The Ethics of Hunting

Ethics

Ethics is defined as the moral principals that govern a persons behavior or conducting of an activity. Hunting has a recently adopted a different definition of ethics. Unlike most other sports or activities, the ethics of hunting are determined in the public eye. Ethics are determined by people who most likely never have hunted. Hunters need to be very self conscious of how they present their passion to the outside world.

Hunter Shaming

Most of the people who regularly view hunting sites and blogs are pro-hunting already and have a deep set passion for the sport. (I can already see a lot of you cringing at the fact I just called it a sport) In fact social media is the playing the main role in hunter shaming. When a distant relative posts a photo of his/her trophy and you immediately feel bad for the animal that-unknowingly-is posing for a photo with it’s tongue hanging out and blood still dripping from their lips. You are generally going to side with an animal rights organization such as PETA over the issue. There is nothing wrong with this at all and most hunters know this is the case for many. I personally try to encourage people to take the most ethical photo possible with their animal, it can make a huge difference in the long run. What is damaging the reputation of hunters however is when you add a nasty comment to their photo or publicly shame them over something they enjoy. More often than not we tend to overlook the fact that that person’s passion for hunting likely stems beyond the kill. Just as you cherish the days you would spend going to the park or out to eat with your parents, hunters cherish memories spent in the woods with their families. There is nothing like a day learning the ropes from your old man, .22 rifle in hand, and more often than not those lessons will be passed down to generations for years to come.

Sport v. Survival

Hunting in the name of survival has been part of mankind’s lifestyle since the beginning, hunting for sport however has been more recently adopted. One thing however is very different about this commonly disputed topic is often a major argument between hunters themselves, “You cant eat antlers” may be one of the most used terms in the hunting world. There are usually two sides the traditionalist or “family man”, and the sportsman. The traditionalist/family man would be your common survivalist.Traditionalist: Hunting is done in order to obtain meat from the animal for survival means. Family man: Provides himself and his family with meat on the table at the end of the season, doesn’t generally agree with either side. Possibly would like to but doesn’t have the time to hunt that monster, but in the end he really only needs the meat. Sportsman: Works his but off for that wall ornament. Wants nothing more than to outsmart the biggest trophy animal in the wild.

 

Personal Opinion…

I hunt for sport. I hunt for fun. I love hunting. When people ask me why I hunt I can raise my right hand and swear to the fact that I love the animals. I love the hunt more than kill hands down. Yes, there is always that regret in the back of my mind and I sometimes wonder why I do it, but I challenge you to sit in a goose pit or walk a bluff line in southern Minnesota and you will gain a tremendous amount of respect for the animals. When you step foot into the woods or the field you are entering their arena, they know the land, the smells, and how to survive better than we could ever dream of. For me hunting is just as or even more fun watching the animals in their environment. It is something you don’t see when they are standing on the side of the road or even strolling through your yard. Watching a 3 point yearling buck strut up to a group of does with all the confidence in the world, or three fawns playing together year after year outweighs pulling the trigger 99% of the time. Why do the animals have to die? you may ask. The answer is simple, population control is necessary in a group of wild animals. In Minnesota we do not have enough land to sustain a flourishing herd of deer during the harsh winters. Unfortunately the hard reality is that its not the adult deer that will die during the winter, it is generally going to be the fawn or the babies. The larger deer chase them off the food sources they do have, and in order to do this we have to control the population. So next time you cringe at a hunters newest photo, give them a chance, be happy for them and remember there is probably sometimes more behind those pheasants sitting on a tailgate, because they probably like seeing those beautiful animals just as much as you do.

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Prologue to HuntLocal

While you’re in bed on Saturday morning fast asleep somewhere there is a group of guys in a dug out pit in some muddy field standing in a foot of water while the rain pours down only making the situation worse. Their legs are burning after setting over 150 decoys and forget about their hands, they were frozen five minuets into this endeavor. You want to know what the funny thing is though? There’s no where else these six friends would rather be, and I can say that with total and utter confidence. Because as the low hanging clouds clear up and the sun peaks over the horizon a two pack makes its way towards your spread. As your buddy calls the shot and your shoulder flexes under the kick of your gun you immediately forget that your feet are frozen and you just spent last weeks paycheck on a new blind bag. Your partners smile and your dogs expression as he brings back your trophy is priceless.

