Hunting Grounds

SM North students give their opinions on hunting

by tyler carpenter and danielle rodriguez

Dec. 4, marked the beginning of deer season for the 2002 year. The Mission held a discussion with two people with different views to talk about issues about hunting, as well as sending out 90 surveys to random seminar classes.

The Mission: Why do you or don’t you like Hunting?

Bret Cortright, junior:  It brings me closer to the outdoors.

Colleen Squire, sophomore: I don’t like the idea of killing animals. I have better things to do.

The Mission: What are the reasons for your choice?

Cortright:  I find it to be relaxing and a challenge at the same time.

Squire: The sole fact that you’re killing innocent animals for sport, which is wrong. There is no need to kill the animal, besides pleasure and sport.

The Mission: What is your definition of hunting?

Cortright:  I feel (it) is having an opportunity to enjoy life and bring yourself closer to God’s creation. What I feel is that when I shoot an animal it is then a part of me. Sounds really dumb, but that’s how I see it.

 Squire: Stalking and killing animals for sport, and pleasure, premeditated killing.

The Mission: What is a typical day of hunting for you?

Cortright:  I get up really early in the morning. I get to my spot before the sun comes up. I wait until I hear the animal call, then I answer back. Fate takes it from there.

The Mission: Why is it OK to hunt?

Cortright: Deer become overpopulated because there aren’t many of their natural predators to take them out. It is a quick kill that helps the environment. People hate hunting because you kill living things, but plants are living things too.

Squire:  Plants are living, but they don’t have feelings like animals do.

Cortright: Deer don’t have feelings.

Squire: How can you say that? You don’t know any deer that well to (be able to) say that. I have seen people hunting before they sneak up on the deer and I just think about that poor deer, it can’t defend itself against the hunters.

We have no right to say animals don’t have feelings, or families or even offspring who they care about. That’s why I choose not to eat meat.

The Mission: What is the difference between hunting and farms that produce animals to kill for grocery/restaurants?

Cortright: The difference is how you acquire it. Farm raised animals can have more fat and cholesterol than wild. Also it brings you closer to what “surviving on your own” means.

Squire: Animals produced to be killed for food is still wrong, but they were never born free, they were bread for that purpose. We no longer live in a society that strives on hunting and gathering.  Hunting is simply killing for pleasure.

The Mission: What is your favorite animal to hunt?

Cortright: My favorite animal to hunt is turkey, they are more involved. You get to see who is smarter.

The Mission: What would you teach your children about hunting?

Cortright: I would teach them that hunting is a great sport and how much fun they can have doing it.

Squire: I would teach them that hunting is wrong and that hunters are arrogant people.

Cortright: I feel that arrogant people are the ones who are closed minded.

The Mission: In your whole hunting career, about how many animals have you bagged?

Cortright: Not enough.  As long as deer are still over populated and turkeys still fly it will never be enough.

The Mission: How long did it take you to take the hunter safety course and what was it?

Cortright: Three classes a week, four hour classes. It covered the safety of all weapons and the hunters perspective of hunting ethics.

Hunter Education

According to Kansas law "all hunters born after July 1, 1957 must successfully complete a certified hunter education course in order to purchase a hunting license or to hunt" (except for those hunting on own land.) All out of state certificates are not accepted in Kansas. All ages are able to take the hunter safety course and no cost should be charged.

The course itself teaches hunters to be "safe, knowledgeable, and responsible." The course must be 10 hours in length and is instructed by volunteers throughout multiple communities across the state. The course consists of subjects such as hunter responsibility and ethics, history of fire arms, firearms basics, ammunition, basic gun safety, alcohol and drugs, bow hunting, conservation and wildlife management, wildlife of Kansas, first aid, survival and boating safety for hunters.