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- My boyfriend is going HUNTING!
My boyfriend is going HUNTING!
Started by Valerie Matthews on January 15, 2010
I've been a vegetarian-going vegan now for almost 3 months. I live with my boyfriend of almost 7 years. He's very supportive of my decisions and loves all the food that I've been making. I have even overheard him say that he could see himself becoming a vegetarian eventually because the food is so good.
Well - even before I stopped eating meat - I was always against hunting. He has never done it before, but a few of his friends invited him to go (and I almost feel like he is being pressured to, but he won't admit it). I can almost understand him wanting to try it....maybe it's a manly thing....i do believe in trying most things at least once...but I don't think I would be able to cope with him doing this all the time.
Now - I don't feel it's right for me to say he can't go hunting, that has to be his choice - but I don't want him bringing dead bambi into our house! I've explained the reasons as to why I'm a vegetarian- going vegan now - health reasons, my morals and beliefs and how i feel like killing animals to eat is like eating your pet...not only that, but i don't understand why you would want to KILL as a sport!
I don't know how to make him understand how I feel towards this subject.....does anyone have any suggestions?? Please help :(
It seems like if he's been with you for 7 years, he should already know you well enough and understand how you feel towards the subject. I understand you not wanting to come off as pushy though.
I'd just tell him you have a huge problem with it, and if he still wants to go fine. But i'd let him know there are NO murdered animals allowed in your house!
My 'live-with' boyfriend is a meat eater too, and he's never been into hunting either. I would probably get mad and let him know what's what, but i can be kind of pushy when it comes to that stuff. I know not everyone is like that though :).
That's rough though. Hopefully he'll realize how strongly you feel about it and choose not to go. Maybe it is a macho thing? I don't understand boys sometimes. :)
Good luck! Let us know what happens.
Look at it this way. Hunters have a greater respect of the meat they are eating, and hunting is usually more humane than buying meat off the shelf. I am a vegan and my husband hunts, and I actually prefer he eat meat that he has hunted (plus some of the meat gets donated to food shelters).
Valerie,
My husband was a hunter since an early age...He's from Northern MN...where hunting is a way of life...at times they needed to hunt for food they ate.
I am new to this site, and learning to be vegan...I still eat cheese & yogurt. Anyway I tell my Husband if He still wants to hunt I am fine with that as long as not 1 cent is spent on meat from this household.....with all of the animals killed and put into stores for sale all over...there is NO need to go kill another. But I agree the Deer had a normal life and not shotup with antibiotics & everything else humans inflict on the animals they eat, so it is a healthier choice for meat. I must say....my Husband hasn't hunted in almost 11 yrs...he says I ruined it for Him, knowing how I feel.
Thanks ladies for the advice! It's good to know how other people handle situations like this. And it is true that if you're going to eat meat, you might as well eat what is healthy and not all hormoned up...so it is healthier and all.
I honestly think he isn't going to like hunting, but i was caught off guard when he said he wanted to do it, so i was sure how to react. I want to be supportive, since he is so supportive of me - especially with all the changes I have made just within the past few months. My big problem is that I really don't want it in my fridge...and he did agree upon that :)
I enjoy going hunting with my husband. I haven't hunted for years. When I go with him I carry a camera and get some of the greatest photos ever, plus the excersize is amazing. I am vegan and will never kill an animal for food. Hunting isn't necessarily to go out and shoot something, it is a way for the guys I know to go outside enjoy the mountain air, some really great company, and maybe bring home dinner.
Hunting is very hard work. If it is his first time I am willing to bet it will be his last. Most people can't handle how intense it is. Make sure he has taken the appropriate hunters safety course (which may in itself turn him veggie, because a good instructor will show videos of a kill and what to do after the kill, ewww).
Remember it is his house too. The greatest thing about my husband being a hunter is that I own the greatest grinder ever. Yes he uses it for his meat, but I bet I use it more for making falafel and hummus. He paid for it, but I get the most use out of it.
You can't force anyone to change thier values, just support and hope they open thier eyes. My hubby (die hard meat and taters guy), eats vegan a couple times a week, that's all I can ask for.
I'm very conflicted by hunting. Intellectually, I see the benefits, and it is far preferable to grocery-store meat, and it's sometimes necessary as a cull for overpopulation. Emotionally, it's traumatic for me and always will be, and I've stopped apologizing for that now that I've stopped eating meat. I've come to dread fall because I'm surrounded by hunters at work. My husband went last year, and I was adamant that he not bring it home. I could NOT bear to go out to the garage if there was a carcass hanging in it. He butchered it at a friend's house, instead. Notably, he hasn't gone since; apparently once was enough.
I must be really mean.. I have been vegan for two days and I will not let meat or dairy in my house. I will cook great tasting food. (total surprise, vegan tastes good), If the eat it fine if not more for me. I read so many posts saying that they cook meat for their families. I must be terrible, because I wont. I do not want it in this house. I live in a small community where every one is a hunter... I hate it. Driving home and elk heads are laying on the side of the road or out the back of trucks ,with all the guys and girls patting each other on the back... what a victory.. makes me want to slash their tires..I agree that the meat would be a better choice, but with all the tofu out there it is not necessary. I just don't get it. I hope it all works out for you.
My dad shot two pheasant on saturday and I cooked them today. I respect him for taking the time to pluck and clean them because most meat eaters buy it from the store and never go through actually killing and eating the animal. I have never liked the taste of pheasant - it shouldn't be eaten. (ewww...)
Needless to say that after that little escapade my parents' are eating mother's meatless chilli non carne tomorrow. A year or so ago after the deer stalking fiasco dad stopped talking for three days and had nightmares and said that he would never go again (he also said it was looking at him...)
I'm with Candy on this, all the way around.
There is *NO* way in hell I would've allowed dead animals in my house after going veg, let alone COOK them!
As for hunting, sorry, but there's NOTHING sporting about it. Hunters TELL themselves, and others, that it's a sport, and a tough one at that!, in order to make themselves feel better about what they're actually doing, i.e., killing sentient beings in cold blood.
(Can we say bullshit here? I guess I'll find out after I hit submit!) It's BULLSHIT that hunting is a sport. As one of my favorite anti-hunting slogans says, Hunting will be a SPORT when the animal can shoot back.
And WHO CARES if the meat is "healthier" than store bought? The animal is still dead. The animal's offspring are still orphans. The animal's mate is still in mourning.
Regarding culling: There's this law in nature called survival of the fittest. It's there for a reason. Yes, I know It may seem brutal to let animals starve during times of insufficient food, but that's how the world has worked for millennia.
Valerie, I'd try reasoning with your boyfriend. Just reiterate your feelings about killing animals and perhaps express surprise that he's actually interested in killing defenseless animals...er, I mean hunting.
By the way, I enjoy the fresh mountain air whenever I can--and I've NEVER called it hunting. Hunting means one thing and one thing only, killing sentient beings. When I go up into the mountains I take my camera. That's how I "shoot" defenseless animals. :)
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