Hunting has left a greater imprint on me than words could ever describe. There is something about hunting that most people will never experience or understand for that matter. I hope this first paragraph painted a picture for you, and also accurately described the hunt. I definitely didn’t expect you to know what I was talking about in the first paragraph, some of the terms I used could sound foreign to you but by the end of this project I hope to have added a new chapter to your vocabulary. Over the course of my five week blogging extravaganza I hope to introduce you to the importance hunting holds in my life. I will be sharing my passion with you and hopefully capturing your attention with my presentation of new information. 

Some of my best memories from hunting stem from the days I never pulled the trigger or even loaded a gun for that matter. My passion for hunting comes directly from the name, its not called killing, its called hunting, and the hunt, is where my passion lies. Stumbling down a hill as 3 deer scatter or missing a single note on a goose call can teach you a lot more than cutting a flock at 30 yards. You don’t necessarily see the screw ups or the time the hunter spends prior to the hammer drop, you see a smiling red neck with a basket rack 5 pointer on Facebook. I hope to defend the reputation of the guy whos proud to put a meal on the table for his family or even the guy that just wants that drop tine 14 pointer above his mantel. Any hunter, sport or survivalist could sit down and share stories from the hours they have put in  watching the animals they strive to outsmart each season. Hunting may mean something different to everyone but in the end the time spent in a field or twelve feet above the forest floor outweighs any taxidermy bill.

Week One: Author Analyzation, Topic: Ethics of Hunting

I recently decided that I would be focusing my final project on hunting here in Southeast Minnesota. In order to do that I will be conducting research and analyzation of others’ blogs, as well as using my own opinions and experiences. For my first analyzation I dug into the work of Trail Kreitzer in The Importance of Hunting Ethics and Values. As the title of the article states, I will be digging into the ethics and opinions that come along with hunting during the first week along with what hunting means to me. I hope you keep an open mind going into this despite what your views are now. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

Each year the MNDNR (Department of Natural Resources) puts out a regulations booklet  (State of Minnesota DNR)

 

Overview of the Article

Trail Kreitzer describes his life in a secluded part of the country with only a few close friends and a very close family. He attended school in a one room schoolhouse and spent his the entirety of his free time hunting. He describes what hunting means to him and the importance it holds in his life, I connected to one statement in particular. “at times it has taken a back seat to other interests and obligations, but has always been there and always will be” (Kreitzer, 1) The author gives an insight to hunting ethics and the way in which he thinks a hunter should handle themselves in the public eye. He also mentioned briefly the great amount of respect we owe to the animals, and speaks directly to the hunter when he states, “If you have spent time in Rocky Mountain goat or desert bighorn sheep habitat or even hunted deer, elk or small game, certainly you have walked away with a healthy sense of wonder and amazement of their ability to carve out a living in those environments” (Kreitzer, 2). He ends the article with the importance of making conscious decisions as a hunter, and acting the way you want the hunting community to be viewed in the public eye.

A mountain goat navigates some treacherous terrain with ease.        almosttotally.com

 

What I learned from the reading…

The thing I took away most from this article is the relatability that came a long with it for me. I hate to say it but honestly I didn’t learn a lot from this article, but at the same time I took a lot away from it. It got me excited to write. I got that little kick of ambition to get started on this project. There is something about reading or listening to someone that shares the same views and onions as you that gets you passionate about sharing your views with others.  One of the things I could criticize however was the fact that the author didn’t use many facts to back up his opinions. I would like to use some reliable sources to present information similar to my ideas. He also didn’t provide a counter argument which is very important to the presentation of this subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annoying Ways People Use Sources: Reflection

Right away the title of this weeks reading excited me, it didn’t look like any other research paper or persuasive essay. The casual tone really prompted me to sit down and read what the author had to say. His title didn’t tell me I was going to learn or gain any knowledge from his passage, it simply told me there were ways he found peoples use of sources annoying. This prompted several questions from me the reader such as, there’s annoying ways to use sources?, and why does he find these annoying? So as I dug into the article I saw that it wasn’t in fact an opinion article but an informative educational paper. The title can do a lot for the reader and this authors pushy tone describing one of his pep peeves really got me interested.

