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Internet Hunting Banned in California

TheSync writes "California has banned Internet hunting. Emergency regulations will be put in place by the California Fish and Game Commission, and legislation (SB 1028) is in the works. West Virginia is considering legislation against it as well. Hunters consider hunting by robot and mouse click 'a digrace to the sport,' whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

984 comments

  1. You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's my God given right as an American to be able to sit at home in my underwear and kill shit.

    1. Re:You're violating my rights! by Androk · · Score: 1

      other than shooting at flies while looking at pr0n :)

      Androk

    2. Re:You're violating my rights! by nametaken · · Score: 4, Insightful

      whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

      Wow, that wasn't inflammatory.

    3. Re:You're violating my rights! by Jonathan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wow, that wasn't inflammatory.

      Yeah! Hunters don't kill the *innocent* animals -- they look for the shifty-eyed ones that are probably the criminal element of their species!

    4. Re:You're violating my rights! by Spetiam · · Score: 1

      Too bad the submissions can't be modded "Flamebait."

    5. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dark skinned ones talking in jive with VW necklaces and tracksuits especially.

    6. Re:You're violating my rights! by grolschie · · Score: 1

      Gee, what's next? Imagine a GTA Vice City + Internet Hunting hybrid. (shudders)

    7. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a cow^Wdeer ever got the chance he'd eat you and everyone you care about!

    8. Re:You're violating my rights! by lost+in+place · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's my God given right as an American to be able to sit at home in my underwear and kill shit.

      Ah, but you didn't read the last paragraph of the article, which says:

      Supporters have suggested the remote hunting could be beneficial for hunters with disabilities

      Apparently it's some God given right to be able to sit at home in a wheelchair and kill shit.

    9. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would get rid of about half of Slashdot's articles, not to mention expose editor incompetence.

    10. Re:You're violating my rights! by ocularDeathRay · · Score: 1

      well I don't know about the other hunters.... but I look for the ones that will be tasty.

      --
      Obama is a twitter sock puppet
    11. Re:You're violating my rights! by VolcomPimp · · Score: 1

      HAHAHA Not that's what I call a west coast conservative

    12. Re:You're violating my rights! by flyingsquid · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I don't enjoy killing animals- I find it disturbing, to be honest, to look something in the eyes and consciously end its life- but every once in a while I take up the invitation to go hunting and kill a deer or a snowshoe hare, because I just feel there's something hypocritical about being unwilling to kill animals, but being willing to have someone else do it for you and pick up the results at the supermarket. I figured I either had to be able to kill something myself, or become a vegetarian.

      That being said, what really pisses me off is hunting wolves from aircraft in Alaska. Where the hell is the sport in that, I want to know.

    13. Re:You're violating my rights! by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

      And here I am, using my legs like a sucker!

    14. Re:You're violating my rights! by lantenon · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure that editor incompetence has long since been exposed ;)

    15. Re:You're violating my rights! by ChuyMatt · · Score: 1

      IT IS FUNNY! just laugh please! He was making fun of the use of the term "innocent."

    16. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find it disturbing, to be honest, to look something in the eyes and consciously end its life

      Really? I find it kind of fun. Then again, I spent my childhood being beaten up by bullies.

      -1, Disturbing

    17. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Animals are neither guilty nor innocent.
      Take a look at my cat's face, overall body posture, and behavior, when I walk in and find he's been eating the chicken soup that I just left out "for just a minute." He hears me walk in, and he knows, that's my soup, and he's guilty of theft. Watch him when he's eating his Friskies, and you'll see innocence. And yes, it looks different.
    18. Re:You're violating my rights! by Spock+the+Baptist · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sir,

      Allow me to introduce myself.

      I am Nefarious D. Felineslammer, and my company is Cat Assassins of Texas.

      I can be reached at 1-800-DEADCAT, that's 1-800-DEADCAT.

      Our motto is, You Pay, We Slay.

      Call now to hear your last meow.

      --
      "Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
    19. Re:You're violating my rights! by Spock+the+Baptist · · Score: 1

      "I spent my childhood being beaten up by bullies."

      Your dad shoud have shown the Vulcan bully grip. Once demonstrated bullies WILL leave you alone.

      --
      "Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
    20. Re:You're violating my rights! by Beached · · Score: 1

      Isn't that why they call them water fowl :)

      --
      ---- aut viam inveniam aut faciam
    21. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they illegalize something cool before i even hear of it? what's this world coming to?! help!

    22. Re:You're violating my rights! by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1

      You must be a real pleasure at a party....

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    23. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your dad shoud have shown the Vulcan bully grip.

      Thanks very much for making me feel better. Now I know there's someone crazier than me.

    24. Re:You're violating my rights! by Spetiam · · Score: 1

      to look something in the eyes

      I don't mean to troll you, but this makes me think you have never been hunting. ;)

      I agree with you about hunting wolves from aircraft; there's no sport in that. In fact, I find it unethical, unless the hunter is wheel-chair bound or something, or if it's being done as legitimate "varmint control." (N.B. I don't know what the status of wolves in Alaska is.)

    25. Re:You're violating my rights! by pauljlucas · · Score: 1, Insightful
      I take up the invitation to go hunting and kill a deer or a snowshoe hare, because I just feel there's something hypocritical about being unwilling to kill animals, but being willing to have someone else do it for you and pick up the results at the supermarket.
      So you kill a deer for no other reason that to make yourself feel better and less of a hypocrit? Somehow, I don't think the deer cares about your feelings.

      The other option that you seem not to have picked up on is simply to stop buying animal flesh at the supermarket.

      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    26. Re:You're violating my rights! by jimmydevice · · Score: 2, Funny

      If the're not guilty, why are they running?

    27. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That being said, what really pisses me off is hunting wolves from aircraft in Alaska. Where the hell is the sport in that, I want to know."

      what really pisses me off is hunting with a weapon. Where the hell is the sport in that, I want to know

      If ya gonna take down a deer dont be a pussy and use a weapon use your bare hands.
      Where the hell is the sport in anything but bare hands.

    28. Re:You're violating my rights! by Mahou · · Score: 2, Insightful

      what about 'right to life'? you have to kill shit in order to live, even if that shit is just plants. unless you're some bio-chemist that makes all your nutrients in a lab

      --
      if i'm not immortal, what's the point of living?
      ...te?
    29. Re:You're violating my rights! by mankey+wanker · · Score: 1

      You know, deer meat is pretty tasty. My co-workers used to hunt and prepare venison burritos for all of us back at the job. Excellent food. No waste.

      I feel perfectly ethical about it. The amorality in the act of killing animals is in the waste factor. It is not a matter of sport unless you hunt with your bare hands, beast vs. beast.

    30. Re:You're violating my rights! by phillk6751 · · Score: 1

      Where's the sport in it? You've got to be kidding me....do you know how hard it is to shoot at a moving object? how about a moving object while you're moving? Just think about it?

    31. Re:You're violating my rights! by Chris+Carollo · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The amorality in the act of killing animals is in the waste factor.
      No, the amoraility in hunting is killing another living animal for fun, and claiming it's a "sport".
    32. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      I don't enjoy killing animals- I find it disturbing, to be honest, to look something in the eyes and consciously end its life- but every once in a while I take up the invitation to go hunting and kill a deer or a snowshoe hare, because I just feel there's something hypocritical about being unwilling to kill animals, but being willing to have someone else do it for you and pick up the results at the supermarket. I figured I either had to be able to kill something myself, or become a vegetarian.

      I totally agree it's hypocritical, which is why I am a vegetarian. I think the question is: is it right to violently and painfully kill sentient and feeling beings simply because you enjoy the taste of meat? I don't doubt that animal meat is tasty, hell humans could be tasty too, but for me my tastebuds come second to the potentially intense pain and suffering necessary to to fulfill my culinary desires.

    33. Re:You're violating my rights! by cubicleman · · Score: 1

      Internet hunting, eh? Strangest thing I've heard of in a while. I've never quite gotten the appeal of real hunting...always looked boring to me. My folks have always had problems with hunters on their weekend place (250 acres in wooded, hilly eastern Ohio). Even something like watching football on TV seems more entertaining to me than hunting.

    34. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I think the question is: is it right to violently and painfully kill sentient and feeling beings simply because you enjoy the taste of meat? I don't doubt that animal meat is tasty, hell humans could be tasty too, but for me my tastebuds come second to the potentially intense pain and suffering necessary to to fulfill my culinary desires.

      I really have to respect your point of view, because you are living in the way that you feel is right.

      But I don't have a problem with eating meat, even though it supports "intense pain and suffering". Just because I have a brain that can perceive the suffering of others does not mean that I should.

      It seems fairer that I should ignore the suffering and enjoy myself... After all, that's what a lion, a bear, or any of the animal kingdom's other great predators would do.

    35. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I really have to respect your point of view, because you are living in the way that you feel is right.

      But I don't have a problem with eating meat, even though it supports "intense pain and suffering". Just because I have a brain that can perceive the suffering of others does not mean that I should.

      It seems fairer that I should ignore the suffering and enjoy myself... After all, that's what a lion, a bear, or any of the animal kingdom's other great predators would do.


      So you justify your lifes actions based on what other animals do? The logical conclusion to that is that you should: routinely kill offspring other than your own, shit and piss in your own house, try to kill your mate after sex, eat your own kids if you're feeling hungry etc etc etc you get the idea.

      Animals do many things which I'm supposing you would not be in favour of, so I doubt you can make a logically coherent justification based on "well other animals do it!" I'm betting it's just a easy one to use when justifying meat eating.

      Do you apply this "Just because I have a brain that can perceive the suffering of others does not mean that I should." to humans as well? Are you a sociopath?

    36. Re:You're violating my rights! by shri · · Score: 1

      Well .. you can atleast make bonsai kittens! :)

    37. Re:You're violating my rights! by rossifer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So you kill a deer for no other reason that to make yourself feel better and less of a hypocrit? Somehow, I don't think the deer cares about your feelings.

      Way to completely miss the point. He wasn't asking for the deer's approval, just like you don't ask the cow. He's merely taking personal responsibility for the killing, which you appear to object to.

      There is a school of thought among hunters that personally using the resources provided by an animal you killed provides meaning to the death. Death is a part of life. If taking an animal's life helps to sustain my own and if the animal felt as little pain as possible during that death, I'm not going to feel the slightest bit guilty about my actions.

      And that doesn't only mean I'm comfortable buying meat at the supermarket that someone else killed for me. I also include hunting for meat myself, exactly like the poster you replied to.

      Regards,
      Ross

    38. Re:You're violating my rights! by Wes+Janson · · Score: 1

      While I'm a cat owner, and love them dearly, and know of the look you speak of.. I'm not entirely certain that it's guilt and not fear you're seeing. Cats can fear, but guilt is more complex. It's difficult to tell which it really is.

    39. Re:You're violating my rights! by Shark · · Score: 1

      Same as pulling fish out of the ocean from a boat. Beer helps, manly ego motivates :(

      --
      Mind the frickin' laser...
    40. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The other option that you seem not to have picked up on is simply to stop buying animal flesh at the supermarket."

      Ah yes he did, to quote:

      "I figured I either had to be able to kill something myself, or become a vegetarian."

      How very unusual, a vegetarian distorting someones arguments, who ever will I use as my moral compass now?

    41. Re:You're violating my rights! by phoenix.bam! · · Score: 1

      The sport isn't in the killing. The sport is in the hunt. The kill is just the end result. The kill is the touchdown of hunting. No one looks at football(American) and says "Scoring a touchdown isn't a sport." That wouldn't make sense. The overall activity is the sport. Spending days hiking through the great outdoors with buddies and equipment tracking your target over tens of miles of wooded mountains; that is the sport. Scoring a kill is indeed the goal, but it is only the end result of the sport.

    42. Re:You're violating my rights! by Capitalist1 · · Score: 1

      Morally speaking, animals other than humans are the equivalent of self-mobile, self-replicating rocks. They have no moral standing except as natural resources for our use.

      So yes, you are correct. It is completely *a*moral. The post to which you replied is wrong, in that he chose the wrong word. The waste factor is *immoral*, not amoral. And that's the only immoral thing about hunting, end of story.

      --
      One man's religion is another man's belly-laugh. - LL
    43. Re:You're violating my rights! by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      The possibilities dude, think of the possibilities!

    44. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course it is right. It is in our genetics.

      Vegatarianism is not what we are designed for. Were it not for fortified foods and supplements, strict vegetarians would eventually die.

      EX:
      You need Vitamin B 12 in your diet to keep your nerves working properly, to build protiens, and to make red blood cells, but it is only found (naturally) in animal products (liver, kidney, yogurt, dairy products, fish, clams, oysters, nonfat dry milk, salmon, sardines). I think it can be grown on bacteria in labs, but the only other sources are animals.

      Furthermore, Why do we have bicuspids (canines) if we aren't *supposed* to eat meat?

      And just for fun...
      http://feastofhateandfear.com/articles/hungry_for. html

    45. Re:You're violating my rights! by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      Try hunting wild boar.
      With a knife.
      Guaranteed pure adrenalin.
      For a short while.

    46. Re:You're violating my rights! by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No, the amoraility in hunting is killing another living animal for fun, and claiming it's a "sport".

      Except, you call it a "sport" and I call it "putting lean, healthy meat in my freezer, and helping to manage wildly out of balance deer populations."

      I know a lot of hunters, and I don't know a single one - at all - that takes pleasure, per se, in the act of killing the animal they're taking. The nearest thing to it would be the pride they take in being good at it - which results (by way of a well placed shot) in a humane kill, and less wasted meat.

      Now, I do know people that take great joy in swatting mosquitos, or killing rats in their house, etc. Those are people that kill a creature just for their own convenience/happiness. But those are as likely to be non-hunters as hunters.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    47. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT I had THREE mod points left this morning, and they just expired! Grrrrrrrrr.

      Other mods - mod parent up INSIGHTFUL (funny will work too, I guess...)

    48. Re:You're violating my rights! by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      He wasn't asking for the deer's approval...
      Way [sic] to completely miss the sarcasm.
      He's merely taking personal responsibility for the killing, which you appear to object to.
      No, he's killing one more thing so he feels he's less of a hypocrit. If the hypocrisy bothers him so much, he should just become a vegetarian. The entire problem goes away then.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    49. Re:You're violating my rights! by Skrybe · · Score: 1

      Not to answer for the other guy but maybe you're missing the point. Maybe what he's saying is that he hunts for the food not for the fun of it. There are quite a few people who would be really upset if you told them you shot a deer yet they'd happily buy venison in a butchers. *They're* the hypocrits.

      I see nothing wrong with hunting in a few situations - Food, vermin control, herd population control and to remove dangerous animals. Hunting purely for fun strikes me as wasteful and cruel and I don't believe in the hunting of rare, endangered animals (unless it's for the last two reasons).

      As a kid I went hunting with my Dad (for both vermin control and food) and it gave me a greater insight into just what I was eating. So many kids seem to think that steak they see in the supermarket just miraculously appears they don't realise it came from a live animal that had to be killed and slaughtered.

    50. Re:You're violating my rights! by Alioth · · Score: 1

      There's plenty of room on this Earth for all of God's animals. Right next to the mashed potato.

    51. Re:You're violating my rights! by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      Maybe what he's saying is that he hunts for the food not for the fun of it.
      No, he quite clearly and explicitly wrote that he does it because otherwise he thinks it's hypocritical. So as not to be thought of as a hypocrit by himself or others, he shoots Bambi.
      So many kids seem to think that steak they see in the supermarket just miraculously appears they don't realise it came from a live animal that had to be killed and slaughtered.
      This is the fault of the parents in one of two ways:
      1. They didn't teach the kids where the meat comes from.
      2. They feed the kids meat in the first place.
      To correct for either of those doesn't require that they go out and kill another animal just so kids learn something.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    52. Re:You're violating my rights! by asb · · Score: 1

      MY GOD NED! THEY'RE COMING RIGHT FOR US!Reason:

      (Don't use so many caps. It's like yelling.)

      --
      Antti S. Brax - Old school - http://www.iki.fi/asb/
    53. Re:You're violating my rights! by Skrybe · · Score: 1

      That's your take on what he wrote. The way I interpret it when I read his comment is that if he's willing to eat meat from a supermarket he'd be a hypocrit if he wasn't willing to kill an animal to get it. We'll have to wait and see what (if) he replies :)

      As for the eating meat thing... Judging from your #2 reason I'm assuming you're vegetarian. Frankly I don't see anything wrong with eating meat, but if you don't choose to then fair enough. I don't think becoming a vegetarian because someone says so is going to convince most people. On the other hand actually seeing animals slaughtered (either in an abatoir or hunting) is more likely to promote the response that eating animals is bad. So I reckon hunting is more likely to encourage vegetarianism.

      And as if you'd kill an animal just as an educational point. I already gave the reasons I see as valid for hunting and that ain't in there. Using it as a learning exercise is for want of a better description, a side benefit.

    54. Re:You're violating my rights! by mr_snarf · · Score: 1

      I believe dog's emotions are easier to read than cats. Ask any dog owner and I'm sure they'll tell you dogs can feel guilty. If dogs can, I'm pretty certain cats can too.

      Humans just like to feel like we are special. (Yes, our emotions are far more complex, but animals do have emotions).

      No, I can't back any of that up with evidence, yes, I know that makes my post meaningless, but I'm sure you know what I mean if you've ever seen a dog do something wrong.

      --
      printf("Goodbye cruel world!\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b");
    55. Re:You're violating my rights! by TeatimeofSoul · · Score: 1

      I just feel there's something hypocritical about being unwilling to kill animals, but being willing to have someone else do it for you and pick up the results at the supermarket.
      There's plenty of middle ground between being morally opposed to something, and enjoying doing it yourself. E.g. If someone has chosen not to be a surgeon, because they see it as gross and icky, that doesn't mean they have to be turned away if they get cancer.

    56. Re:You're violating my rights! by Nutria · · Score: 1

      There's plenty of room on this Earth for all of God's animals. Right next to the mashed potato.

      The mashed potatoes will be long gone by the time I start eating rats.

      But the smoked venison tasted really good with the mashed potatoes, at Mother's Day dinner.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    57. Re:You're violating my rights! by avenj · · Score: 1

      I'll kill another living animal for fun and claim it's for fun. :)

    58. Re:You're violating my rights! by Nutria · · Score: 1

      painfully kill sentient and feeling beings

      Are deer sentient? Do they conciously perceive past and future, good and evil, love and hate?

