Tag Archives: Trophy hunting

Father/daughter bonding. Really?

mooseThe trophy hunter being interviewed on the radio defended his ‘hobby’ by claiming that taking his 11-year-old daughter moose-hunting was the most incredible bonding moment he could ever imagine having with her. He spoke with a sense of awe and wonder. It didn’t matter that her first moose was a ‘small’ one, he said, (only 5 points on the antlers), the exhilaration of watching her shoot it, and seeing the thrill she derived from that experience was pure pleasure for him, “a life-altering moment”.

 The interviewer pointed out that it was certainly a life-altering moment for the moose, and suggested that the hunter and his daughter might have derived the same pleasure by simply photographing the moose. The hunter disagreed completely, saying that a photo would get stuffed away in a box somewhere and forgotten, but by hanging the moose-head in their home they would always remember the thrill of that special time together.

 I think he was serious.

 We surround ourselves with like-minded people, so when I heard the sincerity in this guy’s voice I was flabbergasted. Killing a beautiful wild animal for the sake of a trophy would not be a celebrated bonding moment that I would ever consider sharing with my daughters. I always try to understand the point of view of people with ideas that are different than my own, but this one is just too mind-boggling for me.

Photo credit:  http://huntfishmanitoba.ca/go-hunting/what-youll-hunt/moose-1662

Real Men Shoot With Cameras

Photo credit: http://walkingwiththealligators.wordpress.com/

“Trophy hunting is not about obtaining wild meat in a sustainable, environmentally sound way. It’s about killing large predators for the purpose of self-gratification and self-aggrandizement.” (The Vancouver Sun)

I don’t get it. Grizzly bears have a ‘special concern’ designation in Canada, they’re threatened in the US and yet trophy hunting is still legal here in BC. What’s with that? And what kind of ‘trophy’ is a grizzly bear head anyway?

It’s not the economic benefits… bear-viewing draws significantly more tourists to our province each year than bear-hunting.  We recoil in horror when we hear of rhinos and elephants being slaughtered for their tusks, but do we boycott establishments that hang bear or moose heads on their walls?

Let’s show the world that we are a province that treasures our wildlife. Ban trophy hunting now, and promote bear-viewing. Shoot wildlife with cameras.