The author really did a great job of getting me to understand his level of frustration when he tells the car analogy in the beginning, he ends the analogy with a bridge to the writing side of the article by saying, “here’s the thing: writers can forget that their readers are sometimes just as annoyed at writing that fails to follow conventions as drivers are when stuck behind a car that fails to move over” (Steadman, 242). This sentence gives the readers a sense of how he feels about people incorrectly using sources because we all can feel that frustration on our Monday morning commute where the last place you want to be is stuck behind someone older than the dirt on the ground that wants to be in the fast lane. However I do think he generalized readers in that quote because I have never read someone else’s work and criticized the situation in which they cited their source, but this is most likely very different for English majors or people who have been educated in this subject. In high school he were taught the basics of sources (much like everything else I have found) and if there was anything that resembled a citation on the page we were all good. So it is understandable that the idea of introducing rules that apply to certain types and citations you are using sources in is a little overwhelming. Looking back at the reading I really related to the authors tone and how he made his writing casual yet informative. I learned these tactics of observation from last weeks post, Reading Like a Writer. Once he grabs the readers attention with something witty or funny he then informs them about a certain kind of citation and how and when it has been used. Here Steadman is grabbing your attention and bridging into an educational statement, “Wait—huh? This author feels like Uncle Barry to me: grabbing right and left for topics (or quotes) in an effort to sound authoritative.” (248)  “The Fix is to return to each quotation and decide why it’s there and then massage it in accordingly” (249).

I really enjoyed the last two articles and the usefulness that comes with them. The main takeaway from this one for me was the importance of content for your quote and how you need to talk them up, as well as back them up. The author was able to appeal to me through writing that was passionate and well informed.

Annoying Ways People Use Sources: Notes

Summary:

Annoying Ways People Use Sources by Kyle Steadman covers a topic not often covered by writers in his attempt to put an end to-you guessed-it annoying ways people use sources. This is a topic very often covered by universities and research papers but Steadman’s take  on the topic does a great job of engaging the reader and educating them as well. The  introduces the topic by letting the reader know its ok if you don’t understand the rules of citations. Steadman gives an insight to readers like himself that practically cringe at others use of citations and jokingly scares the reader into changing their habits. The reader is guided through the piece and is shown the mistakes often made, and some ideas to fix them. For example he will give an actual quote from someone’s paper, and give “The Fix”. The fix usually gives multiple ways to solve the issue that was presented earlier and talks the reader through each tactic. Most of the time the author uses a lighter tone and makes it very enjoyable to read and work through. It uses the same workbook structure as we have previously seen in other works such as Reading Like a Writer. Overall I believe the author does a fantastic job of presenting information to his audience of college students by using tactics that keep the readers engaged and intrigued with new information about a widely used topic.

 

Main Idea and Key Terms:

Main Idea: Introducing the correct way to use sources along with the circumstances they will be used in, and common mistakes made while citing sources.

Key Terms: 

Citation: A quotation from a book, webpage, magazine, etc. usually in scholar work. Ex. In order to avoid plagiarism make sure you use citations. 

Plagiarism: Taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. Ex. It is a very serious offense if a college student is caught plagiarizing and is often hard to catch.

Accepted Practice: A set of rules and guidelines that is generally accepted in that certain field of work. Ex. Most of the rules presented in the reading are considered accepted practice in the writing world.

Stylistic: Concerning a style of something, usually literature. Ex. The use of different tactics in your attributions can give your writing a stylistic feel.

Quotation: A group of words taken from a text or speech repeated by someone other than the author of the original piece. Ex. Quotations can be very useful in proving the authenticity of your theory.

Making Connections:

In high school the use of sources was very different than it seems to be now. I can confidently say I’ve learned more in the last 3 days than I did in all of high school. For example we were never taught the importance of using the rules of citations, or how to correctly write out our own citation without using an app or website. My high school teachers stressed the importance of sources and the consequences of plagiarism but never told us there were un proper ways to cite them. It seems as though all they cared about was the sources being somewhere on the page and we would be correct. Our English professor has recently taught us in class about the certain rules and circumstances these citations would fall into, along with assigning this reading on the subject. I found the website Purdue OWL, online writing lab, very helpful. It outlines the ways you would cite different types of recourses instead of just plugging it into a machine like we have done previously. Overall I have learned a lot in class and through this weeks reading on the correct way to format sources and have expanded on some of the basics we were taught in high school.

“Reading Like a Writer”, “By Islands I Mean Paragraphs” Reflection

After I had completed reading Reading Like a Writer, I immediately saved the piece. I hadn’t really looked to far into it yet, however I knew it was something I could use in the future. It was one of the easiest articles to read, and also the most useful.

