I eat every bit of the meat from the deer I kill. I am not hunting because I need the meat. I can get beef, pork, or chicken a whole lot cheaper and with a lot less effort. Hunting fulfills a primal urge that many of us share.

Felt really sad when I lost a buck that I knew been fatally hit. What a waste. I blamed myself for not being as prepared to successfully take him in as quick a kill as possible. Remedy, practice and patience. That was the only time I had remorse for pulling the trigger.

When I was younger, no. Now I feel a little on every kill. I don't feel bad about it, just a little remorse. I feel it more if i wound a duck or something and have to finish it off. I would feel it worse if I had to walk up and finish a deer. Haven't had to do that yet.

We are by nature predators. I don't feel remorse for killing the animals I eat myself. For one, we have usually killed off all of the other predators in the area so the prey animals NEED to be killed or they will starve to death. Starvation is a much worse death than a bullet or an arrow. For two, game meat is the leanest, and in my opinion most delicious meat you can eat. For third, and in my opinion the most important, I'd rather kill an animal and get my hands dirty cleaning and processing it myself than get something at a grocery store. This is most important to me because I'm a city girl and being surrounded by people that can't comprehend "steak is beef is steer is an animal" really bothered me a lot. I will be sure my kids and nieces understand we eat meat and this is where it comes from. Almost everyone I knew went through a serious shock, and some were even traumatized, when they "discovered" such an obvious thing as "an animal died so that I can eat this".

I do respect the animals I harvest and give thanks when I harvest one.

I have not yet had to manage predators, although if the drought stays on we will probably have to start in on the coyotes. I predict that I will feel regret if we need to take out some coyotes, I already don't like the thought of shooting something and leaving it.

I understand the necessity in some cases though. I mean, what are you going to do with 12 dead pigs in one night? I imagine you need a lot of friends to take care of all of that meat. And if it is only yourself butchering then that is some labor intensive work right there. And they all need to be iced after butchering too, so your buddies need to show up asap or you need to have a walk in cooler to hang them up in. Hunters for the Hungry won't accept wild pig, so you have to find a processor that knows of a charity that will accept wild pig and still you usually have to pay some kind of fee. It is an unfortunate situation all around.

I took a buck this year that let out what you might call a death bleat just before expiring. That kind of thing can quickly grab your attention.

One thing is certain. We can talk all we want about how killing an animal sometimes gets to us. But there's no question it's nothing compared to what men must face in times of war and combat.

I've never known a man to come back from combat who made the first effort to talk about such things.

I shot a buck many years ago in Sutton County..while waiting to let him die..a small button buck was bleeting and nudging the big buck with his head as if to say "come on dad"..lost my will
to kill deer after that for many years..really bothered me..

No, if I teared up after I got some meat for the freezer I would quit hunting and just go cry in the meat section at the grocery store.

Remorse?!?!?! I'm usually celebrating after I kill a deer or pig or whatever else I'm hunting. IF I felt sorry for the animal I wouldn't have been after it in the first place. I'm at the top of the food chain and life is good.

No remorse here. Respect yes , remorse no. Now pigs are a whole other story. I feel kinda of bad about killing and not eating em but they cause way to much damage to not be killed. I kill as many as I can and most of them go to waste unless I have some one that wants them.

When I kill something, it is for the purpose of being eaten. I will not shoot an animal just for the fun of it unless I deem it to be a threat.

I believe that humans were given dominion over animals and they are here to provide us nourishment.

No remorse here, I am too busy thinking about sausage and backstgraps.

I do have some remorse after killing an animal. I also say a prayer thanking the Lord for the food he has provided us. The only time that I didn't have remorse was one morning while I was going to my stand I saw a pitbull dog about 50 yards away, when I tried to shoo him away he started walking towards me growling. He didn't make it much closer before he took a dirt nap. No remorse there.

I feel remorse when I kill an animal. I feel sorry that it had to die in order for me to eat it. As a hunter I respect the animals that I hunt whether it be a dove, duck or deer, they are all living creatures and when I kill them, I feel sorry for them briefly. I hit a doe in the stomach with my bow years ago, tracked her for a mile, hit her again in the neck and finished her with my knife. I felt especially sorry for making her suffer. When I started field dressing her though, I did not feel sorry that I had killed her, she was going to feed my family and friends.