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    59. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's my American Patriotic right, not only to kill things, but also to make money out of it. So here's my proposal:

      We set up a computer stalking game to provide the initial dificulty, which culminates in a screen kill. This is linked to an abbatoir bolt gun, so the lucky/skillful hunter actually gets to kill something.

      With a world-wide customer base you would get enough players to keep a good-sized slaughterhouse going. Of course, you could still kill animals there without a corresponding 'hunter' input, but you would be making extra money for each animals death 'dedicated' to an individual.

      This allows the hunters to have their wilderness 'I'm a man' fix, and lets the meat-eating masses get involved in and experience the practicalities of animal slaughter without actually clogging up the slaughterhouse car park.

      The more I think about this the more it seems to answer all the difficult moral questions about killing and living off meat. It's an American Dream - killing and high technology. The only thing missing is foreigners - perhaps we could make all the cows Muslim and call them Saddam.

      That's it! I'm off to the patent office with my modest proposal for becoming a billionaire.

    60. Re:You're violating my rights! by martin100 · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      did jesus tell you that?

      relax. they are just animals. i eat them, you probably eat them, their lives are nothing. whether they live or die has no effect on us. you wouldnt even know about it if you hadnt read it. it only bothers you if you are looking for a reason to be upset. animals are slaughtered in large quantities every day for eatin'. a couple extra hunted for sport means nothing. has been happening forever. being upset about this is like being upset that a character in a video game died. doesnt matter. your life doesnt change.

    61. Re:You're violating my rights! by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 0, Insightful

      An "innocent" animal is one that isn't trying to eat you or competing with you for food. Seeing as that covers 99.999999% of all animals on our planet, I think it's safe to assume that most animals are "innocent".

      --
      That was classic intercourse!
    62. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you know how hard it is to run away from some fucking prick in a PLANE? A LOT fucking harder than pointing a gun at an exhausted, terrified wild animal.

    63. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think they'd bother if they knew how to farm.

    64. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you need to ask that question, I'd question your sentience.

      Have you never had a pet? Never watched a wildlife film? Never interacted with a dog in the street?

    65. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are deer sentient? I think the important question is do they feel pain, can they suffer, not are they sentient. I cannot directly perceive deer's consciousness or pain, nor other humans consciousness or pain, so I must instead make assumption based on what I can perceive - external physical signs. Based on that I'd say that most mammals(inlcuding deer) appear to display signs which would suggest that they do experience horrendous pain just as humans do, when certain things are done to them. I think current scientific theories would also point towards animals being capable of suffering.

    66. Re:You're violating my rights! by indifferent+children · · Score: 1
      Somehow, I don't think the deer cares about your feelings.

      Does the deer care about the mountain lion's feelings?

      I buy meat at the supermarket for the same reason that I buy flour at the supermarket: I lack the skills and resources to kill, prepare and store them. This applies to both meat and flour (won't somebody think of the plants! (PETP)).

      --
      Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain
    67. Re:You're violating my rights! by indifferent+children · · Score: 1
      Are deer sentient?

      You are such a species-ist! Even amoeba are considered intelligent (by idiots).

      --
      Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain
    68. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, but neither does some redneck from Oklahoma. :-P

    69. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No, I can't back any of that up with evidence, yes, I know that makes my post meaningless,


      from http://www.messybeast.com/emoticat.html
      clearly pro emotion but fairly fair and logical about it.


      many scientists have avoided the issue of animal emotions by putting quote marks around words such as "nervous" or "fearful". This indicated that the animals acted as if they felt those emotions, but they did not actually have those emotions and the attribution of emotions was therefore anthropomorphic on the part of the scientific observer, hence the quote marks.
      ...

      One of the most obvious animal emotions is pleasure. It is evident when your cat snuggles up purring and when it plays. Although play is an important part of learning and honing life skills in youngsters, it is quite obviously also fun otherwise adult cats wouldn't bother playing. There is some evidence that playing, or at least the physical exertion aspect of play, releases "feel-good" hormones in the brain, giving a sense of wellbeing. When rats play, their brains release dopamine, a neurochemical associated with pleasure and excitement. When a rat anticipates a play session, dopamine is released, making it active, vocal and excited (the effect of this can be seen by dosing rats with dopamine-blockers). Happy rats also produce opiates, another feel-good neurochemical.


      Is'nt this the same process that happens in humans?
      We play, dopamine is released, we are happy.
      rat plays, dopamine is released, rat displays ... what?

      look at chimps, a close relitive of humans, they display emotion in the same way as we do. and I dont see how the fact that they are'nt as smart means that these emotion like states are not emotion... and that carries on down the chain to simpler animal minds .... dogs cats mice and so on ... yes they show emotions.

      heres where I get insulting... do humans with less complex or damaged minds have emotions? or just emotion like states ? what about small babies before they develop complex thought?
      what about people suffering from Mental retardation?

      ahh but thats different they're still human... so their emotion like states are actual emotions.

      right... all i can say is right.

      I like meat. mmm cow tastes good.
      that is all.
    70. Re:You're violating my rights! by ChaosCube · · Score: 1
      For fun, for food, for tradition...deer is tasty, but here's the definition for sport, from dictionary.com:

      " 1.a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. 1.b. A particular form of this activity. 2.An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively. 3.An active pastime; recreation."

      Taking this into consideration, and having hunted fished, and participated in many recognized "sports", it's easy for me to see why hunting is called a sport.

      --
      BDR Gear
      Outdoor gear, MREs, and more!
    71. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      What you fail to understand, is that in order to live you must take life from another organizm. We are animals, not plants. Plants consume dirt(actually nutrients from dead organic matter), air and sunlight. We, animals consume organic matter. If you don't like killing other life forms, then stop living-it's your only choice.

    72. Re:You're violating my rights! by Nutria · · Score: 1

      Have you never had a pet? Never watched a wildlife film? Never interacted with a dog in the street?

      I have, and have had, dogs.
      And no, I don't think that they perceive past and future, good and evil, love and hate.

      Well, love, if by love you mean pack affiliation and hate, if by hate you mean, this other "dog" is a threat to my pack, "Woof, woof, woof", snarl, snarl.

      Elephants, the higher primates and dolphins/whales seem to be the only other creatures to perceive past and love. Don't know about the other things.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    73. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      So you justify your lifes actions based on what other animals do? The logical conclusion to that is that you should: routinely kill offspring other than your own, shit and piss in your own house, try to kill your mate after sex, eat your own kids if you're feeling hungry etc etc etc you get the idea.

      You miss the point. I'm not justifying my actions at all. I am doing what is natural to me.

      If you want to be special and make your conscience really strong and be careful never to offend it, then that is your prerogative. But I am not a slave to mine.

      Do you apply this "Just because I have a brain that can perceive the suffering of others does not mean that I should." to humans as well? Are you a sociopath?

      Nope. I am much more willing and able to perceive the suffering of humans, because I am one. In humans, I see myself. So their pain has a stronger effect on me. However, this still would not prevent me from taking a human life, were it necessary for my survival.


      If I had the remaking of man, he wouldn't have any conscience. It is one of the most disagreeable things connected with a person; and although it certainly does a great deal of good, it cannot be said to pay, in the long run; it would be much better to have less good and more comfort. Still, this is only my opinion, and I am only one man; others, with less experience, may think differently. They have a right to their view. I only stand to this: I have noticed my conscience for many years, and I know it is more trouble and bother to me than anything else I started with. I suppose that in the beginning I prized it, because we prize anything that is ours; and yet how foolish it was to think so. If we look at it in another way, we see how absurd it is: if I had an anvil in me would I prize it? Of course not. And yet when you come to think, there is no real difference between a conscience and an anvil--I mean for comfort. I have noticed it a thousand times. And you could dissolve an anvil with acids, when you couldn't stand it any longer; but there isn't any way that you can work off a conscience--at least so it will stay worked off; not that I know of, anyway.

      - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

    74. Re:You're violating my rights! by bkocik · · Score: 1
      Were it not for fortified foods and supplements, strict vegetarians would eventually die.

      Strict vegetarians do eventually die.

      =)

    75. Re:You're violating my rights! by EasyComputer · · Score: 1

      sentient (sn'shnt, -sh-nt) pronunciation
      adj.

      1. Having sense perception; conscious: "The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage" (T.E. Lawrence).
      2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.

      I'm pretty sure, most deer have sense perceptions, otherwise they wouldnt have to be hunted, they'd be dead already.

    76. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That being said, what really pisses me off is hunting wolves from aircraft in Alaska. Where the hell is the sport in that, I want to know.

      Soooo you think they are hunting wolves for meat? Usually if there is a wolf hunt the people are starving OR the wolves are killing livestock/children/whatever and the humans decide that the wolf population is out of hand. Talk about missing the point!

      "I shot some wolves from my helicopter, Tunlik Tunlikta! Want to make some vegitable shaped wolf-burgers?"

    77. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi Sir, I have called your number for services but it seems I keep getting your answering machine with this message: http://www.jvsplace.co.uk/ans/Kitty.mp3

    78. Re:You're violating my rights! by druxton · · Score: 1
      I don't think you give dogs enough credit, as in my experience they do perceive the past and anticipate the future. I have two labs, and the older one has figured out that the younger one is a bit of a dolt. If she (older) wants to get the prime spot on the couch and the younger is already there, she just goes to the door and growls. The young one jumps up and does his duty as a fierce guard dog while she runs to the couch and takes up as much room as she can.

      Also, wolves hunting behaviour shows communication and to an extent planning.

    79. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do "wildly out of balance deer populations" have anything to do with over-zealous hunters killing wolves and mountain lions?

    80. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It takes a helluva shot to hit something from an aircraft unless you're using a gatling gun or Hellfire missiles.

    81. Re:You're violating my rights! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't build this damned house for the rats to live in. If you want to stop by my house once a week (it'll cost you a mere $25 a week) and humanely capture the rat and set him free a couple of hundred miles from my house, you are welcome to it. Until then, those rats, the squirrel that likes to try to burrow into my soffet (most of them stick to the trees but this one S.O.B. just keeps trying to make a home in my attic), the possom that almost bit my daughter on our front porch, and any other wild creature which invades my space will be disposed of by whatever method is *convenient* at the time, be it a broom, baseball bat, pellet gun, or deer slug.

      I also don't appreciate those damned mosquitos trying to give me malaria and West Nile. There are plenty of countries where mosquitos are killing thousands a year because some damned liberals grant mosquitos human rights and didn't like all the profit being made off of DDT. You are welcome to come transport our mosquitos to one of these locations. Until then, I will take pleasure in smashing the little bastards, unless he bites me. In that case, I will keep him around until I learn whether or not he gave me a disease. If he did, I will torture the little bastard within a micron of death, nurse him back to health, repeat, and rinse until I grow bored with it or die.

      If you care enough, let me know.

      BTW, I will pay you $25 if you kill the rat/possum/squirrel and eat it raw (nature's way.)

    82. Re:You're violating my rights! by Rakarra · · Score: 1
      relax. they are just animals. i eat them, you probably eat them, their lives are nothing. whether they live or die has no effect on us. you wouldnt even know about it if you hadnt read it. it only bothers you if you are looking for a reason to be upset. animals are slaughtered in large quantities every day for eatin'. a couple extra hunted for sport means nothing. has been happening forever. being upset about this is like being upset that a character in a video game died. doesnt matter. your life doesnt change.

      Thank goodness someone else believes in this! I've been wanting to start up an Internet hunting business where you can hunt Etheopians. These guys starve all the time, and if a few dozen of them die, hell, it doesn't affect me. I'm way over in California, for God's sake! They're meaningless to me. So let's hunt some of the fuckers for sport over the Internet!

    83. Re:You're violating my rights! by martin100 · · Score: 1
      you are right, nothing should be killed with any electronic device. in fact i think farmers should have to beat their cattle to death with their fists or we should consider them barbarians. i know now they use the nailgun thing to the cow's brain. well that's not right, the cow had no chance. coward farmer.

      look, either animals are sacred or they are not. we kill them by the thousands every day. does it make you cry extra hard when an animal dies from being hunted? is that worse than the coiuntless pigs and cows we have been killing forever?

    84. Re:You're violating my rights! by shaitand · · Score: 1

      "animals other than humans"

      Morally speaking, humans are no better than the other animals. Unless of course you believe in magic, souls, fairies, giants, gods, and so forth and base your morals upon them.

    85. Re:You're violating my rights! by shaitand · · Score: 1

      'Do you apply this "Just because I have a brain that can perceive the suffering of others does not mean that I should." to humans as well? Are you a sociopath?'

      Can you give a reason why it shouldn't?

  2. ya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ya

  3. PETA approved by jpu8086 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    PETA likes this legislature. They pulled for it. They proclaim victory on their front page.

    --
    now supporting:
    cmdrTaco for president '04
    michael for oval office intern summer '05
    1. Re:PETA approved by shuz · · Score: 4, Funny

      *sigh* PETA is just too extreme. And red meat is just too tasty.

      -It' ok to eat fish because fish don't have any feelings. -KC

      --
      There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
    2. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think everyday joe is for the legislation. if you want internet hunting play deer hunter 39.

    3. Re:PETA approved by ashmedai · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does this mean no more playing punch the monkey?

    4. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well there are a bunch of nutters on both sides, so PETA just evens it out. I mean, this whole Internet hunting thing is almost to ridiculous to believe.

    5. Re:PETA approved by anagama · · Score: 1, Funny


      I always wanted to have a leather jacket painted on the back. A big roast turkey with P E T A on the top arc. At the bottom it would read "People for the Epicurian Treatment of Animals".

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    6. Re:PETA approved by DecayCell · · Score: 1

      The definition of "extreme" is in the eye of the beholder.
      I support them, even though I consider their campaign to change Hamburg's name quite silly.

      Also, you'd be surprised to find out how easy it is to stop eating meat.

    7. Re:PETA approved by networkBoy · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      They're extreme alright.
      Eating meat is good for you. Vegans run the risk of B vitamin deficiencies (esp. B12)
      -nB

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    8. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit, I've been Vegan for 12 years and don't take any vitamin supplements and I'm perfectly healthy (and yes I've had blood tests). So before you repeat what you've read on the Internet check your facts.

    9. Re:PETA approved by evilquaker · · Score: 1
      Does this mean no more playing punch the monkey?

      Who cares about that? The real question (for Slashdotters) is if it means no more playing spank the monkey.

      --
      To within half a percent, pi seconds is a nanocentury. -- Tom Duff
    10. Re:PETA approved by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      there is also the people eating tasty animals guy (who apparently owned the peta.org domain before it was forcibly taken from his control)

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    11. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there was one thing on tv that tested the healthyness of a fit athlete, compared to a skinny bastard who only ate 1600 calories a day, and not at all on saturdays.

      Which one turned out to be the healthiest biologically speaking do you think? Yup, the skinny bastard. looking like a skeleton doesn't mean unhealthy.

    12. Re:PETA approved by sponga · · Score: 1

      and i shall celebrate this glorious day by slicing the throats of a thousand cattle for the PETA god.

    13. Re:PETA approved by Feztaa · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, if they outlaw spanking the monkey, we'll still be able to choke the chicken, flog the dolphin, milk the lizard, slap the clown, tease the weasel, or any number of other wholesome activities!

    14. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does this mean no more playing punch the monkey?

      That's correct. In fact, the legislation specifically states that now, instead of punching the monkey, Internet surfers must spank the monkey.

      To PETA's surprise, there were absolutely no objections to this section of the bill.

    15. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't like PETA but I agree with this. Hunting is a good thing. It teaches kids respect for nature and because of rules we have the populations of game animals are good. They don't allow over killing but some species in some areas get overpopulated bringing the herds down. It is ridiculous for people to sit around and hunt from a robot.

    16. Re:PETA approved by macshit · · Score: 1

      I try to follow the "it's ok to eat anything that's really stupid" rule, which I figure allows fish, chicken, etc. From what I hear, maybe I should be conflicted about pork though....

      [Of course as a degenerate case this rule allows the eating of severely retarded people, but I just reject that separately on sentimental grounds. :-]

      In fact, the actual property I think is worth preserving (and thus not eating) is human-like sentience, which I presume to be broadly correlated with intelligence.

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    17. Re:PETA approved by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      I've always wanted to go to a PETA rally and hold up a sign with the abbreation for "People for the Unethical Treatment of Animals"

    18. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was pretty funny when PETA sued the California Milk Board for the "Happy Cows come from California" ads, becuase the cows weren't happy...

    19. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?

    20. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I eat other animals because I CAN.

    21. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe the media can look at games like Big Game Hunter and Big Bass Fishing as the new GTA3s now. These games are horrible depictions of unsportsman-like behavior and should be banned from every seeing the light of day! (You know, despite the fact that they're about as enthralling as Solitaire...)

    22. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vitamin B12 is excreeted in the bile and can be reabsorbed, it can for some people take years to lose sufficent b12 to manifest detrimental effects, and meat well the most prevalent is hardly the only source of it.

    23. Re:PETA approved by ChuyMatt · · Score: 1

      erm... Wouldn't that be PUTA?!

    24. Re:PETA approved by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Exactly.

    25. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what's stopping you?

    26. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you've ever been around animals, you'd know that beef and muttom/lamb is much less of an intelligence issue than pork or goat. Basically pigs and goats have roughly the same intelligence as your standard domestic dog, if not a little higher. Cows and sheep on the other hand... dumb. dumb. dumb.

      I doubt any sane people that have been around chickens would consider their intelligence a reason to stop eating them, so right on with poultry. Now, the hygiene of a poultry factory farm might be a different story.

    27. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't get me started on PETA. They have their hearts in the right places, but no head on top of their shoulders. A couple of examples:

      Hmm... PETA putting blaze orange vests on deer so the hunters would think they are hunters, but then the hunters seeing them and shotting most of those deer. Link here. Oops, apparantly that one is a hoax.

      Well, there's freeing of lab animals from labs and releasing them into the wild, where they are eaten by predators and spread diseases. Although I can't find a specific link that. Maybe that's a rumor as well.

      And then there's painting attractive girls like animals and having them sit in cages in busy urban areas, wearing nothing but body paint.

      Well, I guess I really don't have a specific problem with PETA except misleading the public and overexagerating the health risks of eating meat (no worse than any other advertising, in my opinion.)

      Never mind.

    28. Re:PETA approved by RichardX · · Score: 1

      I try to follow the "it's ok to eat anything that's really stupid" rule,

      Shouldn't that make you a cannibal then?
      And yes, pork should definitely be a problem. Google around a bit - pigs are pretty smart.

