Exactly my point, Zach. Humans have this thing where they are simultaneously the worst species and the better species according to some people. Which tends to make it to where people think that since we're so smart we shouldn't need to hunt we should be able to get food in other ways. Which, frankly, I find dumb. The idea that because we're bigger that means we shouldn't hunt things smaller than us... eh. I dunno I just have a lot of opinions on hunting. And I kinda find it offensive that people believe all animals are helpless and defenseless when that isn't the case. We may be at the top of the food chain but that doesn't mean we're invincible unlike the poor widdle deer and wabbits. In this case, 'picking on someone your own size' just isn't going to happen. We evolved with our big brain and our ability to make tools for the purposes of hunting and the like. Denying that fact doesn't change it.
Oh, and since Spaceprog (and Zach) brought it up-- tumblr exploded when they saw a couple of staged pictures of hunters kneeling by a wolf. They got so worked up they didn't even stop to think that wolves might be endangered in the US that doesn't mean they're endangered elsewhere. Tho I admit I am unsure of where the hunters and wolf were in the picture.
This picture in particular-
People said things like:
a) hunters are so worried about the trapped beast that they are well out of range;
b) all are smiling ( the animal has to be in pain and shock);
c) took the time to get one of the group to photograph this historical moment;
d) moments later this pack of barbarians shot the wolf (from a safe distance).
If you aren't aware of the specific practice of hunting shown in the picture then allow me to explain: that wolf set off a humane trap that held its leg rather gently and didn't cause pain to the animal. This allows the hunter to find the wolf and shoot it from a safe distance. Because hunters aren't stupid. We aren't going to go near the wolf until it's dead. The idea that it was in pain and shock during the last minutes of its life is completely wrong. That trap is designed to have the wolf (or any other animal, really) as comfortable as possible. The wolf's leg is not like that because of the trap only, the wolf positioned itself like that. You will note a chain. Which means the wolf was able to move around if it wanted to. I don't know how exactly that can be cruel.
The fact that it is also apparently immoral to take a picture is also laughable. That's what people do. They take pictures of their 'prey'. Again, everything a hunter does damns them in the eyes of certain people.
And then there was this gem:
"While we have ‘humans’ whom not only kill an animal for sport, but actually set up a page where they can boost to the world of their ‘brave acts’, we will never be able to find a world of peace and acceptance."
Doing one of the things humans have been doing for thousands of years apparently means we'll never have world peace. And the fact that humans is placed in quotations definitely shows how people view hunters (heartless non-humans). And you know what? It
is brave to hunt a wolf. Because you're at risk as long as you're in their forest.
While I don't enjoy the idea of wolves being hunted (mainly because I love them so much), I understand that it is necessary in certain parts of the world where wolves are suffering over-population. And that makes a lot of difference, I think. And I would never condone hunting down endangered species. Which means I don't agree with the hunting of wolves in various parts of the US but I am okay with it in other parts of the world like Russia.
I'm sorry, I should have made a new thread for this.
I didn't think I'd ramble like this.