I think as a human I feel some sorrow in taking a life, but the reality is, I am not a veggie and don't plan to become one, and I would rather dispatch and eat an animal than eat something that someone else has killed and butchered for me.

To me every animal I kill is a gift from God, and it is good to thank him for that blessing.

I kill a lot of animals I don't eat, mainly coyotes and pigs. We like deer and its essentially all out war against them. No remorse, no hard feelings.

On deer, especially a deer that I've hunted for a while I do feel a little sad. Watching trail camera photos, watching them get bigger every year, watching them out of range,.. then after the shot, that's all she wrote.

The OP was wrong about God breathing life into all creatures. He breathed life only into Adam and Eve. All of the other animals were just created. No remorse but there is a respect, a gratitude or an acknowledging of the power, and responsibility, that we have as the ones given dominion over the animals and fishes.

When it comes to killing ducks I don't feel much remorse because I've always been into the shooting but now since I'm getting older I find myself watching them more than shooting. Still no remorse on ducks though. I do not eat ducks but there are many happy friends and family that enjoy them. I've learned what my dad always tried teaching me which is respecting the animals you take and I don't shoot anything that is going to wasted. When it comes to deer I felt something I never felt before the other day when I shot a buck and walked up on him while he was passing away. Kinda tugged at the heart strings but I knew he was going to be eaten and taken care of after he was gone. I think it all takes time. I started hunting at 8 and didn't know anything other than what my dad taught me but now at 27 I'm starting to learn things about myself and all of the things that he was trying to teach me are coming together. Don't think it's remorse but I definitely respect what I shoot.

did you know all creatures were created from dust, all except one, care to guess which one

This about sums it up for me as well.

Yep me 2!

I hunt and fish for meat. Horns or size are just a bonus.

Jesus

Jesus is not a creature

It was me, but they had to add a little water and some carbon and some other organic stuff.

woman, she was created from the rib of man

Lots of great responses... Great thread! I am glad to say that I am in complete agreement with what is a clear majority of the posts.

Me too. I feel bad for anyone that does not have empathy for the animals they hunt. I know someone like this,a young guy who wants to be a Billy-badarse. He actually hates animals.We have to watch him like a hawk.(neighbor)He would shoot a doe as it's fawn suckles her teat.He's rude to his wife too and ONCE kicked my dog. The boy is setting himself up for a good ol' west Texas arse whoopin.

The dictionary defines remorse as regret of wrong doing.
There is nothing wrong with hunting/killing legally/ethically.

I have no remorse.

it also defines remorse as compassion

Yeah but to me in order to feel compasion for the deer/duck/hog you have to wish it was still alive, and if you wish it was still alive, yet you spend countless thousands of dollars and weeks out of the year preparing to kill it then you need to be admitted.

I feel no bad feelings whatsoever for killing a deer, only joy i get from the thrill of the hunt continuing a tradition, and bringing home meat which is another tradition in making sausage and jerky and such.

The only time I feel bad is when jacklegs get on here and post of pictures of the unborn fetus out of the the momma holding them in their hands. That pisses me off and in my opinion is poor tast and shouldnt be done. It doesnt bother me in the least to shoot a bread doe, but I WILL NOT TAKE THE FEATUS OUT AND PLAY WITH IT!

matt

They're dead too, might as well cut them out and measure them

Yeah your great grandparents are probably dead too, dont mean you gotta mess with their dead bodies, some things to me are just better left alone and thats one of them.

Your definition of "playing" with something is someone else's definition of "research." People study human cadavers all the time for research, what is the difference?

It was part of the record keeping that I do on doe that are killed. It tells you when the rut was and how it went. Also tells you how healthy your herd is. Lots of data to be had when digging thru a gut pile.

I'm all for research, and dead is dead. However posting pictures of the fetus I too consider unnecessary. If you want to enlighten us on the research, just post the research...

The older I get the more "remorse" I feel when I kill something. I normally kill 10-20 deer per season. This season I killed 1 and felt bad for doing that. I know there is nothing wrong with killing them and have done it all my life. Not sure why all of the sudden I feel bad for shooting them. I walked up to the one I killed this year and got down on my knees and thanked God for the wonderful resource we have and I felt some better about it.