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    29. Re:PETA approved by RichardX · · Score: 2, Informative

      Vegans run the risk of B vitamin deficiencies (esp. B12)

      Not really. It's pretty easy to live a vegan lifestyle without any B12 worries. You just have to ensure you have a large enough intake of it. I'll take that as a worry over heart disease, CJD, bovine growth hormone, not-fully-cooked-meat and the myriad other concerns that come with a meat based diet any day.

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    30. Re:PETA approved by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "looking like a skeleton doesn't mean unhealthy."

      That depends on how much you look like a skeleton. 100% is very unhealthy, but at least you're guaraneed not to get any worse.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    31. Re:PETA approved by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "And then there's painting attractive girls like animals and having them sit in cages in busy urban areas, wearing nothing but body paint."

      That sounds like a good way to encourage cruelty to animals. "Stop killing animals and we'll take away the nude chicks"...sounds like a bad deal to me.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    32. Re:PETA approved by corngrower · · Score: 1

      Cows are pretty dumb. But, yes, with pigs, you might have problems with following the dumb rule. Chickens, turkeys, other poultry and fish and reptiles shouldn't cause you any problems.

    33. Re:PETA approved by networkBoy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Bullshit, I've been Vegan for 12 years and don't take any vitamin supplements and I'm perfectly healthy (and yes I've had blood tests). So before you repeat what you've read on the Internet check your facts.

      Funny, I'm taking a nutrition class (part of a RN nursing program) right now and we just finished covering vegan Vs. vegitarian, Vs. omnivore diet. In a strict vegan diet there is _no_ source of B12. It is an animal derived (or synthetic) material. If you consume enough enriched vegitarian (not vegan) foods you'd be fine as a later post points out you loose very little over time.

      My facts are fine, you're just being an ass.
      -nB

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    34. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PETC (Yes, People Eating Tasty Clowns) is currently pulling for legislature to prevent circus workers from boxing their clowns, as well.

    35. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, you'd be surprised to find out how easy it is to stop eating meat.

      Obviously you're a troll, but how do you figure this for every single meat eating indivdual on the planet.

      PETA LOVES to make comparisons between mentally retarded humans and certain "intelligent" species of animals (search their website).. so I will too.

      I would like to see you personally go to Africa and convince those animals that are not at the bottom of the food chain the error or their ways and tell them that it's "easy to stop eating meat"

      PETA loves whales, even though they are not the saintly vegans of the animal kingdom.

    36. Re:PETA approved by Jeremi · · Score: 1
      From what I hear, maybe I should be conflicted about pork though....


      Probably... I understand that pigs are about as smart as dogs. You wouldn't eat Fifi, would you? :^)

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    37. Re:PETA approved by SunFan · · Score: 1

      You can get deadly food poisoning off a head of lettuce, too. Enjoy.

      --
      -- Microsoft is the most expensive commodity operating system and office suite vendor in the marketplace.
    38. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People
      Eating
      Tasty
      Animals

    39. Re:PETA approved by Alioth · · Score: 1

      As someone who enjoys sushi and rare steaks, not fully cooked meat is a feature, not a defect.

    40. Re:PETA approved by rasteri · · Score: 1

      I think that's more a personal choice than anything else...

    41. Re:PETA approved by Ronald+Dumsfeld · · Score: 2, Funny
      *sigh* PETA is just too extreme. And red meat is just too tasty.
      That's odd. I thought PETA stood for People for the Eating of Tasty Animals.
      --
      Where's the Kaboom?
      There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom.
    42. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html

      Define strict vegan? All of the vegans I know (counting myself) will eat synthetic sources of B12. Nothing about being vegan ties you to eating an organic or non-supplemented diet. More importantly, I will agree that your claim that a true vegan diet has no B12 source is bullshit. Evidence: http://www.silkissoy.com/index.php

      My (former) doctor told me that I'd lose too much weight and be unhealthy if I went vegan. 7 years later and I'm healthier than ever - mentally and physically (though one could argue one perceived positive lifestyle change will lead to others - power of internal suggestion, if you will). Just because one Rn teaching one course tells you something is true doesn't make it fact. If you don't agree, go try to find those WMD that exist

    43. Re:PETA approved by RedShoeRider · · Score: 1
      PETA:

      People
      Eating
      Tasty
      Animals

      I'm all for that version of PETA!

      --

      Chris Knight is my hero.

    44. Re:PETA approved by networkBoy · · Score: 1

      I'm not going to say that no textbook was ever wrong, nor that no teacher was ever infallible, however, un-fortified soy does not contain B12, and the link you posted doesn't show that silk does. you simply linked to their homepage. A vegitarian diet is healthy, but only if one is mindful of keeping a balence in that diet, which is more work to do than in an omnivorous diet, and may require some supplimentation with synthetic vitamins (which are not as well absorbed by the body).
      -nB

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    45. Re:PETA approved by dasunt · · Score: 2, Informative
      In a strict vegan diet there is _no_ source of B12. It is an animal derived (or synthetic) material.

      Technically, B12 is from bacteria (and bacteria aren't animals (shouldn't an RN know this?)). Eat enough dirty plants, and vegans would do absolutely fine without any other source of B12. (The amounts needed are miniscule).

      For those of us who don't like dirt in our food (most of us in the modern world), or want to be on the safe side, there are vegan sources of B12 available.

      If you want to criticize vegan diets, I'd suggest looking into omega 6/omega 3 ratios in vegan diets. However, the standard American diet also suffers from a similar problem, which is why (I suspect) this criticism isn't brought up more often.

      For bonus points, why not look into the different conversion rates between the omega 6 fatty acids. (Vegans tend to only consume a limited subset of the omega 6 fatty acids and have to convert the omega 6 acids they eat into the other types they need).

      For real data, backed up with statistics, google for "The Farm", which is a hippy vegan commune in Tennessee that has been a focus of several vegan dietary studies of adults and children. Or read "Becoming Vegan" which references more than a few studies on the health of vegans. Its not hard to build an argument that a balanced vegan diet is as healthy as a balanced omnivorous diet. Its also not hard to show that an unbalanced diet (meat eating or not) is unhealthy (just check out the growing obesity and diabetes rates in the US).

      (Yep, I'm a vegan. And I did my research before choosing to become a vegan.)

    46. Re:PETA approved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This doesn't even shit out. The Internet hunters are probably just enjoying the novelty. Some of them may be nutbags. On the other hand, the media and nutty conservative politicians are not out glorifying these "nuts" and acting as if their cause is Holy.

      PETA is a bunch of psychopathic nut jobs (no question about it) who border closely on being lumped into a terrorist grouping like Al Queda, yet, the media and liberal shit spreaders act like they are the WAY, normal, and holier than the rest of us. Imagine the media and conservatives ballyhooing about the Aryan Nations in the same way. PETA (nuts, liars, probably hypocrits, terrorists), Greenpeace (liars, hypocrits, and terrorists), the Aryan Nations (nuts, liars, terrorists), the Branch Davidians(wackos) are a bunch of NUTS...all of them. Yet, there is no balance. If you want balance, either put PETA/Greenpeace in the nut job group, or, have Peter Jennings start spouting about the great things for which the Aryan Nation stands and for which it wants to accomplish (which, by the way, strangely mirror what Farakhan wanted--yet again, Farakhan was loved by the liberal media.) I say, ditch em all though.

      I'd forgive the French transgressions of the past if the next time they go to test an underwater nuke and Greenpeace parks three ships on top of it, they just push the button. That would be some good Greenpeace news.

      Have a nice day.

  4. Sportsmanship by fembots · · Score: 1

    I guess it's like playing FPS games, using aimbots is just not fair.

    1. Re:Sportsmanship by jacen_sunstrider · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they just need punkbuster support?

    2. Re:Sportsmanship by game+kid · · Score: 1

      Yea, that's why I have no love for any of those online things anymore. Side note: a 132% give-up rate?!? Interesting auto-sig...

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  5. Hunting on foot much safer by shuz · · Score: 1

    The main reason everyone is so upset/scared over internet hunting are the safety concerns.

    Also hunting on foot is a lot more noble and is a tradition that has been carried out for thousands of years.

    --
    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
    1. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If what you say is true, then wouldn't launching cruise missiles at a nation from the safety of a warship also be considered non-noble? would soward fighting be considered the noblest of all combat weapons? If so then isn't a spear and a rock the noblest of all?

      i say we need to arm the animals with turrents connected to the internet through wifi. you could then hunt the hunter at the comfort of your own home, and give the hunter a more noble target.

    2. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hunting with a bow and arrow, stick, rock, knife, spear, or your own bare hands has been carried out for thousands of years. i'd consider that a bit nobile. not what you guys do.

    3. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Ok, here is the diagram:

      Lawyers -> Guns -> Compound Bow -> Bow -> Spear -> Knife -> Rock -> Stick -> Bare Hands
      Least Noble Most Noble

    4. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Frodrick · · Score: 1
      The main reason everyone is so upset/scared over internet hunting are the safety concerns.

      I totally agree. A live human who stumbled into the "kill zone" would have a life expectancy of about 30 seconds. The seeming anonymity of the net along with the similarity to various person shoot-em-up video games would ensure that.

    5. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by anagama · · Score: 1


      "Also hunting on foot is a lot more noble and is a tradition that has been carried out for thousands of years."

      Ah yes, you can even see cave paintings of hunters mounting their trusty steeds to motor off into the untouched wilderness.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    6. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Informative

      The main reason everyone is so upset/scared over internet hunting are the safety concerns.

      Not really. The internet hunting takes place on private grounds nowhere near populated areas, so it's safe. The concern is really the morality of it.

      Also hunting on foot is a lot more noble and is a tradition that has been carried out for thousands of years.

      Indeed.

      And I might add this: most countries where hunting has been a tradition for centuries couldn't afford not having hunters. What I mean is, the hunter is part of the ecological balance of whatever area they hunt in. Take them out of the picture, and suddenly certain species of game, previously hunted, see their numbers soar, destabilizing the ecological niches of numerous other species, and introducing diseases and malformations in their numbers, due to overpopulation.

      In many countries, hunters regularly conduct what they call "cynegetic management", or "sanitary shootings", which is essentially the removing of weak and diseased surplus animals. Those sanitary kills can also preserve endangered species, by lightening the burden on their food sources and the predatory pressure on them. This game management is healthy for the environment, which is what most green anti-hunting folks fail to understand.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    7. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Malc · · Score: 1

      The traditional hunting that you referring to is only done with animals (dogs, hawks, etc). What N. Americans generally refer to as hunting is called shooting in the places whose nobility have practised hunting for thousands of years. I guess it gives the hunters of the old world another thing to be snobby about when it comes to the new world.

    8. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not to mention the cave paintings that show firearms were infact invented thousands of years ago, and had nothing to do with the hunter's skill of constructing a spear, or a bow, their raw fitness to chase prey down due to the limited range of their weapons. I hear recent discoveries also show a gatling gun being used as cave defence against wandering beasts.

    9. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      numbers soar? bullshit. the numbers will regulate themselves due to lack of resources / competition for the resources.

      fox hunting was completly banned for a year in the uk while we had a foot and mouth outbreak among cattle, to prevent its spread. Was there any increase in fox population / attacks by foxes on livestock? no.

      this arrogance among hunters and farmers that only they can manage the countryside / population of animals is completly moronic, the world has managed for millions of years just fine without you interfering deciding that creatures need culling.

    10. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by mrnobo1024 · · Score: 1

      It's not anonymous, you have to pay for it.

    11. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 0

      numbers soar? bullshit. the numbers will regulate themselves due to lack of resources / competition for the resources.

      Yes they will, over time. After a major period of ecological unbalance where diseases will spread amongst animals, and other species will die.

      If somebody decides to ban hunting for good, that's what'll happen. Nature will indeed manage and emerge with another, totally different ecological balance.

      fox hunting was completly banned for a year in the uk while we had a foot and mouth outbreak among cattle, to prevent its spread. Was there any increase in fox population / attacks by foxes on livestock? no.

      People have been hunting in England litterally for millenia. A 1 year hunting ban on one specie isn't representative. Give it 5 to 10 years and fox population may very become out of control.

      Besides, what happens in England isn't necessarily representative of what happens elsewhere in the world. I remember France doing the same thing for several migratory birds years back when they had a green ministry of ecology, and some countries in North Africa reported an unusually high number of these birds ruining crops and emptying waterholes of fish as a result.

      this arrogance among hunters and farmers that only they can manage the countryside / population of animals is completly moronic, the world has managed for millions of years just fine without you interfering deciding that creatures need culling.

      Look, it's not my fault that hunters have forced themselves into the ecological balances of the areas them hunt in. But the fact is, right now, they're there and they play a role where they hunt. Their actions maintain (artificially, I agree) the state of nature as you know it. So the choice is either remove them from the picture and brace for major ecological disasters, for the time nature needs to adjust, or keep on hunting.

      Besides, I'm not a hunter (but I'm a gunsmith, so I'm close enough to the subject), so you don't have to get all excited about it. I'm not "arrogant", I'm just stating facts, whether you like them or not.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    12. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by wackywendell · · Score: 1

      Not really. The internet hunting takes place on private grounds nowhere near populated areas, so it's safe. The concern is really the morality of it.

      You assume that just because safety isn't an issue that therefore people aren't worried about it. Which relies on the assumption that people are completely rational, which is never good to assume.

    13. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by spinel · · Score: 1

      The traditional hunting that you referring to is only done with animals (dogs, hawks, etc). What N. Americans generally refer to as hunting is called shooting.

      **

      Totally wrong man was doing trditional hunting long before he domesticated animals. Often hunting in bands early man used spears, arrows, sharpened sticks, rocks, deadfalls or whatever came to hand or could be fashioned from his environment. Man is not the warm and fuzzy creature you think he is.

    14. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      And don't forget, it would be on private property with a safe backstop, and the rifle can't be arced too high, they'd have a fence, signs and red flags(firing range indicator), and before the guy goes out to prepare the game, he disables the gun.

      Anybody getting themselves shot with with this would deserve their Darwin award.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    15. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Malc · · Score: 1

      You're going back more than a few thousand years there. Of course even two thousand years ago, the Romans didn't have a choice about hunting with animals or guns. Also, the post I was replying to used the word "noble", which is hardly something that describes the daily grind of putting food on the table, which is what I think you're referring to.

    16. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also hunting on foot is a lot more noble and is a tradition that has been carried out for thousands of years.

      If hunters were really all that noble they should be out there with their bare hands hunting animals that can fight back, rather then cowering in the bushs with their scoped rifles firing on creatures that won't defend themselves.

    17. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The main reason everyone is so upset/scared over internet hunting are the safety concerns.

      Yes, a private fenced-off range and a stationary weapon with a limited firing angle is much more dangerous than wandering through the woods with a dozen drunk men carrying rifles.

    18. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by learn+fast · · Score: 1

      "Not really. The internet hunting takes place on private grounds nowhere near populated areas, so it's safe. The concern is really the morality of it."

      Eh? How could you possibly know this? Do you have a map of every internet hunting site? Do you better yet have a map of every future internet hunting site?

      And fill me in about this device you have that lets you read the minds of the legislators who voted for this bill. That could come in handy some day.

    19. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I say the leaders of nations who want to go to battle just duke it out in the ring. Two rules: no weapons, and the first one to submit loses.

    20. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by shawb · · Score: 0

      Foxes and deer really aren't comparable. Deer are herbivores while foxes are predators. Deer will eat as much and breed as fast as they can during the summer months, often to their detriment and suffering in the leaner winter months (Don't try to tell me that allowing deer to starve to death is more humane than shooting them.)

      Foxes, being predators, are more limited by their prey availability. This also doesn't go away in the winter, so don't have winter die-offs.

      Not to mention that deer have been known to overgraze land so much that it turns into a desert.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    21. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the oh so famous words of Arnold, "I'll be back"

      *terminator music plays*

    22. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "What I mean is, the hunter is part of the ecological balance of whatever area they hunt in. Take them out of the picture, and suddenly certain species of game, previously hunted, see their numbers soar, destabilizing the ecological niches of numerous other species, and introducing diseases and malformations in their numbers, due to overpopulation."

      Hunters only replaced the other predators (that the hunters killed)

    23. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by swillden · · Score: 0

      numbers soar? bullshit. the numbers will regulate themselves due to lack of resources / competition for the resources.

      Not if the animals' native predators have been taken out, and the food supply is variable.

      Here's a real-world example, from about 20 years ago in Utah. The Utah Department of Wildlife Management had made significant changes to deer hunting that significantly reduced the number of animals taken for a few years running. The population ballooned, because the natural predators are gone (for a variety of reasons; partially because they were killed off to keep them from eating cattle, more because too much of their range area has houses on it; predators tend to be more sensitive to human influence than herbivores).

      Then, we had a harsh winter. By February, the oversized deer population had eaten nearly all of the available food supply. They killed massive numbers of trees by stripping their bark, which provides deer with barely enough to stay alive, but kills the tree outright. A huge deer feeding program was put together, carrying large amounts of hay and other feed into areas where deer gathered. The feeding program was organized by the state, but largely funded by hunting clubs. By the time spring came, over half of the deer had died. Without the feeding programs, it would have been much worse. Likely 75% of the herd would have died.

      That was 20 years ago and the deer population still hasn't fully recovered to normal levels, though it's getting there through nice, sustainable, controlled growth, encouraged by more aggressive wildlife management policies (more hunting). You might think that ceasing all hunting would allow the population to rebound faster, but the hunting feeds much-needed dollars into various conservation efforts, such as building road crossings for the animals. The net effect is that hunting is crucial to the maintenance of healthy herds. A DWR study a few years ago analyzed the likely impact of no hunting at all and concluding that the result would be a periodic population boom/bust cycle with a median point at roughly 60% of the animals that can live sustainably in a population-controlled environment. It's likely that deer populations are actually larger per square mile -- sustainably -- now than when man didn't interfere.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    24. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "pay for it" and "anonymous" are not mutually exclusive. Ask any whorehouse.

    25. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Technician · · Score: 1

      This game management is healthy for the environment, which is what most green anti-hunting folks fail to understand.


      The difference is natural predatation picks the weak easy targets out of a herd and reducing the amount of diseased in the herd.

      A hunter on the other hand is looking for the best of the herd.. With a gun a hunter does not have to try to take down prey by chasing it down.

