Monday, July 19, 2010

Traditions: A Defense of Hunting

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
$g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5. trochronicles.blogspot.com

I have always considered traditions as an important part of my hunting, fishing, and family. My personality and persona are crafted and influenced by those traditions that I was taught, learned, and made mine.

As I have mentioned previously, I was brought up in New York City, in a non-hunting family. My "Traditions" came from the books I read in the library on indigenous peoples, magazines like Outdoor Life and Field and Streams, and the occasional chance meeting with someone who hunted or fished.

I consider "Traditions" almost unassailable. Yet I also recognise that some things are harmful and inappropriate in today's world.

(By the way, in case you are wondering, bull fighting isn't one of them...)

Phillip Loughlin of the Hog Blog has an interesting piece on the use of the "Traditions" defense in arguing for certain traditional methods of hunting. The post originated in part from a remarkable series of comments on Tovar's post on A Mindful Carnivore, When Hunters Ruin the Hunt. I managed the first dozen comments before being pulled away, but you may rest assured that I will be printing it all out before the night is done for my full consideration. I would suggest that you go there first to read the post, and then the comments.

I would attempt to recap it here, but I would ask everyone to read A Mindful Carnivore, then go over to the Hog Blog and read his post "The Value of Tradition."

As usual Phillip is logical and insightful and then challenges us to add to the discussion with our own comments and ideas:

"I’m also asking for folks to share some of the hunting traditions that underlie their practices, habits, and motivation for the hunt. How was it passed down, and how will you pass it along? If you don’t come from a hunting environment, or don’t have the background of a hunting tradition, what sorts of things might you pass along as a mentor to other hunters?" Phillip Loughlin


Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member Kandahar Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...

The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

4 comments:

Tovar@AMindfulCarnivore said...

P.S. Safe travels!

Tovar@AMindfulCarnivore said...

The comments on that post took on a life of their own, and shot off on some funny tangents. I'm glad Phillip picked up on one and took it in another interesting direction. Thanks for the mentions of both!

I guess I haven't been in the loop long enough, Albert. I didn't realize that you, too, grew up in a non-hunting family. Also, Holly linked back to one of her posts from last fall--before I was blogging or reading her blog--where I read a great story/comment of yours about working in a collagen plant. Thanks for that.

Wild Ed said...

I was raised in a family where everyone hunted and also participated in the processing of our kill for the table. I was often given two bullets for the day on any given hunt. One was to shoot my game the other was only to put the animal down imediately if a dispatch shot was needed. All of us kids were taught how to shoot accurately and take advantage of any rest as bullet placement was the key to instant kills. Sloppy shooting was not tolerated by the adults in my family and could get you left home. We were also taught tracking even if it meant getting down on our hands and knees to follow a trail through the brush. I can only remember a couple of times in my life when a wounded animal was not trailed and recovered. In other words we were taught respect for our quarry.
Wild Ed's Texas Outdoors

Holly Heyser said...

Wild Ed, great set of traditions there! I wish more non-hunters knew about the kind of ethic you grew up with.