There are many many reasons why people decide to become vegetarian. I was merely pointing out that, to some (like myself), if an animal lives a natural life prior to being slaughtered, and it is slaughtered quickly and humanely then I can go on eating meat without feeling guilty.

I refuse to eat battery hens, veal, suckler pig etc etc etc as I don't believe these animals live a good life. Even if they are slaughtered humanely and quickly - for me, a natural and enjoyable life (for as long as they have it) is very important. This is MY view and is the view of some others I have spoken to. Nowhere did I say it was the only reason for people not eating meat.

Apologies if I came across as condescending. That was not my intention, and I have already apologised for the rolling eyes smilie.

I know a bloke who works in an abattoir and also hunts.

I don't mean to be disrespectful to him when I say that the job of abattoir assistant is probably near the bottom of any parent's wishlist of careers when a baby is born.

What irritates me is that many people condemn him for killing the game that he hunts (which he eats btw), yet they are happy to use him for killing their meat that they eat.

They want meat but don't have the bottle to face the fact that an animal dies to fulfil their wants, so they employ him to carry out this killing on their behalf, pay him a minimum wage and treat him like a member of the underclass.

I would dearly love for him to be invited to one of those Bremner Bird and Fortune dinner parties in his role as "B, the man who killed your dinner for you".

Taking an animal's life is a serious thing and whether we are hunting or eating our tea we should try to ensure that the animal had as good a life as possible, and as clean a death as possible, and that the death was necessary.

Personally I think that unless a person is prepared to do the killing themselves the only honourable stance is to be vegetarian. I realise that the average person hasn't the skill to kill a cow but I think that any who eats meat should be prepared to do it, or at least be prepared to assist.

I totally agree with the first (highlighted) part of your post but even though I eat meat (and help raise it!) I just couldn't kill anything myself. I know that for a fact.

No, not a good job for anyone is it, but as a lot of jobs, somebody's got to do it I suppose

No, I couldn't kill my dinner, nor could I prepare it after it was dead either, I don't think, not if I'd seen it running around prior, but I don't know what that makes me quite honestly? Squeamish perhaps, but not really, it's basically down to being that berryperson whatever you called them earlier on! Lol!

I totally agree with your statement about taking any animal's life seriously, and I fail to see how some of the animals killed was a "necessary" (as you put it) act? Take that fox again!!! That wasn't necessary, we didn't eat it!!!

lol, I think I said 'nut gatherer', but I like the term 'berryperson' too.

I wonder if prehistoric Hunters and Berrypeople had these discussions too.

no, the fox didn't get eaten. They are supposed to taste vile

The way I see it, everyone who hunts has asked themselves 'am I right in what I'm doing?', and in that respect they have carried out a check with their conscience as to whether they could hunt the quarry that presents itself.

But as to which particular quarry, and where it is located (these rabbits in this field, but not those near the barn), that is really the decision of the landowner.

You could compare it to a mouse in the kitchen: some people could live with it indefinitely; some could live with one but not a dozen. Everyone would have their own definition of when it is necessary to start controlling them.

Landowners have different levels of tolerance too, and if they want rid of a fox (or several) then they have defined what is 'necessary' at that particular time. They are still killing them by other means, which IMO shows that the definition of a 'necessary' kill was, and still remains, down to the particular landowner rather than the overenthusiasm of the hunt.

In fact I have been in a situation where the landowner has asked for us to continue but I and the people I was with declined to carry on because we felt that 'enough was enough', preferring management of numbers over total elimination.

Excellent post RC.

This is about the only comprehensive post I've read this evening. Well said RC

This debate will never go away (fact)

The pro and anti hunt people and their children will still meet up (fact)

People who lock up their their bird houses don't lose birds.
Locked mine up and watched the vixen and cubs play each night. (fact)

And the law is law (fact)

Hunting Foxes with dogs is breaking the law (fact)

Excellent post and very true

Well said. Hunting was banned for a reason. Like with the docking ban it sickens me how people try to get around it. Low lifes