      (disclaimer, I'm not a vegitarian. I have seen diseased deer populations.)

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    26. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Frodrick · · Score: 1
      Be that as it may, I have been to the golf driving range. The guy that drives the ball-collecting tractor is everybody's favourite target.

      People hunting through a computer monitor would behave the same way.

    27. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Errr no. In Hawaii, for instance, feral pigs and goats were brought over by the Polynesians, and, with the help of blacktail deer, cattle, and mouflon sheep that were later introduced for livestock/game, absolutely decimated (and continue to decimate) the indigenous plant life. The only predators of large herbivores in Hawaii are hunters.

      note: the only native mammal of the Hawaiian islands is a small species of bat.

    28. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by tf23 · · Score: 1

      Bah. I'm willing to bet the legislature's biggest concern is that they can't get a piece of the $ action from it. They couldn't figure out how to license it, how to tax it, etc.

      It makes you love that world-wide-'net.

      From what I'd read about these internet-hunting ventures, if I signed up with one in Texas I wouldn't have to pay for hunting license(s) in Texas, nor here in Ohio. Texas would also miss out on the income revenue from my normal travel, and stay, down there.

      In some parts of the country, income from hunting is *big* money.

    29. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Alarion · · Score: 1

      Not everyone is that damn lazy. When I was hunting with my dad, we would drive to the area we were hunting and then walk into the woods (sometimes a few miles in, depending on where we were). not to mention, we spent days, if not weeks before that scouting the area (totally on foot. no atvs thank you very much), checking for droppings/rubs, looking for travel paths, etc.

      Plus, anyone who knows jack shit about hunting would never drive an ATV through the woods. What better way to scare off all the critters.

    30. Re:Hunting on foot much safer by Syrrh · · Score: 1

      The stationary gun in a limited range with nice safe boundaries may not be a safety concern.

      But you'd be better off shooting dogs in their runs at an animal shelter, since any of the benefits that might be realized by going hunting are kind of wasted in a caged environment.

  6. Priorities by bintrue · · Score: 1

    Of all the things wrong with this wonderful state of mine. I'm proud to see the Government spending time outlawing this... err where do the sarcasm tags go?

    --
    -/bin/true successfully doing nothing day after day.
    1. Re:Priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not like the whole government is working night and day on this. Sheesh.

    2. Re:Priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "where do the sarcasm tags go"

      One goes just north of the Oregon border and the other goes just south of the Mexican border I believe?

  7. Damnit! by Stonent1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I had just wrote up an shell script to do all my hunting for me, and now this!

    1. Re:Damnit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you go mice hunting with a Python script? You better watch out for those Mongooses.

  8. Wait... Logic Check... by Manip · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So hunting over the internet is "unsporting" but killing animals with high power, long range rifles isn't?

    I am not supporting internet hunting but come on guys, can you REALLY call any modern day hunting a "real hunt", there is NO challenge.

    1. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by daft_one · · Score: 5, Funny

      My bow and I would like you to come within 100 yards and say that ;-)

    2. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about you, but I'm a country-dwelling geek. If you live in the city, shut your mouth, you don't know how we live our lives. Not to be harsh, but hunting = food, and no one got rich farming. If I can give my family a nutritious meal for the $.3 it costs for a shotgun slug, then thats money that I can put towards paying off the morage, instead of buying GMO food at the grocery store.
      Now you seem to be saying that the only reason to hunt is for the challenge, which shows that you really don't Get It. Is it morally wrong for a bear to break open a hive of bees? After all, there's no "challenge" for the bear. Hunting isn't about a challenge, it's about getting food.
      This obviously doesn't apply to the smug-ass city dwelling fuckers who hire 20 people to track a goat across the Rockies before picking up a sniper rifle to "kill" the poor animal.

    3. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clearly you havent ever set forth into the wilderness with a rifle. To proclaim something as challenging as hunting CAN BE only illustrates your utter lack of experience.

      Where I hunt, I can go days without seeing an animal. At times, I have to crawl on my belly for great distances to hope to get a clear line of sight to the deer. It requires constant attention and vigilance, not to mention the physical harshness of being in freezing cold and blowing snow at times.

      You probably imagine hunting as some fat, nascar-fan, overweight, blue-collar uneducated white guys sitting around in their trucks shooting grazing animals across a 200-yard field. Sorry, thats not my definition.

    4. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by sellin'papes · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I think the big difference is that when you are hunting you actually have TO GO to the animals environment and kill it. You have to crap in the bushes.

      so you're crapping in the bushes and a deer comes along and you shoot it with your high powered rifle, easy right? But on some level you now understand what its like to crap in the bushes like a deer. And for understanding this, the killing process becomes very real.

      over the internet it is no longer hunting. Its a video game where things actually die, there is no connect.

      --
      This is my last post.
      [6th Estate]
    5. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhm... What about the not-insignifigant amount of hunters using muzzle-loaders & bows? Is there still no challenge in that? Have you ever even gone hunting?

    6. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by black+mariah · · Score: 0, Informative

      Bullshit. You have to remember we're talking about hunters, not fucking snipers. Hunters don't sit in one place a half a mile from where deer/moose/whatever congregate and pick them off. Those 'high powered and long range' rifles are typically used at less than 100 yards, simply to ensure the absolute minimum chance of missing. It would be trivial to set up a blind in a treetop and take pot shots at a group of deer a half a mile away but hunters don't do that shit because it's unsporting and, more importantly, it's too much of a pain in the ass to drag a deer that far.

      BTW, I'm not a hunter.

      --
      'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
    7. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by doublem · · Score: 1

      This isn't about it being "unsporting" This is about it being dangerous.

      Let's imagine this scenario:

      Some punk kid steals a wallet, and signs up for some online recreation in an Internet cafe. They decide to engage in online hunting.

      Now, another punk kid runs through the filed where the gun is set up, slips and falls on some deer guts.

      The punk in the Internet Cafe thinks it'd be funny to pull the trigger while aimed at the kid.

      Or how about the fact that this means unlicensed hunters are essentially operating firearms in your state using buggy video over IP. If you've ever worked with these systems you'll know how crappy they are.

      Internet hunting just isn't safe.

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    8. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

      You've never gone hunting.

      If/when you do ... you'll go home empty handed and think differently about the challange.

      --
      *DrugCheese rants*
    9. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At times, I have to crawl on my belly for great distances to hope to get a clear line of sight to the deer. It requires constant attention and vigilance, not to mention the physical harshness of being in freezing cold and blowing snow at times.

      You mean, like the deer needs to have too. OK, so far you're even. Let's say you're finally there then. What happens then? Pull the trigger and a successful hunt? That's when you stop being even in the "hunt" to me. You're doing it on the same level as the deer until the critical moment.

    10. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by GoofyBoy · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think the orginal poster is talking about tearing the heart from a 9 foot tall bear with your bare hands then holding it over your head on top of a hill shouting in sheer barbaric primal release.

      In keeping with my roots, I do a similar thing when I buy a plastic and styrofoam refridgerated package of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.99/lb.

      --
      The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
    11. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by MrPerfekt · · Score: 1

      Oh please. You mean to tell me hunting with a muzzle loader (that oh-so-modern weapon) is not a challenge?

      Try it sometime. For one, you only have one shot. Also, deer have some pretty damn good hearing. One tiny, twig breaking or click your saftey off too fast and you will not get an opportunity to even try to shoot.

      Crossbow is even harder.

      Most sportsman I know don't use some huge freaking sniper rifle with 100x scope which you envisioned to kill deer.

      By the way, I am not a hunter but several of my friends do hunt when it's in season.

      Personally, I think "Internet hunting" is a ridiculous concept because of the fact that you're not tracking anything which is really what HUNTING is... locating and tracking a target on large plain. Blowing the shit out of animals that are "stocked" (placed in front of remote control guns) with extremely small boundaries is NOT hunting in the first place. It's remote target practice with live animals that have -no- chance. THAT is what the problem is. "Internet hunting" is truly a misnomer.

      --
      I just wasted your mod points! HA!
    12. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by kaiser423 · · Score: 3, Informative

      In hunting, the challenge is what you make it.

      Yes, there are a lot of road hunters and people who just sit by camp and hit things way off in the distance (sniping does require some form of skill though).

      But then there are those who like the challenge. Some of my friends hunt with hand-made spears. Some of the crazy ones go out with a pack, and make the spear themselves in the forest, then hunt. I consider them real, true hunters.

      I bow hunt elk mainly, and I'd say there's a slightly greater than 50% chance I'll bag one in a season. We go out into true wilderness, walking and do it. I don't shoot unless I'm closer than 30 yards, which is generally pretty hard in the area we hunt. Then I pack it out 10 miles on my own back. My father loses 20 pounds every hunt we go on.


      But let's get realistic for a second. Since when was nearly any hunt that man did fair? We're smarter, and we had the mental capabilities to easily slaughter huge numbers of animals for 10,000+ years. Complaining about hunting "no longer" being a challenge is a bit disingenuous. It hasn't been a challenge for thousands of years. We used to light fires to drive animals towards the hunters, or drive whole herds of animals off of cliffs. Baiting and partially domesticating wild animals with offers of food, then slaughtering them. I'd say that things are a lot fairer now than they were thousands of years ago, but not quite as fair as they were maybe 200 years ago. Largely due to it being more of a sport now than sustenance. Back in the day, it didn't matter if you killed a whole herd of 200 animals to get one, because you'd die if you didn't get that one. Today, we just go out and get that one. If we don't, then we hit the supermarket.

    13. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by ag3ntugly · · Score: 0

      you dont call followin a bear around for 12 hours through dense forest in the cold a challenge? sittin in a dear stand just up the hill from a feeder isn't challenging, but thats not all there is to hunting

      --
      i have a roll of electrical tape.
    14. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by NockPoint · · Score: 1
      So hunting over the internet is "unsporting" but killing animals with high power, long range rifles isn't?

      Never been hunting, I'd guess. It's not as easy as it might seem. Also, hunting doesn't mean just high power, long range rifles. In some areas, and for some types of game, rifles are not even allowed. Turkey season, which in this state lasts until the May 15th, is archery and shotgun only.

      But maybe I'm wrong, and you have been hunting, and found it easy. Then perhaps you should try hunting in a more challanging way, with less power, less range, less noise and less crowded seasons. Get a few of these, practice until you can use them well, and go hunting a quiet way.

      http://www.newarchery.com/images/th100.jpg

    15. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 1

      Hunting is really just a form of recreation these days, at least anywhere in the US. By the time you get done paying for hunting licenses (not cheap, especially for out of state, and you have to pay the license fee whether or not you shoot anything), hunting gear, travel expenses, guns, insurance, meat processing (again not cheap, and sometimes the processors steal the meat), bullets, target practice, gun maintenance, and so on and so on, it would have been a lot cheaper to just drive to Costco and buy meat in bulk. Even if the nearest Costco is 150 miles away. Or if you really want to lower your food expenses, eat less meat and substitute other things which tend to be less expensive for the same amount of food. Hunting is an expensive sport, in the same category as golf or skiing.

      --
      Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
    16. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Inspector+Lopez · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What would be useful here is a new term that would permit the distinction between "hunters" and "dickwads with big guns." Currently we lump the two groups together and heap derision upon both for the sins of the latter (and some don't like the former, either).

      In my case, I *have* been deer hunting and goose hunting --- myself armed with a camera, and my companions with guns. I've had a bleeding deer carcase in my lap for 45 miles bouncing along in an open jeep in 25F weather, ... and thought myself lucky to have had an interesting day.

      I don't think I could pull the trigger, and there is that little issue that I'm a vegetarian. But I don't hate "hunters."

      I do, however, hate dickwads with guns. In my day job, I put up scientific apparatus in remote places, and dickwads with guns use my antennas for target practice, chop up my coax, steal the guy lines, and generally remind us that the gene pool has a shallow end.

      But if there is one group of people who should *really* loathe dickwads with guns, it is ... the hunters, of course. It may be shallow to lump hunters together with dickwads with guns ... but the hunters would not suffer so much abuse if the dickwads with guns went away forever.

    17. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah I see, so what you're saying is that hunting is all about crapping in the bushes.

    18. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure if you completely know what you're talking about.
      There are these things called orchard licenses, they allow the holder to take deer if they're eating the crops.
      Hunting gear? What the hell? Shotgun, shells, blaze orange, thats it. Gear is for wusses.
      Travel expenses: If you own your own land like I do, $0.00.
      Guns: Cheap.
      Meat processing: a lot cheaper than you assume, more so if you live in a small town and know the processor.
      Bullets: cheap as dirt.
      Target practice: The hell? Put a target in your back yard and shoot at it for a half hour. Right there, you wasted what, $5?
      Maintenance: Gun oil and solvent, set you back all of $15-20.

      I just itemized the cost for the entire season. Total? under 200. Since you have a specialized permit to take any deer damaging crops, you just saved lots of money. Out here in the midwest, steak is expensive. As to your comments about Costco, did you ignore my statement about non-GMO?

      Hunting is an expensive sport, if you hunt like a big-city hunter. But I have nothing but disrespect for them. Check out a family farm in the midwest, and then you'll understand.

    19. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just drove 180 miles today along a major highway in New York. I counted eight deer carcasses along the road, which means I counted the sites of eight different car-deer collisions. Hunting regulations should be loosened if anything. It isn't about animal rights or cruelty. Its about population control. What left-wing pain-in-the-arse college did you go to?

    20. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by TheSync · · Score: 1

      I think the theory is that the remotely operated weapon is continuously monitored and is in a closed range...

      I suspect it will be far safer than rifle hunting in the wild.

    21. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but deer suck, and they are only good for food.

    22. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      myself armed with a camera

      fag.

    23. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mikael · · Score: 1

      In keeping with my roots, I do a similar thing when I buy a plastic and styrofoam refridgerated package of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.99/lb.

      But it's a real disappointment when the delivery van arrives, and the guys brings you the order form with the line "Sorry - this item was not available - alternative item found", and you get a pack of frozen chicken mcnuggets.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    24. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes, having a gun is real proof of heterosexuality.

    25. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Greyfox · · Score: 4, Funny

      Where do you get your chicken breast for $1.99/lb? It's around $6.50 here. I think I would probably hold it over my head shouting in sheer barbaric primal release too, if I found it for $1.99/lb...

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    26. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Twas a joke. As in, "ha ha".

    27. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Mancat · · Score: 1

      Having hunted muzzleloaders, I'd have to say that SOME of the modern muzzleloaders offer no challenge at all. Some are pushing 50-cal balls accurate to 200yards. So, they're not all equal :)

      I don't think there's a state in the US where crossbow hunting is legal, but there's some talk about allowing it. Compound bows are pretty tough to hunt with, and some REALLY crazy hunters are even going back to straight bows.

      Still, even hunting with a high powered rifle doesn't garantee that you'll get anything at all. I've been hunting with my dad for 5 years, only two of which we've made it back from the mountains with anything to show for it. :)

      --
      hello dear sirs my name is jamesh i are india (bihar) can u guide me install red had linux 9?
    28. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      But let's get realistic for a second. Since when was nearly any hunt that man did fair? We're smarter, and we had the mental capabilities to easily slaughter huge numbers of animals for 10,000+ years.

      I'd just like to make the point that these attributes would apply to pretty much any predator. The Cheeta has the advantage of speed and jaw strength over their game. The lions are stronger, hunt in packs, and pick the young, sick, and injured. Wolves are able to run down deer and such. And they do this week in and week out, while us humans generally only go out a few times a year anymore.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    29. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by kc8jhs · · Score: 1

      Actually in some areas where hunting has been restricted, populations of some animals have exploded to the point where hunting them isn't a challenge anymore.

      Most of my friends from Ohio, where I grew up, no longer hunt with rifles anymore, but have since changed to bow hunting, due to the sheer number of deer everytime you turn around. Also, they truly enjoy the act of the hunt, and bow hunting season is open longer. These guys will frequently get up in the middle of the night, and go sit in a 2' by 2' chair strapped to a tree 15 feet in the air for 5 or 6 hours, waiting for daylight, not moving, not making any noise, and masking their scents. I'd say the challenge is still there in this type of hunting.

      Of course the other altenrnative is hunting with your car. The area I lived in Ohio, we would experience anywhere from 1-5 accidents per year involving people sent to the hospital from hitting dear, within a 1 mile section of highway that I lived on.

      During one fall, 4 of my fellow classmates totalled their cars from hitting dear, out of my graduating class of 60. This was about 6 years ago. I've only hit deer twice while driving a commercial truck, so I've always fared well (and no, not on purpose).

      Think twice before defending the innocence, of the poor deer or other animals, who we are about to wipe from existence.

      -Mikey P

    30. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by zifferent · · Score: 1

      Where the flip do you live and shop? I just paid $1.49 a pound for boneless, skinless chicken breast, and while that's somewhat uncommon. It does happen to go on sale like that every 3-6 months or so.

      It must be cheap to live in SE MI.

      --
      cat sig > /dev/null
    31. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't get it. I'd say that was just 13 year old troll talk who doesn't know the difference from an anus or vagina.

    32. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by QuantumG · · Score: 1

      Hang on a minute, are you trying to suggest that playing video games isn't a sport? Oh please, tell me how golf, ping-pong and chess are sports but shooting stuff in a video game isn't? If the sport was photographing animals with a remote controlled helicopter you'd probably have less problem with it and wouldn't think not to call it a sport.

      --
      How we know is more important than what we know.
    33. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by paxmark1 · · Score: 1

      Kudo's. I eat very very little meat. My uncle is 88 and farmed, well, I can at his house. But there is just this total disconnect. When I was running a homeless shelter farm, the guys couldn't believe that I was going to take in the 13 year old cow, but we only had forage for two. I enjoyed cooking it, even though I did not eat it (I am not a total dickwad - we took the bulk of it into town for the free food pantry).

      If you are going to eat meat, I really think that you should be killing some of it yourself. That is the reality.

      They are truly dickwads with guns anyone who points a gun over the internet to kill some semi penned animal.

      Peace,

    34. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by QuantumG · · Score: 1

      Vegetarian. Nuff said.

      --
      How we know is more important than what we know.
    35. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my day job, I put up scientific apparatus in remote places, and dickwads with guns use my antennas for target practice, chop up my coax, steal the guy lines, and generally remind us that the gene pool has a shallow end.

      Maybe some day after many, many aeons of evolution your kind will shed their timidity and join the rest of us in the deep end. Until then enjoy your time in the shallow end and the kiddie pool.

