[andyfox]

Good article, thanks.

From the article:
"Can any of us honestly say that, as kids, we didn't shoot birds with our slingshots and bb guns, or set homemade traps for other critters?"

-I think that's the point I'm getting at. Of course we all did similar things as kids. But we outgrew it with maturity and a more mature sense of morality.

"There's just no way to adequately portray the majesty of a forest and the creatures within"

-So majestic as to warrant shooting?

"The hunting instinct is one of the most basic instincts of mankind."

-I dunno. There's plenty of evidence that humans are violent, but I'm not sure whether that's instinct or learned behavior.

"We hunt to be alone, to observe wildlife without being observed ourselves, to face one of the greatest challenges in this world: to take a wild animal on his own turf, using our brain and little else."

-I've been alone in the wilderness and obdserved wildlife withoutt he urge to "take" it. And I would challenge the "little else" if it includes a gun.

"Without the kill, you aren't hunting. That doesn't mean that you have to kill every legal animal you see, but hunting is not hunting if you're not there to kill. But to return to the quote, one does not go hunting expressly for that purpose. Hunting is freedom, a tie to our ancestors, peace, contentment, happiness, joy, sweat, close calls, exploring, hiking, stealth, boring, exhilarating, tiring, satisfying, challenging, and a thousand other things."

-I understand all those things. Except for why they can't be satisfied except if they result in a kill.