I have found over the years I really connect to classes, activities in class, etc.. that I see a purpose in, and I really connected with this piece because I know in my 5 years left of college I will actually use it. Another thing that made the piece easy to read was the fact that its audience was so clearly shown. Most of the other pieces we read have been indirectly talking to a really broad group of people and in my opinion would be used better if I were doing research on the topics of selfies, and filters. This one however really felt like the author was talking to me and genuinely wanted to help me find better writing strategies. He used the piece as a workbook of sorts to take the reader through each step, “Here are some additional examples of the kinds of questions you might ask yourself as you read:” (Bunn, 80) one part of the passage reads. The structure of the article also helped me stay focused on the piece, it really tied the whole thing together while also grabbing my attention at the same time with quick sentence structure and interesting side comments.

Overall I look forward to implementing these new techniques in this article in general to future research papers, blogs posts, etc… At my high school in the past teachers have done surveys of the class where they have us give a one to four representation of how well we know the subject. A one is “don’t know it” and a four is “could teach it to the class”, and I feel like this might be the first article I would be able to give a four on.

 

By Islands I Mean Paragraphs however was a little different….I would have to say I would be somewhere around 2-3 on the scale mentioned above for this reading/map/puzzle. When I initially read the piece I gave up, plain and simple. I couldn’t stand the constant changing and unstructured paragraphs. Once I did finally buckle down and get over my OCD I started to understand why it was structured how it was and what the article needed me to do in order to understand it. I really just decided to go my own way with it, I decided to look more at the title than anything. Islands are paragraphs, so that means my paper is the ocean, and islands scatter throughout the ocean each holding something different. The paragraphs are like the islands described in the passage, they each have different characteristics and are all slightly different but hold the same purpose, to maintain life in some form. Just like the islands paragraphs each work together to get a point across in a different way. This made me think about my paragraphs and if they were repetitive or if I was creating them just different enough to work together but separate. All in all even after talking though By Islands I Mean Paragraphs I’m still not sure if I’m hitting the main points but I learned something from the reading either way so it guess that’s a win!

 

 

 

 

Reading Like a Writer/Islands Notes

Summary (RLW):

Reading like a writer by Mike Bunn takes the reader through a “workbook” of ideas and suggestions to help improve your reading and writing skills. Bunn starts by outlining what it means to read like a writer when we explains “When you Read Like a Writer (RLW) you work to identify some of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such choices might arise in your own writing” (72). He then takes the reader through short paragraphs which outline different techniques you can use to improve your writing. He starts with explaining how RLW is different than normal writing by comparing RLW to an architect studying a building. The architect is able too admire someone else’s work and really study how the building was constructed and how the architect could incorporate that into their own work. Next he moves on to the workbook like structure I mentioned earlier. He outlines things the reader can look for while preparing to write an essay including, genre, authors purpose, evidence, and language. he then outlines these in a format very easy to understand and follow. Overall the author does a great job of informing his audience, prompts the reader to ask questions and really analyze the piece he or she may be reading.

Key Terms and Main Idea (RLW):

Envisage: To see something within ones mind, to look ahead. Ex. When writing it is important to envisage and plan what kinds of words or tactics you want to use and how they will affect the paper.
Context: the parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning. Ex. To make a calculated assumption look at the context clues and see if you can figure anything out.
Authors Purpose: The reason and way an author writes about a specific topic. Ex. The authors purpose could be to inform, to entertain, or to persuade.
Genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Ex. When picking the genre for my final project I will have to pick something I can easily write about.
Intended Audience: The group of people for which an article or service is designed for. Ex. Fox News’ intended audience is generally people who share conservative views.

Analyze (Islands):

“By Islands I Mean Paragraphs” was by far one of the toughest passages I’ve ever had to analyze. I have been able to read it several times now and really pick it apart and I still am not sure what it truly means…I have decided to analyze this piece because I think maybe as I write a little more I would finally figure it out. So when I first read the piece I thought maybe there was a greater scheme to all of it, but as I read more I really figured out most of the content was left up to you to figure out. I decided my paper was the ocean and the islands filled in where the paragraphs were. Just like the sea the paragraphs take up some space but the white paper still shines through. When you look at an aerial photograph of an island for example you don’t look at the ocean, the island is what catches your attention, just like how you only read the words on the paper. The words all come together to form paragraphs and I believe the author is trying to compare these paragraphs to islands, they stand alone and each have a significant difference. So that is my analyzation of the piece, I am interested to see what everyone else has to say!