    36. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by jimbolaya · · Score: 1
      Where I hunt, I can go days without seeing an animal.

      Me too. Maybe we should stop hunting in downtown Atlanta, waddaya think?

      --

      There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.

    37. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look, just don't take any comment that consists of one word seriously.

    38. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Gunnery+Sgt.+Hartman · · Score: 1

      It'd be worse if you reached down for some leaves to wipe with and ended up wiping you ass with poison ivy.

      --
      [ ]
    39. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Shymon · · Score: 1

      actually i wouldn't worry about being a hundred yards from your bow. your bow has about an effective range of 30-40 yards only on a large (and more importantly, moving) target. and yes i do know you can shoot 100 yards with a bow (i am a target archer myself and we shoot 90 meters outdoors)but even top archers with arrows and bows designed for the job have a tough time hiting a heart and lung sized target that far away (call it the 10 and 9 rings on the FITA targets), let alone the thought of having to do it with a broadhead tip instead of a feild tip. just fyi.

    40. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea thats true hunters dont shoot from a half a mile away.
      If they is wurth theres weght skol they been putten salt liks less then 25 yards frum theys tree stends.

    41. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Reene · · Score: 1

      That was rather impressive.

      --
      "He does look a bit Oompa like, even if his Loompa is a bit off-kilter."
    42. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Canthros · · Score: 1

      We have exactly such a term. Many of them, in fact, but the one which leaps to mind first is 'assholes'.

      --
      Canthros
    43. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by droleary · · Score: 1

      Where the flip do you live and shop?

      There are all kinds of chicken. I can't speak for the OP, but I tend to get this chicken, which is in the neighborhood of $6.50 per pound. Given how little chicken I eat, I'm comfortable paying a bit more to know how the meat is produced.

    44. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by daft_one · · Score: 1

      Yes yes... and thus we see how modern hunting can still be a CHALLENGE, DON'T WE!

    45. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by BlueHands · · Score: 1

      it does amaze me that some people just don't have the faintest thing resembling a clue sometimes.....oh,for mod points....

      --
      I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
    46. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by PakProtector · · Score: 1

      My Spear and I would like you to come within 30 yards an- *sheeeeeeeeewwwww-thunk. Drop*

      --

      Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
      man: no entry for woman in the manual.
      "Qua!?"

    47. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ironically, you'd really "know how the meat is produced" if you hunted it yourself...

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    48. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      What does challange have to do with anything? The problem with Internet hunting is that it turns the significant, personal act of killing an actual living animal into nothing more than a frag in Quake. Hunters may not pray to the spirits of the animals any more, but at least being in actual contact with the animal in question forces them to appreciate what they're actually doing.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    49. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      There's plenty of animals to hunt in downtown Atlanta, as long as you like eating people^W pigeons!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    50. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Golf and chess aren't sports either. Ping-poing, maybe -- that gets pretty darn physical, even if you aren't running as far as you would playing tennis.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    51. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      That's almost entirely beside the point. The significant issue is this:
      The punk in the Internet Cafe thinks it'd be funny to pull the trigger while aimed at the kid.
      The punk in the Internet Cafe only thinks it's funny because it doesn't seem real. Personally killing an animal is one thing, because it forces you to understand the significance of the act. Reducing that to "Big Game Hunter with better graphics," on the other hand, is just sick.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    52. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      ...dickwads with guns use my antennas for target practice, chop up my coax, steal the guy lines, and generally remind us that the gene pool has a shallow end.
      Two words: booby trap.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    53. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by TeatimeofSoul · · Score: 1

      I don't know if this is exactly what you had in mind, but I would like to suggest a dividing line between those who, in hunting, acquire and maintain an ability to live off the land, and those who do not.

      As I see it, you are not a member of a democracy if you can't, ultimately, turn your back on it completely. (Of course, once you do, you're an outlaw, but that's another matter.) So, forming armed militia, hunting and so on, cannot be outlawed - though regulation is another matter.
      There is no reason for robotic hunting to enjoy these protections of principle. And since there's always a risk of a bad shot creating suffering for the animal, it shouldn't be allowed.

    54. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mr_snarf · · Score: 1
      but the hunters would not suffer so much abuse if the dickwads with guns went away forever.
      Solution:
      Hunt the dickwads!
      --
      printf("Goodbye cruel world!\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b\b");
    55. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by doublem · · Score: 1

      That's a very good point that I hadn't thought of. You're right though, this further demeans the value of life. Ted Nugent has a lot to say about hunting. He claims all the meat his family eats consists of animals he'd killed. He describes it as an encounter with the animal, and to hear him talk it's an experience bordering on the religious.

      If you don't have what it takes to go out and shoot an animal in person, then you have no business hunting. If the only way you can kill something is by proxy, then you shouldn't be killing anything.

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    56. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by droleary · · Score: 1

      Ironically, you'd really "know how the meat is produced" if you hunted it yourself...

      Knowing how an animal dies is a far cry from knowing how an animal lives. In the wild, you have no idea what gets eaten or what diseases the prey might carry. That said, I do agree that there is a bit of a disconnect between picking up a plastic-wrapped bundle and the actual killing of an animal.

    57. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by stanmann · · Score: 1

      The reasoning with muzzle-loaders and Crossbows ultimately is rate of fire. Compound bow over a 1 hour period may actually be a slightly higher sustainable rate of fire than a muzzle loader/crossbow.

      --
      Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed
    58. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfotunately, there's no way to cleanly identify whether J.Random.Guy-with-gun is a dickwad or a real hunter (or somewhere between).

      Alcohol tests are a good start, though.

      For some years I've been an advocate of tags for dickwads with guns, but the state game agencies don't seem to think it's a good idea.

    59. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      He describes it as an encounter with the animal, and to hear him talk it's an experience bordering on the religious.
      Indeed. Why else would hunters in primitive tribes pray to the animal's spirit?
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    60. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Minstrel+Boy · · Score: 1
      "Rate of fire" has nothing to do with hunting. You're thinking of warfare. The issue with bows and (traditional) muzzleloaders is a) lock time (rifle) + flight time (bow) being both relatively long, and b) the net speed being subsonic so the target hears the incoming round. (Most muzzleload rounds are supersonic, but the long lock time gives the sound enough head start at typical hunting ranges.)

      KeS

    61. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 1

      I guess it depends how you hunt. After all, golf is cheap too if you own your own land -- a few bucks on balls and used clubs at a flea market, dig a hole, stand 300 yards away, and hit the ball. If you go to a country club and buy the latest titanium golf clubs and rent a golf cart, it's not cheap at all.

      Hunting the expensive way...

      Hunting license: 2 or 3 hundred dollars if you go out of state. What state has these orchard licenses? Texas? (300)
      Hunting gear: warm weather clothes (500), camping gear (500), trailer (10000), topo maps (50), gps equipment(500), knives (200), backpacking gear (300), etc.
      Travel expenses: Live in Florida? Want to hunt in Minnesota? Don't have time to drive 2000 miles? Plane tickets aren't cheap, and the airlines probably charge extra to put guns in your checked luggage. (1000)
      Guns: Spend as much as you want. Some cost thousands of dollars. (5000)
      Meat processing: What if you don't know anyone? (500)
      Bullets: Ok, you're right, those are cheap. (5)Until that guy that proposed the $5,000 bullet tax gets elected to office, that is.
      Target practice: Discharging a firearm in city limits is usually illegal. If this is an issue, prepare to spend money at the shooting range. (100)

      There, I got it up to $18,955. Hunting's as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be :)

      --
      Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
    62. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 1

      Oops -- I meant COLD weather clothes. Deer season is usually late fall, and you'll need to dress warm if you're hunting in northern/mountainous states.

      --
      Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
    63. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    64. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by npsimons · · Score: 1

      I think the orginal poster is talking about tearing the heart from a 9 foot tall bear with your bare hands then holding it over your head on top of a hill shouting in sheer barbaric primal release.

      Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I've often said that if most people had to catch, kill and clean their own meat (even with technological advances), they would be vegetarians. Even my wife gets upset when I cook fish with the heads on.


      Still, we can't synthesize meat (yet), and I'm not about to stop eating chicken and fish which are farmed to be eaten.

    65. Re:Wait... Logic Check... by MrPerfekt · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, I did mean compound bow. I'm obviously not the expert on this subject but was just trying to defend the stance nonetheless. :)

      --
      I just wasted your mod points! HA!
  9. Snide remark by mondoterrifico · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means.

    1. Re:Snide remark by Skim123 · · Score: 1

      Word. I can understand being against hunting for sport, but hunting for food, resources, etc.... what's wrong with that?

      --

      I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

    2. Re:Snide remark by Bamafan77 · · Score: 1
      "I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means."

      Good point. Sometimes it's easy to forget that evolution made us ominivores. Sure the animals didn't do anything to directly hurt us, but they also just happen to contain nutrients that are necessary for us to live. Of course technology advances in agriculture have overcome much of this, but that still doesn't change how we fit into nature in the absence of technology. It's natural for us to eat "innocent" animals.

      Also after reading "Fast Food Nation", I'd almost argue that hunting your own food over the internet is certainly healthier/safer than buying the stuff churned from the nation's largest slaughterhouses. In some ways, nothing has changed since Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".

      This position assumes the animal can be humanely killed of course. The biggest problem I'd have with Internet hunting is the possibility of maiming the animals without killing or having them die in a tortuous, drawn-out manner because a shot wasn't made properly.

    3. Re:Snide remark by damsa · · Score: 1

      hunting of animals used to consist of trying them first of crimes. Nowadays, animals have no due process rights. Its shoot first and ask questions later.

    4. Re:Snide remark by fliptout · · Score: 1

      True, however times have changed Back then, it was survival.

      These days, hunters used timed feeders to bait the game, turrets to give hide and have sight of the prey, high powered rifles... Simply not the same.

      Last year, I built a deer feeder timer for a client. Baiting deer is legal in the state of Texas... I don't feel sorry for the game, but I guess I am not the intended audience for the sport. I get more of a thrill out of shooting people and being shot at in paintball.

      --
      A witty saying proves you are wittier than the next guy.
    5. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, if they're not innocent, what are the guilty of? Tasting better than grass?

      And yeah, hunting is very much needed for survival, sure. I mean, it's not like we could domesticate wild creatures then sell their tasty parts in large places of commerce. Hmm... I know, I'll call them "supermarkets". I'll be rich!

      1. Invent Domestication
      2. Kill Animals Dead
      3. Invent "Super Market"
      4. Sell Tasty Animal Parts
      5. Profit!!!

    6. Re:Snide remark by Jemima's+Witness · · Score: 1

      It's just that we don't need animals for food and resources anymore. Hell I eat LOTS of animals but if vegetarian foods were more readily available (they are? - I mean even MORE) I could easily do without the tasty tasty critters.

    7. Re:Snide remark by DarkZero · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means.

      I think the submitter was probably cricitizing the concept of killing an animal with a high-powered rifle from a hundred feet away when it has no hope of ever killing you as a "sport", let alone one that could be disgraced. It's kind of like saying that long range deployment systems "disgrace the sport" of pressing a big red button that launches a nuclear missile. The concept of "disgracing the sport" is sort of dubious because there isn't really a "sport" to begin with. You press the "I Win" button and you're done.

    8. Re:Snide remark by kaiser423 · · Score: 1

      Don't generalize hunters.

      Just like with anything, there's the bottom-feeders. Then there's the true hunters. If you have a problem with turrets, feeders, etc then attack them, not the hunters. I'm a hunter who despises baiting and feeders.

      Paintball is fun, but for the average real hunter, there's a whole ton more effort and preparation that goes into a hunt. I'm training with my bow for months, learning survival skills, getting out there, and walking 30 miles a day all up and down the hills while on constant lookout EVERYWHERE and perpetually tracking the wind (so I don't get downwind of where I'm going) and sneaking and tracking.

      Then there's the culmination of when all of the aforementioned comes together, and I bring an animal down. Then the real work starts, everything else doesn't compare to dressing your game and packing that huge animal out of that canyon or valley (invariably always one or those, and not on a hill) for the next two days.

    9. Re:Snide remark by EtherAlchemist · · Score: 2, Insightful


      I guess it's all in the head of the hunter. Personally, I've eaten everything I've ever hunted and killed and have baited nary a one.

      I don't see the sport in baiting and animal, hiding in a tower and then shooting him from above. I don't get the people like Ted Nugent who think they have to show themselves as the ultimate predator and hunt elephants (I actually caught part of that on TV, how sporting can Ted be to have a bunch of Africans trap an elephant so he can shoot it with a god-caliber rifle up close?) and I don't believe shooting caged animals is hunting.

      It's more "sport" to drag your ass out of bed at 3AM (or your equivalent of 0 dark thirty) drive way the hell out into the woods, hike to your hunting grounds and wait for the sun to come up so you can start hunting your prey. (We have a no fire before sunrise law in WA)

      Hunt with a bow, that's a challenge.

      --
      R(k)
    10. Re:Snide remark by frithsplot · · Score: 1

      I have a sudden primeval desire to kill you with my bare hands and feast on your entrails.

    11. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means

      It means the animal didn't go and eat your children like you're going to do to it. I would think such a concept would be straightforward enough for anyone to understand.

    12. Re:Snide remark by Threni · · Score: 1

      > I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the
      > hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means.

      Why? Was there a time where a vegan diet wouldn't have be able to keep a human being going?

      Innocent means not killed as it attacked someone, or was rabid or whatever. Imagine someone just walking up to you and killing your pet poodle. I'd imagine that would get you in to trouble even in the US - certainly you'd go to prison for it in the UK.

    13. Re:Snide remark by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      I was going to say...

      "Innocent animals"?

      Thats assuming a *lot*!

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    14. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am pretty sure his ancestors survived quite well without the internet to aquire food.

      Way to completely miss the point.

    15. Re:Snide remark by zotz · · Score: 1

      "I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means."

      Well, I am not a hunter and I don't play one on TV, but I did find myself wondering if it is OK with people to hunt guilty animals. I mean, like, you know, those ones that kill other animals and, like, other species even.

      all the best,

      drew

      --
      FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
    16. Re:Snide remark by zotz · · Score: 1

      "1. Invent Domestication
      2. Kill Animals Dead
      3. Invent "Super Market"
      4. Sell Tasty Animal Parts
      5. Profit!!!"

      Dude, that's like, what, five steps? Way too many for here on /.

      Good luck to you with the profit though.

      all the best,

      drew

      --
      FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
    17. Re:Snide remark by Monkelectric · · Score: 1

      Pearch on brother!! My grandfather into his *80s* hunted his food with a *BOW AND ARROW*. He felt "guns didnt give the animal a chance".

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    18. Re:Snide remark by zotz · · Score: 1

      "It means the animal didn't go and eat your children like you're going to do to it. I would think such a concept would be straightforward enough for anyone to understand."

      This would make that animal innocent of crimes against you. Perhaps even of crimes against other humans, but what about crimes against other animals? Against plants? Against bacteria? Against rocks? Are they only innocent because we have chosen not to write laws making what they do illegal? So, if we pass laws tomorrow making it illegal for all animals to kill and eat other animal or plant life and make the punishment be that they can be hunted, would we no longer be hunting innocent animals? (I am not a hunter by the way, but I do fish for food on occasion.)

      all the best,

      drew

      --
      FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
    19. Re:Snide remark by strider44 · · Score: 1

      he seemed to be pointing out the hipocrasy of the hunters rather than criticising their own actions.

    20. Re:Snide remark by InfiniteWisdom · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Except most hunters don't eat the animals they hunt or utilize it in any way. Especially not when the hunting is being done over the Internet.

    21. Re:Snide remark by Solandri · · Score: 5, Informative

      Obviously you've never been hunting if you think it's just a matter of aiming at an animal and pulling the trigger. I hunt, with a camera, and oh how I wish it were as easy as just pushing an "I Win" button. There's a great deal of tracking, prediction, guesswork, and luck before you even get to the point of sighting the animal. That's the sporting element that's missing in a hunt-over-the-web setup. Without that element it's, as the aphorism goes, like shooting fish in a barrel.

    22. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means.

      You seem to be confusing hunting as a means of survival with hunting as a recreational activity. Just because it was necessary for his ancestors to hunt doesn't make it acceptable today.

    23. Re:Snide remark by Frogbert · · Score: 1

      I don't know, until they can work out a way to make those damn deer stay still there is still a bit of talent in it.

    24. Re:Snide remark by Dipster · · Score: 1
      I call bullshit. In fact, 82% of hunters do eat their game.

      How do I know that? I don't. But my statement has just as much fact behind it as your baseless and ill-informed assumption.

    25. Re:Snide remark by Bishop · · Score: 1

      Was there a time where a vegan diet wouldn't have be able to keep a human being going?

      yes. a vegan diet is difficult even with agriculture.

    26. Re:Snide remark by InfiniteWisdom · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh that's right. I forgot that you can download the dead animals over the Internet these days. Sorry.

    27. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're dumb. Every hunter I know, and I now a lot, eat what they kill. No one "hunts" over the Internet, they just shoot things.

    28. Re:Snide remark by mbadolato · · Score: 1

      Hell I eat LOTS of animals but if vegetarian foods were more readily available (they are? - I mean even MORE) I could easily do without the tasty tasty critters

      I'm guessing the hunters out there would argue that there isn't any sport in getting up and 3am and tracking a head of lettuce across a garden.

      "Yep. Bagged me a 12oz salad. A Ceasar!" :)

    29. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Except most hunters don't eat the animals they hunt or utilize it in any way. Especially not when the hunting is being done over the Internet."

      Spoken like the true ignorant fool that you are. That's what the nutcases at PETA would have you believe. On the contrary, most hunters do actually EAT what they KILL.

    30. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Liberal Ivorytowerisms

      #1038 : We know whats best for you. The ways of your ancestors were wrong. Your traditions must be purged.

    31. Re:Snide remark by iamzack · · Score: 1

      Anyone that thinks hunting isn't a sport has never hunted before.

    32. Re:Snide remark by Threni · · Score: 1

      > yes. a vegan diet is difficult even with agriculture.

      A vegan diet is trivial with agriculture.

    33. Re:Snide remark by InfiniteWisdom · · Score: 1

      Bill Clinton, is that you?

    34. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it moral to eat an animal raised and killed specifically for that purpose, but not moral to eat an animal that you didn't raise, but simply killed, for that purpose? It seems as though that is what you are implying, but if so, I don't get it.

    35. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's a load of B.S.