That was kinda my point maybe I didnt word it clearly. You do what you gotta do, dont mean you need to put it out there for everyone to see

So because it offends you, no one should do it? What if the research that they are doing is informative to me and the pictures would help me to better understand what I need to be looking at? Just saying that there are things posted that some don't agree with, but I don't think it should be censored because it offends others. Just my

Think we got a little off topic so

X3

Very interesting topic.

There are times when I have a moment of realization about what the harvest meant to the animal. I'm not sure I would call it remorse, exactly, since I don't feel conflicted about my reasons for doing it and am not in doubt about whether or not it was wrong, it's just a moment of compassion; a faint and vague glimpse of what it would be like in their shoes. I don't really have the language to describe it more precisely than that.

If I had read the above before I commented I would have just said "X4"

LandPirates comment fits me as well. I have also on many occasions stopped and put many different dying animals out of their misery just to end the suffering.

I eat most of what I kill aside from coyotes or rogue domestic animals. Only kill what I think needs to be killed. I spend more time watching and coaching my kids now than I use to.

I've let many deer pass because I was enjoying watching their graceful movements and grazing in peace.

This year, each of my grandsons got their first deer. We had prepared all summer going to hunters ed, practicing at the range, and discussing the process from beginning to end.

The younger one shot a doe that did not die instantly. He started crying and said "that isn't fair - they're not supposed to suffer".

I finished off the deer and he apologized for crying. I assured him that I would be concerned if he had not expressed deep compassion for the deer and desire for a clean kill.

On our way to gut the deer, he asked "can I make jerky out of mine?".

I think it was a very successful hunt with many lessons learned for all of us.

Remorse? No.

Respect? Yes.

I think some are confusing the two.

Here's a story I'll share. We were on a hunt for pheasant in the panhandle several years back. There were 8 or 9 of us. None of us new everyone else. Everyone was knew to someone. Anyway we fanned out and walked a field. At one point one of the guys I didn't know shoots a cottontail trying to scamper off and wounds it. He walks up and puts his foot on it, to which it started screaming. Then he laughs. I was sick and mad as hell. To a man, each of the other folks, even his friends turned and walked away from him. I'm not sure a single person said a word to him the rest of the day. He absolutely got the message and I don't think he ever got invited to hunt with any of those guys again. I don't like folks like that and I think it translates to other areas of their life.

No.

x2

Nice thread. This one hits home for me because of my oldest son. He has hunted and fished with me since he was very young. He took his first deer at age 12. We didnt hunt much through his teen years because he played baseball year round and that was his passion at the time. During college we started hunting again and he shot a really nice buck. A few days later he confided in me that he felt really bad after he killed a buck. I told him, "then dont kill one". Going to the ranch is about way more than killing a buck. It put him at ease and he simply enjoys going and being one of the men in camp. He loves to fish and bird hunt but killing a buck just isnt for him.

Kill it, thank God for it, and eat it. That's what I'm teaching my 6 & 4 year old. I understand why some predators and varmints are killed, but mostly I don't agree with killing to kill. All these hogs left in the field really bother me. I understand all of the damage they do. It's past time for the state to ease up the hog meat donation regs and let those hogs do some good. Yes, I have felt remorse. And after some research, I know the deer, bird, or hog I take in the field has it much better than the cow in the slaughterhouse.

Just so you know your son is not alone. One of my five kids is of the same mind set. She killed several deer over several years before she decided it wasn't for her anymore. She is still my biggest camper and outdoors kid but she doesn't shoot anymore.

Exactly, The older I get,the more of a big ol' Teddy bear I become. Killing isn't for everyone and we shouldn't just expect that our kids are going to be OK with it. It's a trial and error type deal. If you are an observant parent and you have talked to your kids beforehand about hunting and death,and they have their hunter safety course behind them then let them decide if it's for them.

I don't feel remorseful after killing an animal. There is a certain humility that I experience. The ability to physically hunt the animal, that I am allowed to hunt a wild animal, the fact that we can hunt with a bunch of different legal methods, and the fact that I pray after killing the animal, thanking god for what I have been given. What I have shared with my sons 13&9 is that while hunting is a right given to us by god, we find ourselves governed by mans laws. That they need to understand there are many places in the world where you do not have the freedom to do what we just did. Enjoy it, cherish it, and protect it. As for helping the boys with their kill, we thank during grace, whoever shot the animal for feeding our family. Some good lessons to be taught.