Hunting

I have, on occasion, let slip certain comments that convey my absolute seething contempt of the hunting community, so perhaps it seems odd for me to pursue this hobby.

But rest assured, my complete and total disdain for a certain class of hunter is entirely the result of firsthand experience during my taxidermist days, not a blanket condemnation of everyone who wants to take part in briefly escaping the pinnings of industrial agriculture, connecting with our most universal cultural heritage as members of the Homo genus, and supporting conservation.

For those who aren't familiar with the subject, a big chunk of the money for conservation in the US comes from hunting and fishing. While the exact percentages vary by state, the various permits and taxes on boats, ammo, guns, etc. are a major financial contribution for preserving and managing wildlife habitat.



Furthermore, if people are using public lands for hunting and fishing, that puts pressure on the local government to 1.) Keep that land public instead of selling it to developers, 2.) Preserve it as actual habitat rather than letting logging companies strip sections to replace with pine monocrops.




Land that can support a breeding population of large herbivores is also protecting thousands of beetles, butterflies, fish, amphibians, birds, and other small animals that just aren't charismatic enough to the general public to get land set aside for them. When a big box store is pressuring the local government to let them bulldoze that stretch of scrub, telling them no because it's an important bastion of habitat for a 1 inch butterfly is a really hard sell. Telling them no because it’s actively used recreationally by a chunk of their voters is a lot easier.




Biologists working in publicly managed land determine how many deer hunting tags can be issued, and hunters either buy a tag outright or enter a lotto to obtain a tag for that specific area, depending on the state/area.

This system is great overall and has brought deer back from the brink of extinction in the Northeast, and alligators in the South. It really works! With a couple of caveats for certain states' predator 'management' programs, I have basically no qualms with taking part in supporting this form of conservation.

The biggest problems in the hunting community mostly stem from private landowners. These folks have trail cameras all over the place and get downright proprietary about the bucks that wander through their land. Predators that help keep deer at healthy population levels by eating fawns get shot on sight. After all, we can't have competition killing what might be a deer with cool antlers one day. e_e

Hunters like this have no concept of the ecosystem as a whole and only value what they can extract from it, while sanctimoniously holding themselves up as paragons of conservation due to the aforementioned 'hunters-are-funding-most-conservation-in-the-US' factoid. They hold swathes of private land and preach about all the good conservation work they do right up until they get an offer on the land from a developer, and then all those lofty ideals are exchanged for cash. It's almost like we can't count on private landowners to be good or even vaguely adequate stewards of biodiversity.

Well, I'm sick of this. Right wingers should not have as much of a monopoly on hunting as they do. Let’s all band together to make hunting gay so they stop going outside.

Getting into hunting is tricky when you don't have family or friends who do it. And let's face it, at a certain level of leftist political awareness and giving a shit about people you don't personally know, you aren't likely to make many friends in the general hunting community. There's really great people out there, don't get me wrong, but there's also a bunch of the worst motherfuckers you can imagine. Are you imagining a terrible person? Nope, worse than that.

So, how do you learn to hunt all alone? Through YouTube all things are possible! This will do terrible things to your recommendations and ads though, so you might want to consider making a side account or turning off your history and any tracking.

You'd think having been a taxidermist's apprentice for several years would give me an advantage, but this is less useful for actual hunting than you might think. I did go on a walk or two with a hunter while he pointed out bits of sticks and ground that were important though, so I've got that firsthand experience going for me.



First step is figuring out what the rules and requirements are for your area! This part is universal in the US; you'll need to take a hunting safety course so you can get a hunting license.

The first part of the hunting safety course can be done online in Florida, and in quite a few other states too. It's a pretty hefty course, but don't get intimidated! It's free, you don't have to do it all in one shot, and it's not hard. It’s there to teach you what you need to know, it’s not a test you didn’t study for.

Next step of the safety course is to schedule an in-person field day(also free).

There were 30-ish people in the class, which took place at a prison. Although 8am-3pm was blocked off for the class, we were out at 1 and there were several breaks. There was a very easy multiple choice test, and the people who managed to fail it anyway were handed back their sheets to try the marked questions again. That's worrying for us as a society, but it's great news if the term 'multiple choice test' scared you.

We also all fired a .22 rifle to get more practice with the safe handling of a live weapon. I missed every single shot at the target 15 feet away! This also didn't matter at all. They aren't testing you for marksmanship, although I did get a delicately concerned question from the instructor if I intended to go hunting *this* year.

No equipment or money is needed to get the permit, and it's good for life and in every state. If you think you ever might want to try hunting, you might as well get this bit over with!

The next step is acquiring a rifle, and given my level of disposable income, that might take some time.