      Most hunters do eat the meat they hunt. In many states, particularly big hunting states like Alaska, it is unlawful to leave any meat in the field.

      Most hunters you and your PETA pals sit around and imagine exist and whine about don't eat the animals they hunt. But then again, you don't know any hunters.

    36. Re:Snide remark by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      1. Most believe that to not use the animal you shot (generally: eat it) is wasteful, and given the areas that hunting is still prevalent in, sinful as well.

      This doesn't really apply if the game meat is considered unsafe somehow, due to disease for example. Then it's considered a mercy to put the animal down. Another exemption is the killing of pest, dangerous, or varmit species such as wolves, feral dogs, feral cats, bears(some do eat the bear), groundhogs, etc.

      2. Part of the interenet hunting guy's service was that they would also do the butchering and preperation of trophy (if you want it), and ship it to you.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    37. Re:Snide remark by drsmithy · · Score: 1
      Innocent means not killed as it attacked someone, or was rabid or whatever.

      Pretty interesting definition of "innocent" you've got there...

    38. Re:Snide remark by birge · · Score: 1

      I think you missed the point of this guy's reply. He was pointing out the way the submitter spoke of "innocent" animals. That's such a ridiculous loaded word that closes off debate before it even starts. It's clear the submitter wasn't interested in a true debate and is fairly happy in his conclusions.

    39. Re:Snide remark by mphase · · Score: 1

      when it has no hope of ever killing you I don't think a deer ever has a hope of killing me, hundred feet away and high powered rifle or not.

    40. Re:Snide remark by PsiPsiStar · · Score: 1

      Is "innocuous" better?

      --

      ___
      It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
    41. Re:Snide remark by cornjchob · · Score: 1

      Oh that's right. I forgot that you can download the dead animals over the Internet these days. Sorry.

      You must've also forgotten the first part of your original statement--the part where called out hunters as a group. Then you said "Especially" internet hunters. You're a dumbass.

      --
      We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
    42. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reminds of a friend who went hunting. For two days they tracked and hunted with no luck. On the morning of the last day, as they were getting ready to leave, my friend came out of the cabin to find a deer grazing nearby... Oh yeah, the sport of hunting!

    43. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I forgot that you can download the dead animals over the Internet these days.

      Yeah, RFC 1423: Carcass Over IP. Seriously. Have you ever heard of e-commerce and shipping merchandise?

      You are truly a dumbass.

    44. Re:Snide remark by kayen_telva · · Score: 1

      that was a seriously ignorant statement

    45. Re:Snide remark by cornjchob · · Score: 1

      I don't think a deer ever has a hope of killing me, hundred feet away and high powered rifle or not.

      You've never tried to sustenance farm where overpopulation has forced them to graze in your fields.

      I think my post came out a tad 'dickish', which it wasn't meant to. Just pointing out something I hadn't read thus far in the thread.

      --
      We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
    46. Re:Snide remark by potat0man · · Score: 1

      But I'm a human being. My advantage in the wilderness is my intelligence. If a moose is chasing me I have the ability to figure out which tree to climb based on strength and height. I can attempt to trick the moose into being interested in something else (my buddy). I can try to utilize anything nearby as a weapon... But I can't outrun the thing. I can't beat it up with my fists. It's unfair! The moose aren't giving the poor humans a fighting chance!

      Our ability to build a gun (or participate in an economy that produces them) IS our advantage. Until the moose start limping to give me an advantage I'm not going to pretend I'm dumber than I am for their sake.

    47. Re:Snide remark by Bamafan77 · · Score: 1
      "Except most hunters don't eat the animals they hunt or utilize it in any way."

      You wouldn't be pulling these statistics out of thin air, would you? :)

      Regardless, it's beside my point anyway. I was merely saying hunting your own food, via Internet or otherwise, is probably better than buying the stuff you get from the mega-corporation slaughterhouses at the supermarket. It was never meant to a lead-in to a larger argument about whether or not hunters actually use the parts of the animals they hunt (which in turn is probably part of the argument you really want to argue - whether or not hunting is "right").

      Now to argue the new and only (slightly) related "point" you brought up.

      "Especially not when the hunting is being done over the Internet."

      Possibly true (nobody knows since it's never been done before). But, playing Devil's Advocate, according to the website, there's a harvesting and meat processing fee that's part of the overall bill. I still don't think that makes it right, for the record.

    48. Re:Snide remark by starman97 · · Score: 1

      Guess you've never been deer hunting in Texas.

      Here you sit in a tiny box all day and wait for a deer with a specific tag to come into view. The deer come around because 9 months out of the year there is a deerfeeder downrange of your little box.
      You then shoot said deer with a high power scoped hunting rifle propped up with a stand.

      Yeah, the only real challenge is writing out the check for the 'deer lease'

      --
      Starman97@Gmail.com (bring it on spammers)
    49. Re:Snide remark by Moofie · · Score: 1

      "In some ways, nothing has changed since Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"."

      Wow. You're not overstating the case or anything. Food poisoning that results in death is almost unheard of today.

      Yes, unsafe food handling practices can indeed make people sick. Considering how many people have to touch the food we eat every day, it's a freakin' miracle that we don't ALL drop dead. That miracle happens because of modern food safety regulations, and by and large they work pretty darn well.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    50. Re:Snide remark by Moofie · · Score: 1

      Open your mouth.

      Put your fingers in there. Feel those hard, kinda pointy things? Those are called teeth.

      The front dozen or so are designed to cut meat.

      That's why I think it's a pretty good assumption that, through out history, a lot of people have eaten a lot of meat.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    51. Re:Snide remark by Moofie · · Score: 1

      Nuh uh!

      (Do you haeve an argument to make, or are you just being argumentative?)

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    52. Re:Snide remark by FinalCut · · Score: 1

      You obviously live in a location of Plenty. Not all states, and not all parts of each state, are as fortunate as you are.

      I live in West Virginia. (Please, lets skip the hillbilly jokes for a minute). Here, there are many, many poor families who live on hills and in valleys far away from a grocery store. These families simply MUST hunt to survive.

      In fact, the first day of hunting season schools througout the state are closed. WV is a poor state - one of the poorest. And for far too many people hunting is still a necessity.

      I would bet you could rural find families in every state that are in the same boat. It is just more marked here because there is so little urban area in WV and so much rural; and thus the need for hunting so widespread.

      In addition to that the states Capital (Charleston), has a deer population problem. And they have even had to consider opening up a very limited bow hunting season WITHIN the city just to cull back a very dangerous situation. I don't know if they follwed through on the plan, but it was seriously debated.

    53. Re:Snide remark by Chris+Carollo · · Score: 1
      I highly doubt the submitter's genes would be alive today, if not for the hunting of "innocent" animals, whatever the hell that means.
      I think the submitter understands the difference between hunting because its necessary for your survival and hunting because you think it's fun to track down and kill and animal and call it "sport".
    54. Re:Snide remark by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      Yes, because missing a moose isn't a life-threatening act for the hunter. Not to mention the skill and luck it takes to track an animal, locate it, and target it without scaring it off (or having it attack you).

      I'll bet you figure those fishing shows on T.V. are shot in 40 minutes or so, too, right?

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    55. Re:Snide remark by Jeremi · · Score: 1
      Word. I can understand being against hunting for sport, but hunting for food, resources, etc.... what's wrong with that?


      If you hunt your resources to extinction, then they are gone forever; that would definitely be a problem, and wrong in most people's eyes. Probably not such a problem with deer though.


      Beyond that, one might argue that the hunted animals have a right not to be killed; certainly most people would agree that humans have a right not to be killed. So why do humans enjoy that right and not animals? One answer would be that humans have the right not to be killed solely because they are human, but that's not a very satisfying answer -- it smacks of chauvinism and "might makes right". A better answer would be, because humans are sentient, they have thoughts and feelings and a desire to live and reproduce, and just as you or I feel that we deserve the right to life, so do they. But surely that argument also applies to other species as well, to varying degrees -- whether deer qualify or not I won't attempt to debate here. (Cognitive science will probably figure it out eventually, but I'm willing to bet that some of the more evolved mammals can be considered more intelligent and self-aware than some mentally impaired humans, who are certainly not allowed to be hunted!)


      ps. Before anyone says "but other animals kill deer, therefore it's necessarily okay for humans to kill deer", I want to pre-rebut that logic by noting that other animals kill people as well, so that by that logic it would be okay to kill people. Not to mention that that logic doesn't work in other areas, e.g. "other men rape women, therefore it's okay for our men to rape women". Nope, doesn't follow.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    56. Re:Snide remark by Jeremi · · Score: 1
      It's natural for us to eat "innocent" animals.


      "Natural" is a fairly malleable concept -- 200 years ago black slavery was considered "natural"... (well, in many places anyway)


      My prediction: in twenty years, we'll have discovered how to grow meat in a vat that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. In forty years it will be considered rather gauche to eat meat from animals. In sixty years it will be illegal, and in eighty years, our grandchildren will find it difficult to believe that anyone ever did such a barbaric thing.


      (Note to flamers: I eat meat myself, but I still think that acceptance of killing animals for meat is based more on necessity and tradition than on any sort of robust ethics)

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    57. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Insightful
      One answer would be that humans have the right not to be killed solely because they are human, but that's not a very satisfying answer -- it smacks of chauvinism and "might makes right".
      Humans don't have the right not to be killed. Humans just have a mutual agreement not to kill each other (usually, at least) because working together is more useful. All this "morality" stuff is just an excuse to give to people who can't understand the benefits.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    58. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      I know you're joking, but you've kinda got a point: hunting of animals used to consist of thanking their spirits for their sacrifice. Nowadays, it's just a heartless, mechanical way of getting meat. In this way I think hunters deserve more respect than people who buy their food prepackaged from slaughterhouses...

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    59. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      And that's exactly why internet hunting should be treated differently than real hunting.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    60. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      No kidding. In fact, I think it's the other way around!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    61. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      No. Sometimes semantics are important: the difference between "hunting" and "just shooting things" is like the difference between a justified state-sponsored execution and a murder.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    62. Re:Snide remark by initialE · · Score: 1

      It's amazing how different standards are applied to the average deer in the woods, and, i don't know, the average iraqi insurgent. In Iraq. Sure you're missing out on the tracking, prediction, guesswork and luck, but in the case of the iraqi it's a _good_ thing...

      --
      Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
    63. Re:Snide remark by Threni · · Score: 1

      "Designed"? Who did the design? You're not a creationist, are you? Are you suggesting that herbivores don't have teeth?

    64. Re:Snide remark by osgeek · · Score: 1

      What an excellent concept. How about if your hunting and downloading of meat could somehow be augmented by the hunting and downloading of meat by other Internet hunters... we could call it MeatTorrent!

    65. Re:Snide remark by osgeek · · Score: 1

      (Note to flamers: I eat meat myself, but I still think that acceptance of killing animals for meat is based more on necessity and tradition than on any sort of robust ethics)

      I don't understand the ethical dilemma of eating meat. We have a "social contract" with people to work together for mutual benefit. Under that umbrella of cooperation, we include even those human beings who lack the mental capacity to agree to such a thing - just to be on the safe side. To this point, we've had no reason to believe that any animals take part in this social contract, so they really do lie outside the scope of ethical consideration.

      Since you might have a lot of things in mind, from where does your non-robust ethics of meat-eating thought stem?

    66. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know that comparing slavery that happened for a few thousand years with hunting which has been going on for a million years +/- is a good comparison. And if your timeline is true then they had better start building prisons because I'm betting that when I'm 88 I'll have a lot of company.

    67. Re:Snide remark by SenorChuck · · Score: 1

      I gather that your argument is, in essence, that there is no right and wrong. Therefore, if I should want to kill you because of your opinions, I would not be wrong to do so - because there is no wrong. What if killing you provided a great benefit to those connected to you? Life insurance policy, anyone?

      Interesting logic acrobatics.

      --
      A wise person makes his own decisions, a weak one obeys public opinion. -- Chinese proverb
    68. Re:Snide remark by Moofie · · Score: 1

      A creationist? You're mad. "Designed" by millions of years of not dying.

      Herbivores have big, flat, grindy teeth. You've got some of those too. But to imply that a vegan diet is somehow more "natural" is silly, because you've got the counter-argument embedded in your skull.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    69. Re:Snide remark by Jeremi · · Score: 1
      To this point, we've had no reason to believe that any animals take part in this social contract, so they really do lie outside the scope of ethical consideration.


      Since you might have a lot of things in mind, from where does your non-robust ethics of meat-eating thought stem?


      Because there is more to ethics than just a "social contract". Ethics also requires that we (try to) determine what "the right thing" is, and do that right thing, even if there is no conceivable penalty for not doing it. For example, the conquistadores are widely condemned for their lousy treatment (mass murder, enslavement, etc) of the native American people, despite the fact that no "social contract" existed between the Europeans and the Americans (such a contract couldn't exist, because their civilizations had never had contact before). The conquistadores themselves probably reasoned along the same lines you do -- no contract, hence no ethical responsibilities -- but in modern ethics, that's not considered sufficient.


      Similarly, just because there is no "social contract" with animals (because they can't speak to plead their case or demand their rights), doesn't mean we should be free to not consider their rights as living, sentient entities. People routinely don't, of course, but that doesn't make it right. My argument was that the reasons people don't consider animals' rights are mostly tradition, habit, "necessity", and a (more or less) willful ignorance of just how similar animal cognition and suffering is to human cognition and suffering. If two creatures both have the cognitive ability of a 2 year old child, it's hard to see why it's okay to enslave, butcher, and eat one of them, while it's a capital crime to do the same to the other. Both entities (the animal and the baby) have a right not to be killed.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    70. Re:Snide remark by Threni · · Score: 1

      >A creationist? You're mad. "Designed" by millions of years of not dying.

      I think, then, that the word you're after is `evolved`.

      > Herbivores have big, flat, grindy teeth. You've got some of those too. But to
      > imply that a vegan diet is somehow more "natural" is silly, because you've got
      > the counter-argument embedded in your skull.

      We've evolved from almost nothing, through fish, primates and into human beings. Some of those ate mostly non-meat stuff, and some of them ate more meat. We've teeth that can cope with both. The argument, though, was not about what's natural, but about if you can cope with a vegan diet with and without a society based on agriculture, and the answer is we can cope with both.

    71. Re:Snide remark by Moofie · · Score: 1

      If you like a vegan diet because it works well with your digestion, or if it suits your ethical structure, or if it Just Makes You Feel Good, then I think that's just great. More power to you! I'm glad you've found a diet that suits your needs.

      If, on the other hand, you think I should like a vegan diet for any of those reasons, I'll invite you to mind your own business.

      Humans have evolved on an omnivorous diet. Suggesting that they shouldn't eat that diet requires more than just rhetoric. I want to see science. (Suggesting that you don't like to eat that diet, of course, is your business entirely, and I have nothing to do with that!)

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    72. Re:Snide remark by theonetruekeebler · · Score: 1
      You can't leave meat in the field in Alaska because it attracts bears. The kind of bears they have in Alaska are the kind you don't want getting a taste for meat that has the scent of humans on or around it.

      But Alaska's not the only state like that. I know for a fact Colorado has that law (for game animals, anyway), and I'm pretty sure that Georgia does, too.

      --
      This is not my sandwich.
    73. Re:Snide remark by theonetruekeebler · · Score: 1
      I can understand being against hunting for sport, but hunting for food, resources, etc.... what's wrong with that?

      If I shoot a water moccasin, I have to eat it? If I hunt for food, I can't take a trophy? If I can afford a cheeseburger I'm not allowed to own a rifle?

      Hunting is morally superior to the supermarket precisely because it is sport. If there is an ethics problem, it is with breeding animals for the sole purpose of slaughtering them for food after they've stood flank to flank with thousands of other animals for a couple of years, ankle deep in their own shit.

      --
      This is not my sandwich.
    74. Re:Snide remark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, there have been many times when a 'vegan' diet could not have kept people alive.

      Specifically, the last time that humanity survived a near-extinction level event (one of the supervolcanoes, apparently), there were fewer than 10,000 humans (or near-humans) left alive.

      And they survived, primarily, by eating meat, shellfish, and what bits of plant life were still around.

      Before the advent of irrigation, which was about 11 thousand years ago, nobody could have survived on a vegan diet, because there wasn't an alternative.

      And, frankly, without vitamin supplements, YOU can't survive on a vegan diet.

    75. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Yeah, basically -- that's how nature works. Morals are a result of society.

      Presumably, somewhere along the line we decided it's bad for society as a whole to kill someone even if they do have a huge insurance policy. After all, you've got to take the good of the insurance company into account, too (not to mention the person who would be killed!). That act might help the people immediately connected, but it would financially hurt everyone else who had a policy with that company, undermine the entire purpose of insurance (decreasing customer confidence, and therefore increasing costs for everyone), and make the justice system less efficient (since if you justify killing for one reason, you suddenly have to consider all the other reasons for killing, to see if they're justified as well). Basically, morality (and religion) is just a fancy name for game theory.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    76. Re:Snide remark by The+One+and+Only · · Score: 1

      Thank you, Thomas Hobbes.

      --
      In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
    77. Re:Snide remark by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Did he say the same thing? Huh, I guess maybe I should check out his writings, then...

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  10. My rights online by AthenianGadfly · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree, this is integral "Your Rights Online." I protest this grave infringement against my inherent right as a human to operate a deadly weapon using some Flash game on my desktop.

    1. Re:My rights online by Moofie · · Score: 1

      You misunderstand.

      I don't have a Right to operate a deadly weapon using some flash game on my desktop.

      I have a Right do do ANYTHING I WANT TO, even if you think it's not nice.

      Yes, in order to have a civil society, it's important to have laws against stealing and murder and mayhem. However, there should NOT be laws against doing things that any given person thinks are bad, or silly, or in poor taste.

      I certainly wouldn't want this system to be operated in an unsafe or irresponsible manner. However, if I've got a robogun on MY property, it's none of YOUR business.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    2. Re:My rights online by Homo+Stannous · · Score: 1

      You want to protest? Then do your slashdot best! http://www.live-shot.com/

    3. Re:My rights online by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 1

      However, if I've got a robogun on MY property, it's none of YOUR business.

      Whether or not it is your property in the first place is my business. Just because your great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather stuck a flag in some plot of land doesn't mean that you can do anything you want with any creature that happens to wander onto that plot of land. The concept of real property itself is a social agreement involving laws against doing certain things which don't necessarily harm anyone.

