People are hypocrites. We like to think we hold ourselves to higher standards, and then come up with platitudes with regard to killing animals like “circle of life”. When we declare open season on guys in orange vests people with give up the “sport” of hunting real quick.

The state has the responsibility to prosecute regardless ! But since it happened in Georgia ( home of the re-birth of the KKK ) ….the state concluded he’s a ” good ole boy ” and chose not to prosecute !

Meanwhile, Vick collaborated in what most southerners have been doing for centuries ( cock fighting, dog fighting, fighting each other etc )….got two years prison time, bankrupted and publicly had his character assassinated….over what is by definition a wild animal.

I’m gonna say it again….here it comes….RACIST !!!

To me, the distinction simply comes down to how much cruelty is involved. By that standard, dog fighting certainly is worse. However, I think someone who goes out of his way to kill an animal (and not eat it) is in no position to be throwing stones.

1. Dan Heatley KILLED a human being, his teammate while drinking and driving ( Dan Snyder ) and Heatley NEVER did any jail time. He did not get any hatred Vick got and NO JAIL Time !
2. Roethlisburger actually raped ATLEAST two women ( that we know of ). He is not getting 1/4th the hatred Vick is getting and NO Jail Time !
3. Bret Farve was/ is an alcoholic, beat his wife, sexually harass ATLEAST one woman we know of and he is getting little public humiliation, in comparison to what Vick got / is still getting and NO Jail Time !

These bums actually committed crimes against ” Human Beings ” !

There is still a double standard in this country. The only word to describe the double standard is ( I’m gonna say it ” )……..( Here it comes )………RACISM !!!!

Notwithstanding my own antipathy to killing, I acknowledge that the primary difference between hunting and dogfighting from the point of view of cruelty is that a skilled hunter respects wildlife, and understands that when he hunts he has entered into a realm of activity that does have pretty strict moral and ethical dimensions. Hunting organizations like Ducks Unlimited do an enormous amount of very positive conservation work as well. A serious hunter tries to kill his quarry quickly and cleanly, inflicting as little residual pain as possible. The lowlives who go in for ugly “sports” like dog and cockfighting are either getting off on the brutality for its own sake, or only care about the bets being laid and are sociopathically numb to the horrible suffering they inflict. It’s true that hunters miss and merely cripple their targets, but responsible hunters make every effort to track down wounded quarry and finish it off as mercifully as possible. I doubt if that idea ever occurred to the likes of Michael Vick’s…eh…customers.

And there parts of the US with wild dog populations out of control from humans. But the feral cat population in some areas are even worse, and perhaps a better analogy. But no one is clamoring for cat hunting.

A person that eats meat, whether it be a bologna sandwich, grilled chicken or a burger or steak that is also against hunting is living in a sanitized bubble and unwilling to confront where their food actually comes from. To eat meat, an animal must die. Such is life. As long as the kill is made cleanly, the hunt is fair chase and the as much meat as practically possible is converted to food, then the transfer of an animal’s life to food is not sport, it’s a primal need.

The sport aspect of hunting is separate entirely. Wasting an animals life to hang antlers on a wall is reprehensible by my standards, but still above dog fighting where animals are systematically abused and tormented for sport, not food, i.e life sustaining measures.

Dog fighting is not the same as hunting. Whereas what I will call ethical/true hunters understand that the hunting is about sustaining life, not the taking of it, dog fighting minimizes an animals life to a commodity and entertainment.

Outside of The Yearling, I don’t recall attempts to domesticate deer to control their numbers.

Your dog analogy would be relevant if people were hunting parakeets, as they are both domesticated, and pets.

A better animal to counter my argument with would have been the badger, since both badgers and deer are wild and breed without control. I’ve never tried badger in my chili, but now I’m tempted.

I agree that there’s a difference between hunting and dog-fighting, but your logic was limited and flawed. You can do better than the controlling the animal population argument.

Spare me the outrage.

In the state of Missouri, there are over 1,000,000 deer. Not hunting just lets the numbers grow and they end up starving to death, particularly with a winter like last year.

A sport hunter kills to put a trophy on the wall, and prove his gun is as big as a part of his anatomy.

I grew up in a family of hunters and was taught to respect one, and not the other.