    4. Re:My rights online by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But what if I don't think stealing, murder and mayhem are bad, silly, or in poor taste. Do I have the right then to hack the wireless connection to your robogun and have him shoot you and your family and then go on a rampage through town. By your version of rights there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.

    5. Re:My rights online by Moofie · · Score: 1

      OK, you get back to me when you've re-architected property law in the United States to reflect its inherent oppressive nature. No, go ahead: I'm curious to see how far you get.

      What's the difference between me hunting deer in season on my own property, and me allowing other people to do the same thing with a robot? Answer me that, and we've got a good discussion.

      Making a new law because something makes you feel icky is not a good idea.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    6. Re:My rights online by Moofie · · Score: 1

      Uh, no. That would be against those laws pertaining to theft, murder and mayhem. You're very confused.

      I'm a libertarian, not an anarchist.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  11. One-Click Hunting by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's wrong with One-Click Hunting? Did Amazon patent this or something? I think it's a good idea. Your dinner comes walking by... click, and it's ready for pickup. This is significantly better than having to duck behind some bushes, trying to be all quiet, and then shooting your dinner. What if a fellow hunter is on the other side and you get shot? This way, nobody has to be present when bullets get fired... nobody, that is, except your dinner. :-)

    1. Re:One-Click Hunting by doublem · · Score: 1

      Aside from that fact that this means an unlicensed individual is operating a firearm in another state using dodgy video over IP to aim the damn thing.

      And if said hunter kills a human being, then any investigation involves interstate commerce and a whole mess of jurisdiction issues.

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    2. Re:One-Click Hunting by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 1
      And if said hunter kills a human being, then any investigation involves interstate commerce and a whole mess of jurisdiction issues.

      Nah. It's a federal crime. How 'bout 50 years in federal prison? There is no parole under the federal system. Hmmm... You'd better be firing that firearm from Venezuela. No extradition treaty.

    3. Re:One-Click Hunting by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      fired from an internet cafe with a stolen credit card springs to mind.........

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    4. Re:One-Click Hunting by Thranduil · · Score: 1

      You'll still have One-Click Hunting. You will just have to use the original point-and-click interface.

  12. what are we going to? by dotpavan · · Score: 1
    "We don't think Californians should be able to hunt sitting at their computers at home,"

    Oh yeah, we dont want to increase the number of fat Americans.. let them move their ass.. or someone might write a program to do that clicking thing.. and then hunting would melt down to.. "those were the days when there were guns.. now we have.. freeze or I might click!"

  13. Fighting back by rkww · · Score: 2, Funny

    Obviously the problem is the poor critters have no way to fight back - now, if we could electrify a few keyboards ....

  14. oh, the frags by Valcoramizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    dang, I was up to 60

    --
    We raise our slide-rules high.
  15. Wow by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Way to make an unbiased and factual news post, Timothy!

    Yeah yeah "but timothy didn't say it thesync did" ever heard of being an editor? Ever heard of a respectable news site?

    The funny part is that the first quote *is* a quote (minus the blatant spelling error, of course - congratulations again!) while the second part is complete and total fabrication.

    You know what? Stuff like this doesn't help *anyone*. If you need to put words in people's mouths to make your point, your point has failed.

    --
    Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    1. Re:Wow by Teh_monkeyCode · · Score: 0, Troll

      > Way to make an unbiased and factual news post, Timothy!

      You must be new here.

      --
      -------
      Chunky Bacon
    2. Re:Wow by oldwolf13 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I generally don't bitch about slashdot..

      dupes don't bother me, and the trolls... well I know what I was getting myself into.

      But yeah, this pushing of your ideals on the rest of us is bullshit.. even if I agree with you about sport hunting. (you want to hunt for food/clothing, that's a different story).

      Headlines with political bias should be edited.

      --
      If I can't smoke and swear I'm fucked.
    3. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see you don't read the Politics section then...

    4. Re:Wow by TheSync · · Score: 1

      Actually I think hunting is acceptable. But I think anyone who thinks it is somehow "honorable" is deluded, especially if they support this kind of legislation to ban other ways of killing animals.

      BTW, I eat meat. Yum. Heck, I can't rule out going Internet hunting myself.

    5. Re:Wow by Schlemphfer · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Ever heard of a respectable news site?

      Dude...don't you know what site you're visiting? But I have to say, it's refreshing to see a bias AGAINST cruelty on here for a change. Check out the majority of responses to this story for the typical Slashdot reader response: Beef is yummy. Let's eat meat. Screw PeTA. Etc.

      But this time, here's a clear-cut case of something grotesquely cruel. I mean, how could a decent person say that it's OK to artificially stock animals in small fenced areas, and then have a remotely fired gun so people can blast these creatures through the Internet? Sorry, that's just flat-out wrong, and even most hunters would say so.

      I thought I'd pass along a couple hunting-related links, taken from just the past couple of days. First, be sure to read Matthew Scully's superb article "Fear Factories," in this week's American Conservative. Animal rights is often incorrectly thought of as some fringe cause, only embraced by people on the left. Here, Scully writes brilliantly about why conservatives should hold animal agriculture in disdain. And he starts his article by mentioning this Internet hunting issue.

      I publish Vegan.com, and I have some commentary on Scully's article on my podcast from yesterday. You might want to listen to that as well.

      And, what the heck, here's another article taken just today from Fark. One hunter was in the woods making a turkey call. Another hunter came along, thought he was hearing a real bird, and shot the hunter. Because, after all, when you're packing a hunting rifle there's no reason to actually look to see if it's actually a turkey you're shooting.

      I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming: Meat tastes good. Animal rights people are losers. I'm going to go out and have a thick bloody juicy steak -- yum! Because, after all, if PeTA sometimes pisses people off and chooses stupid battles, that clearly means that everytime they oppose cruelty a sensible person should side against them.

      --
      I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
    6. Re:Wow by Monkelectric · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The trolling is actually *MUCH* better than it used to be. I've actually "come back" to slashdot after having given up. The real abuse on slashdot right now is the modding system. People are using the modding system to attack opinions they don't like. Try even the most polite and well reasoned critisism of apple, and youre gone.

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    7. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Q. How should I handle my boyfriend/girlfriend, who has no interest in vegan eating and discourages me from following this diet?

      A. Co-veganism clearly simplifies a dating relationship. However, when it isn't happening, what should be happening nonetheless is mutual respect. If your guy or gal isn't supporting and respecting your personal choices, you may want to give up more than meat and dairy products."

      Q. What's the buzz about honey?

      A. Many vegans choose to eliminate honey from their diets because they believe honey belongs to the bees, just as cows' milk belongs to the cows. In addition, many people object to the cruelty inherent in beekeeping: some bees are invariably killed when the beekeeper gathers honey, and some beekeepers burn their hives at the end of each year.

      Q. Some people say that white sugar isn't vegan. What's the scoop?

      A. The not-so-sweet thing about refined white sugar is that bone char -- an animal by-product -- sometimes is used in processing. If you want to avoid white sugar, some excellent substitutes include sucanat or maple syrup.

      U A Insane.

    8. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you think of Slashdot as a "respectable news site", or anything remotely resembling such a thing, you're a very misguided person.

      Slashdot used to be an excellent blog. Nowadays it's just a web tabloid.

    9. Re:Wow by cornjchob · · Score: 1

      One hunter was in the woods making a turkey call. Another hunter came along, thought he was hearing a real bird, and shot the hunter. Because, after all, when you're packing a hunting rifle there's no reason to actually look to see if it's actually a turkey you're shooting.

      Do you know anything about turkey hunting or hunting in general? Moreover, did you even RTFA that you linked? First of all, it was a shotgun--not a rifle. There's a very big difference there. Second of all, it was predawn--that means before dawn. Before dawn, it's generally dark. When it's dark, it's harder to see because there're less photons bouncing off of things and coming back to your eyes. The things that photons may bounce off of include turkeys and people. Kalin (the man who fired the gun) couldn't've seen White (the man who was shot) at that time, not to mention he was hidden behind the treeline--so even if it were day time, there would've been issues. It was an accident, I have no idea why you're bringing it up; if you're trying to make some sort of 'point' about hunters being lazy, unintelligent burly men just pointing-and-clicking in the woods, perhaps you should talk to some hunters first (and not just the ones who rally against peta and hate all vegans).

      And another thing, what's all this horseshit about people who align themselves with you being 'sensible'? Is your view the only applicable one? What makes a person 'decent'? You say it as though you're applying it universally. Get your head out of your ass, please. I sure as hell don't agree with 95% of the choices modern agriculture makes, and something like allowing anyone to shoot a captive animal from the comfort of their own computer sickens me. But that's why I hunt. Because I don't agree with how American's get most of their food, and I don't agree with instant gratification 24/7. Seriously man, think before you lump.

      --
      We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
    10. Re:Wow by Moofie · · Score: 1

      "But this time, here's a clear-cut case of something grotesquely cruel. I mean, how could a decent person say that it's OK to artificially stock animals in small fenced areas, and then have a remotely fired gun so people can blast these creatures through the Internet? Sorry, that's just flat-out wrong, and even most hunters would say so."

      What's cruel about it? Seriously! Yes, it's easy to imagine how this could be mis-managed. Certainly, it would be cruel for poor shots to not kill the animal immediately. I think it would be appropriate to have someone ready to immediately put down a poorly-shot animal.

      However, there is nothing inherently more cruel about this process than any other sort of hunting (which I'd guess you disapprove of as well).

      "I publish Vegan.com"

      Oh. You don't have an agenda or anything.

      I don't think you're a loser. I think you should be free to eat, or not eat, whatever makes you happy. I think that if you want to make laws that infringe my liberty to do things you don't approve of, you should get bent.

      It's hard for me to support PETA when they genuinely have a valid objection to a cruel process, because they so clearly HATE my chosen diet. They don't respect my liberty, and I don't respect their tactics.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    11. Re:Wow by Schlemphfer · · Score: 1
      First of all, it was a shotgun--not a rifle. There's a very big difference there.

      Yep, my mistake. You don't hunt birds with rifles, and I should have written shotgun rather than rifle.

      Second of all, it was predawn--that means before dawn. Before dawn, it's generally dark. When it's dark, it's harder to see because there're less photons bouncing off of things and coming back to your eyes. The things that photons may bounce off of include turkeys and people. Kalin (the man who fired the gun) couldn't've seen White (the man who was shot) at that time, not to mention he was hidden behind the treeline--so even if it were day time, there would've been issues.

      So, am I to take from this detailed explanation of photons, treelines, etc. that it's OK to just blast your rifle -- pardon me, shotgun -- in the dark in the direction of something that *might* be the kind of animal you're seeking? WTF?

      For what it's worth, I think that hunting is often much easier to defend than animal agriculture. I have a detailed discussion of this in an appendix of my new book, Meat Market.

      But the story of that particular hunter getting shot smacks of incompetence and recklessness, and it's weird to see you trying to defend what happened. The truth is that many hunters have no business setting foot in the woods with a firearm of any kind. And my contention is amply proven by the fact that you can read stories like this practically every day during hunting season.

      --
      I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
    12. Re:Wow by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "Try even the most polite and well reasoned critisism of apple, and youre gone."

      Its truly amazing how a company with such a small share of the overall computing market can polarize people so much; make of that what you will. Still, I've noticed the best way to start a flame war is to say something polite and well reasoned in Apple's favour, so I suppose it evens out.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    13. Re:Wow by cornjchob · · Score: 1

      So, am I to take from this detailed explanation of photons, treelines, etc. that it's OK to just blast your rifle -- pardon me, shotgun -- in the dark in the direction of something that *might* be the kind of animal you're seeking? WTF?

      You could always yell out to ask what kind of animal it is--the tried and true method of walking up to the animal, shaking its hand and then shooting it is also applicable.

      Sarcasm aside, it can be an honest mistake. White had decoys out; one of those decoys could've been in line with white whence Kalin was shooting. Like the article said: the sun wasn't even up yet. I'm not trying to say unloading a round in dark conditions is a great idea, however if somebody is in the woods at that time, they run that risk--hunters are aware of that. It's not your place, my place, or anyone's place, really, to tell them they shouldn't take that risk, whose manifestations, compared to safe hunting journeys, are incredibly small.

      But I brought up the rifle/shotgun comparison because of distance--rifles shoot much farther much faster. Furthermore, yes, this is a turkey, so we're talking game shot (and depending on preference, probably at a pretty narrow spread). The potential badness of missing with a shotgun is less than the potential badness of missing with a rifle.

      But the story of that particular hunter getting shot smacks of incompetence and recklessness, [...]

      You have no idea--you weren't there, nor (dare I step out onto a limb) have you ever been in a similiar situation.

      [...] and it's weird to see you trying to defend what happened.

      I clarified the situation, at first, to find out why you had even brought it up--it very much seems like you were just FUDding, hoping the reader would automatically connect hunting with bad from what was probably a very honest mistake.
      I'm now defending because I really don't think you know what you're talking about when it comes to hunting.

      The truth is that many hunters have no business setting foot in the woods with a firearm of any kind.

      And what of the order-of-magnitude higher amount of drivers who have no business behind a steering wheel and cause hundred-fold more damage on a regular basis?

      --
      We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
    14. Re:Wow by evilviper · · Score: 0, Troll
      how could a decent person say that it's OK to artificially stock animals in small fenced areas, and then have a remotely fired gun

      Hell, that just sounds (almost) like a cattle ranch to me. You must be a vegitarian...

      I publish Vegan.com

      Heh, am I good or what?

      Animal rights is often incorrectly thought of as some fringe cause, only embraced by people on the left.

      No, I think you are discribing the extremist views which your own seem to be, and then providing very different evidence to try and trick people.

      if PeTA sometimes pisses people off and chooses stupid battles, that clearly means that everytime they oppose cruelty a sensible person should side against them.

      No, it just means their views should be completely ignored.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    15. Re:Wow by ajs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Check out the majority of responses to this story for the typical Slashdot reader response: Beef is yummy. Let's eat meat. Screw PeTA. Etc."

      Those are clearly off-topic rants by people who confuse a desire to prevent random acts of creulty with an inability to cope eating animal flesh. Change your filtering to a threshold of 2 or 3, and most of that problem goes away.

      "[... a conservative] writes brilliantly about why conservatives should hold animal agriculture in disdain. And he starts his article by mentioning this Internet hunting issue."

      Animal agriculture is also clearly an off-topic subject having nothing to do with the issue of point-and-click animal slaughter.

      "I publish Vegan.com"

      Ah... I guess I should have heard the other shoe dropping....

      "One hunter was in the woods making a turkey call. Another hunter came along, thought he was hearing a real bird, and shot the hunter."

      Ok, stupid hunter. That, by the way, is called manslaughter and as you say, "most hunters would agree with that."

      "Because, after all, when you're packing a hunting rifle there's no reason to actually look to see if it's actually a turkey you're shooting."

      I really hope you don't think that anyone thinks this way. Hunting accidents are almost always the fault of some lame-brain who can't tell his head from a moose, and no one is going to defend that kind of thing. Painting all hunters with that rather agregiously wide brush is rather unfortunate, however and borders on a straw man.

      "Meat tastes good. Animal rights people are losers. I'm going to go out and have a thick bloody juicy steak -- yum! Because, after all, if PeTA sometimes pisses people off and chooses stupid battles, that clearly means that everytime they oppose cruelty a sensible person should side against them."

      You understand that this is a collection of straw-man arguments and highly argumentative, right?

      What exactly was the goal of your post? Were you just trying to get a few vegans riled up so that they would read your site, or were you actually trying to engage in some kind of rational discussion?

      If the latter, please try again. Your frist attempt was buried in too much noise.

    16. Re:Wow by m50d · · Score: 1

      I think it must be astroturfers. Apple has some bounty for anyone who mods down an anti-apple opinion. Because really, it's ridiculous.

      --
      I am trolling
    17. Re:Wow by Tim+C · · Score: 1

      And what of the order-of-magnitude higher amount of drivers who have no business behind a steering wheel and cause hundred-fold more damage on a regular basis?

      What of them? What does that have to do with the discussion at hand? Does the fact that the problem of crap drivers is an order of magnitude or more larger than the problem of crap hunters somehow magically make crap hunters ok?

      Yes, ban crap drivers. Ban crap hunters too. Let's ban crap arguers while we're at it.

    18. Re:Wow by cornjchob · · Score: 1

      What of them? What does that have to do with the discussion at hand? Does the fact that the problem of crap drivers is an order of magnitude or more larger than the problem of crap hunters somehow magically make crap hunters ok?

      Yes, ban crap drivers. Ban crap hunters too. Let's ban crap arguers while we're at it.


      It's a matter of scope--why're people taking up arms against (no pun intended) something like hunting (which is voluntary) when there are other causes that fit the same criteria and do much much more damage? Furthermore, I was pointing out the inanity (and, on a larger scale as with that of hunting and driving, the inconceivability) of banning activities just because morons get involved--nice thought, but you don't compromise everyone's enjoyment and necessity because people have accidents. Angry mothers who get pissed off and call up toy companies when kids burn themselves making creepy crawlers, for instance: what the hell? Schlemphfer I doubt has ever been in danger of being in a hunting accident, and yet this is one of his battles. Cars, on the other hand, probably have a fairly good chance of at least coming close to maiming him at least a few times during his life. That was my point, perhaps I should've clarified earlier.

      So in conclusion, you're right--I'm a "crap" arguer. While we're using words like crap, grow some pubes, dipshit, and then maybe you'll be old enough to read the other whopping three posts between Schlemphfer and me (it seems like a lot of work--I know--so I'm sorry to ask it of you, for whom I wholeheartedly believe time to be precious beyond all comparison). Actually, wait--you might not want to do that; you may find out we're both competent. Blow me.

      --
      We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
    19. Re:Wow by Monkelectric · · Score: 1

      Thats a very interesting thought.

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    20. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This Internet Hunting thing is stupid.

      However, it would have fizzled out on its own if not for this media circus.

      PETA is a group of terrorist scumbags. I do not give a shit what they say, whether right or wrong.

      Many liberal puke lying, hypocritical, terrorist organizations have some good basis points. However, no one but an amoebic brained numb skull would rally around such cowpies in support of some cause. Especially groups that use terrorist activities to express their viewpoint. But, then again, many liberals feel sorry for Al Queda, the Bathists (sp?), and the UN. Should we be surprised?

      When Earth First goes around smashing the windows out of and setting fire to my neighbors SUV, their message is gone. EF will get the shit kicked out of him before the cops show up to haul his terrorist ass to the Big House.

      On a side, one of my brother's professors at IU was a flaming liberal pukebag that supported the actions of such groups. She was especially harsh on SUV owners. One day, my brother was walking to class and saw her getting out of the drivers seat of a Ford Expedition. He called her on it on the spot and she was flushed. She claimed her husband had taken her car to the shop so she had HIS SUV for the morning. She lived two blocks away. He asked about it again in class and she yelled several profanities in his direction concluding with a "It is NONE of YOUR #@$#ING BUSINESS what I drive!!" and she left in the middle of the class. This is the TYPICAL member of such groups.

      Your average rural American (conservatives for the most part) are not out to destroy the environment. They are not out to torture animals. They understand conservation. They chastise the kids for letting water run needlessly though it comes from their own well. They are not about to become vegans because of the terroristic activities of PETA though

      I put forward to you that vegetable farming is highly destructive of the environment. On the other hand, cows, sheep, chickens, and pigs sure contribute a lot of excess carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. We have to many people to do things differently. We could solve this by having about 6 billion people waste themselves....you get the picture. I need some shuteye.

  16. Desensitisation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This actually makes sense as making hunting as easy
    as sitting at your computer and clicking away
    desensitises one to the actual action of killing
    a living creature. Desensitisation of this sort is _never_ a good thing.

    1. Re:Desensitisation by jamesmacaulay · · Score: 1
      When I go to the supermarket and purchase a pound of ground beef, I am remotely operating the captive bolt gun used to kill another cow to replace the meat that I'm taking. Instead of a flash game or whatever the site from the article uses, my interface is the interac machine. Auto-aiming is turned on.

      At the same time, the desensitization is a bit of a different issue in the case of internet hunting because presumably the "hunter" is at least partially motivated by a desire to kill something, whereas for the consumer at the supermarket this is usually an irrelevant side effect.

  17. Back under your bridge by jaymzter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.
    Nice troll. I still continue to be amazed such nonsense makes it into the article summaries. Animals are not "innocent", and in many cases hunting acts as part of the ecosystem, preventing animal overpopulation. It you're going to troll Timothy, try to at least sound intelligent.

    --
    If thou see a fair woman pay court to her, for thus thou wilt obtain love
    1. Re:Back under your bridge by doublem · · Score: 1

      Hear hear!

      Deer don't inhabit the Midwest, they infest it.

      Humans have pushed out all of the deer's predators, leaving only us and our cars. If we don't hunt them, the ones who would otherwise be taken down by a wold or coyote would starve to death.

      As a side note, I don't hunt and admit I'd probably get sick and throw up if I tried, but I have nothing against those who do as long as they're licensed and follow safety practices.

      I'm glad this is banned. The last thing I need is some jackass 1,000 miles away operating a firearm near my parents' house.

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    2. Re:Back under your bridge by kaalamaadan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The midwest is more infested with humans than with deer.

      Where can I apply for a human hunting license?

    3. Re:Back under your bridge by jcomeau_ictx · · Score: 1
      Naw, he's right. Let's all go hunt down people who post lame Slashdot articles instead. The innocent animals will thank us and we'll improve the average quality of /. news.

      Besides, my friends over at Church of All Worlds tell me that "the other white meat" tastes pretty good.

    4. Re:Back under your bridge by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 1

      Both coasts are far more 'infested' with humans than the mostly empty midwest. Let's start there.

    5. Re:Back under your bridge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well let's see....
      Nice troll yourself! I thought Timothy was good at that.
      I suggest you find your nearest terrorist orgaization and apply there. Heck, they have very loose rules I bet, on who and when you can kill. If you are not killed by them immediately, they will probably load you up with explosives so you can off yourself and try to get some of those hunters too.

    6. Re:Back under your bridge by hayden · · Score: 1
      Where can I apply for a human hunting license?
      I think you have to work for the US postal service.
      --
      Nerd: Derogatory term typically directed at anybody with a lower Slashdot ID than you.
    7. Re:Back under your bridge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Sign up for the army.

    8. Re:Back under your bridge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And that's because we killed off all of the wolves. Try introducing a wolf or two and people bitch about wolves harassing their cattle or other livestock. They just can't win can they?

      So, effectively, you're right, we've taken the place in the foodchain of the wolf. We need to keep at it, too, until we have some other predator to take our place.

    9. Re:Back under your bridge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hunting acts as part of the ecosystem

      Everything acts as part of the ecosystem.

      The problem with most modern hunting, as it stands, is that humans have such an advantage that they target the trophy animals. That's not the way it works in the wild. In the wild, hunters prey on the weak, not the strong. Evolution requires this.

      Some fishermen, lobstermen, etc. understand this and return the largest catch. They understand that returning the prize catch is vital to future success. Most hunters, alas, perfectly live up the reputation of fat beer swill'n ignoramuses; who enjoy decorating their homes with dead animal heads. A disgrace to the species.

    10. Re:Back under your bridge by Chris+Carollo · · Score: 1
      Animals are not "innocent"
      So what exactly did they do then?
      in many cases hunting acts as part of the ecosystem, preventing animal overpopulation
      True, but how many animals are killed specifically to control population, and how many are killed for fun, as part of a "sport"?
    11. Re:Back under your bridge by kutuz_off · · Score: 1
    12. Re:Back under your bridge by Wassini · · Score: 0

      Sure! But overpopulation could also be prevented if the game wasn't raised at big farms and released just before the hunting season starts.

      --
      Lars Bo Wassini
    13. Re:Back under your bridge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The midwest is more infested with humans than with deer.
      Where can I apply for a human hunting license?


      PETA ALERT!
    14. Re:Back under your bridge by m50d · · Score: 1
      Have they been convicted of a crime? Have they committed one and got off unfairly? Have they, in fact, done anything that could even remotely be construed as wrong? (No, trying to live, even in an overpopulated area, does not count. You can't seriously be requiring animals to kill themselves)

      Sound pretty innocent to me

      --
      I am trolling
    15. Re:Back under your bridge by korbin_dallas · · Score: 0, Troll

      Hey try here:
      http://www.atf.treas.gov/

      In another culture, these guys would be called BrownShirts or Gestapo. The tax department has its own armed force. Ministry of Justice eh?

      --
      They Live, We Sleep
    16. Re:Back under your bridge by cens0r · · Score: 1

      Although to naturally control the population and mimic natural predators the hunters should be killing the old, the sick, and the youngest animals; whereas hunters acutally kill the healthiest and best fit males. So we may be doing a little to control the population, but we're doing alot more to weaken the populations genetics.

      --
      Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
  18. spears only! by dukerobinson · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is a firearm not a disgrace to the sport? Shouldn't one use a spear? And no atlatls either!

  19. Trolling! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The entire article summary is a troll. Dumbass Timothy!

    1. Re:Trolling! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be new here, right? Its not trolling when a MOD does it. Then it is called "news for nerds, stuff that matters".

      So be a good boy and shut up. Oh and I see you are anonymous. You will escape the bad karma THIS TIME ONLY.

  20. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yay! Another fine way to limit the handicapped!

    Way to go!

    1. Re:Great! by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1
      Handicapped == limited.

      Get over it.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  21. Silly question, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is it the internet bit that's banned in California, or the hunting bit on the other end?

    If it's the internet bit, I suggest VNC'ing into a friends computer in the next state. I do however think it's nuts that you can order food over the net and have it delivered to your door, but you can't kill it over the net. That's just plain daft, and I don't even hunt.

  22. Innocent? I think not. by Morky · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    An "innocent" deer killed my friend's grandfather. They are a menace and must be stopped.

    1. Re:Innocent? I think not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      not to mention the damage reindeer fo to grandma every year..

      damned jolly old elves.

  23. Tracking and Killing Innocent Animals? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    WTF. They're food. Mind your own damn business. There's no law requiring you to hunt them, so what're you even complaining about?

    One state has 1.5 million deer. You have to kill half of those every year or the population will increase. If it increases enough, people won't be able to keep them out of their gardens and disease will spread, tossing the wildlife into a dangerous spot. What the fuck do you propose? Are you honestly suggesting that people stop hunting them? Are you suggesting that taxpayer money be used to kill 750,000 deer per year, then just throw away the meat because ``meat is murder''? You'd probably ban guns, too, so that the only recourse is to poison the animals, which is imprecise and ultimately far more damaging. When all the Earth is soaked in Roundup and animal poison, what do you think you're going to eat?

    In short, you are a moron. You don't know enough about the situation to speak intelligently about it, and the ``situation'' here is nature and the food supply. I suggest shutting the hell up unless you want to risk undermining your credibility on every subject.

  24. Slashdot Conspiracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Hunters consider hunting by robot and mouse click 'a digrace to the sport,' whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

    This comment proves the vast left wing slashdot conspiracy. The truth: we don't oppose the killing as long as it is on our terms. It ain't that hard to understand is it? Let me help you "sciency" guys out a little:

    Abortion=BAD
    Death Penalty=GOOD

    See???

  25. Ban Internet hunting! by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1


    (set humor=1)


    Ban internet hunting! We must all do our part to preserve the endangered internets!


    (set humor=0)

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Ban Internet hunting! by op12 · · Score: 1

      alias humor "lame joke"

  26. Hicks by br4inst0rm · · Score: 2, Funny

    Damn those inbred internet hicks... Damn them to hell.

    --
    http://www.UnFiction.com http://www.ARGN.com http://www.ImmersionUnlimited.com http://www.Linux-SP.com
  27. Well there goes my next startup... by YodaToo · · Score: 1

    There is a cattle ranch behind my house and I was thinking of arming my ER1 with a 12-gauge.

  28. Floridian Spammers by Linker3000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why not tie the system into a selection of security cameras in Florida shopping malls and make it law there that anyone wishing to partake in mass emailing has to wear a bright coloured jacket with a target printed on the back in public - then we could solve two problems in one go!?

    Maybe I get your spam, maybe I don't - maybe you die, maybe you don't; it seems like a fair trade-off.

    --
    AT&ROFLMAO
    1. Re:Floridian Spammers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha ha ha! Oh gosh that's funny!

      That's really funny! Do you write your own material? Do you? Because that is so fresh. "Maybe I get your spam, maybe I don't - maybe you die, maybe you don't; it seems like a fair trade-off."

      You know, I've, I've never heard anyone make that joke before. Hmm. You're the first. I've never heard anyone reference hunting with spam so before. Because that's what you said, right? Isn't it? "Maybe I get your spam, maybe I don't - maybe you die, maybe you don't; it seems like a fair trade-off." And, and yet you've taken that and used it to make a joke in this everyday situation.

      God what a clever, smart person you must be, to come up with a joke like that all by yourself.

      That's so fresh too. God you're so funny!

  29. At least they have a chance... by irrision · · Score: 1

    At least they have a sporting chance with robots. After all if they're running windows if they don't get the BSoD first it'll be infested with so much spyware that they won't even be able to see their target through the hail of pop-ups.

    Thank god in America we can have human hunting robots for the military but god forbid we shoot something that would strip fields down to the soil with anything other than our nightscope equiped, low yield, laser-guided "hunting rifles".

  30. Rumour has it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that this is what the Safari browser was originally developed for.

  31. Why does there need to be a law for everything? by linguae · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why does there need to be a law for everything? How can the banning of Internet hunting be regulated, anyhow? What is the state going to do; get ISPs to look at the logs of everybody who are signed up at Internet hunting sites? Doesn't California have better and more important things to focus on, such as balancing the budget?

    1. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by doublem · · Score: 3, Insightful

      NO, they're just going to shut down anyone who tries to operate an Internet hunting operation in California.

      You see, they don't want unlicensed people using firearms in the state of California, especially when said persons aren't even IN the state but are using Video over IP and a computer to aim and fire a real gun.

      Internet hunting is, form a safety perspective, a very dumb and dangerous idea.

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    2. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by TheSync · · Score: 1

      My reading of the legislation is that it bans people in California from Internet hunting even when the animal is in another state.

      Virginia has passed legislation more in line with what you said, you can't set up an Internet hunting operation in Virgina, but can hunt over the Net if the quarry is in another state.

      Regarding safety, I will bet you that fewer people are killed in Internet hunting accidents than real hunting accidents. The theory is that these places will be closed ranges with pan-tilt heads for the rifles in very controlled conditions. Of course, no one has actually opened up an Internet hunting site to the general public yet...

    3. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by Wes+Janson · · Score: 1

      In the context of the company in question, it's no more dangerous than internet target shooting. It's not like a tour bus is going to pull up downrange in the middle of private, fenced-off, isolated game reserve and disgorge tourists right as the user fires the rifle. And in any case, there's someone sitting next to the gun controlling it, with an override ability. It literally could not be safer.

    4. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by Sierpinski · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that might give way to another protocol: MoIP.

      Murder over IP.

      Or, if you swear it was an "accident",

      Manslaughter over IP.

      I'd hate to be the guy servicing the cameras in that establishment. Instead of firearms they should use paintguns so you can see what a rabbit looks like in a nice marblized orange and purple swirl.

    5. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by doublem · · Score: 1

      Instead of firearms they should use paintguns so you can see what a rabbit looks like in a nice marblized orange and purple swirl.

      There's a major problem with that idea. The paintball impact would most likely shatter every bone in the rabbit's body, leaving it crippled, suffering but still alive. It's more merciful to just shoot it with a real gun. I knew some guys in college who used paintball guns to shoot squirrels. The results were generally horrific, and tended to live until a nearby hawk came down to finish the poor things off.

      And notice I said "I knew some guys" not "I was friends with."

      --
      "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
    6. Re:Why does there need to be a law for everything? by Kaki+Nix+Sain · · Score: 1
      It literally could not be safer.
      Well, unless it didn't involve a lethal firearm in any way.

      --

      (C) Kaki Sain, 2011. By reading this, you have illegally copied my property to your brain.

  32. Hunting is NECESSARY by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

    Tracking and killing innocent animals is NECESSARY idiot.

    Go to eastern Iowa or other parts of the united states (and probably worldwide with other species) and look at the some of the whitetail deer there. Because of taking over more and more land, cutting down more and more trees the population is dying of starvation and disease. Thinning the population is the HUMANE thing to do.

    --
    *DrugCheese rants*
    1. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      I guess it's a good thing that Califorians passed the law for California, than a law passed by a midwest state.

    2. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by way2trivial · · Score: 1

      I'm not anti-hunting.. don't participate, don't mind if others do it.. (for what it's worth, I've eaten plenty of game that neighbors or friends have had at hand)

      I agree, that if the trees get cutdown, the population pressures can readily demand a reduction of the herd..

      the real question is, do all the trees gotta be cut down?

      (seen bush's desire to give states the decision of allowing roads in national parks? do you know how many trees a logging company can get if montana allows 1 road per 10 sq miles of park? me neither, but I know the loggers are slobbering at the thought of their ability to take old growth trees from the park being in the hands of their governor, instead of the national parks dept.)

      --
      every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
    3. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

      I think hunting over the internet is BS. I was replying to the sarcastic line about 'hunting and killing innocent animals is ok'.

      --
      *DrugCheese rants*
    4. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

      I agree. Forests take hundreds of years to mature. We have no idea what we're doing to our planet.

      If no one remembers, plants are responsible for creating our oxygen ;)

      --
      *DrugCheese rants*
    5. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by drsquare · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Who cares about forests? I don't live anywhere near any of these National parks, and don't care to visit any of them, why should I care? They can all burn as far as I care. It's only fucking wood.

    6. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by bobbis.u · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Because of taking over more and more land, cutting down more and more trees the population is dying of starvation and disease. Thinning the population is the HUMANE thing to do.

      The most "humane" thing to do would be to stop encroaching on their environment and leave them be.

    7. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by kaiser423 · · Score: 1

      it's not the lack of forests. There's more deer now than there ever has been EVER. Let me repeat that, we have more deer now than when every single forest was 100% uncut. We have a substantial lack of predators and disease, which is why we have so many deer.

    8. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by kaiser423 · · Score: 1

      Only if you consider probably a mass (~30% or more) dying off of the deer population humane. If we stop regulating disease, and if we stop acting as predators, then the deer will boom for a year or two, and then crash horribly as they over-eat the food and expand too rapidly, and then without us continually searching for and then removing diseased deer, boom. Mass dying off of deer through starvation and disease. Seems rather humane. You're right.

    9. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by bobbis.u · · Score: 1
      Your argument appears contradictory to me. On one hand you are saying the disease is killing lots of them. On the other you are saying the population is getting out of control.

      In the short term, the disease (what sort of disease is it by the way?) will help control their population and in the long run, the animals more resistant to it will survive. This means it will act as a stabilising influence on the population over time.

      By randomly culling animals you could be wiping out the very animals that are resistant to the disease. Unless anyone is developing a vaccine for the disease (incredibly unlikely unless it affects farming animals), you are best not to intervene [this does assume the animal in question - deer - can reproduce relatively quickly and has a decent population size. Obviously the same practice cannot be used for white rhino for example.]

      The top poster also implied it was the destruction of their habititat that was reducing their food supply, not that the population was growing out of control. It would be far better to stop reducing the size of their habitat (but admittedly this is quite an idealistic point of view).

    10. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by Senor_Programmer · · Score: 1

      "The most "humane" thing to do would be to stop encroaching on their environment and leave them be."

      Yes, let the population grow to the point that the earth and everything else within reach is stripped bare and the deer are in such a sorry state that no one would want to eat them. Full of worms, covered with ticks, ribs showing, genetically defective members left to reproduce. It's much more humane than management. I do not exagerate and if you got your ass out in the woods you could see for yourself.

      Oh you say, what about the 'natural' predators. Sure, we've got coyotes. They do not reproduce as fast as the deer. Eventually they will catch up, overshoot, and we'll have coyotes snatching precious pussy and maybe even some of 'the children'.

      Yes, natural resource management, in addition to being good for the environment is 'good for the children'.

      You know all those forest fires we had out West a couple of years ago. They were the direct consequence of your IGNORANT 'leave nature alone to be nature' attitude.

    11. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What will all those predators in eastern iowa eat iy we kill all the deer ?

      Ohh ya hunters killed the natural predators.

      Idiots like you belive that its NECESSARY to be in iraq cause of all the problems there.(you now bombers and such)

    12. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

      I agree 1000%

      --
      *DrugCheese rants*
    13. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by DrugCheese · · Score: 1

      LOL

      Yes we did kill all the mountain lions in Eastern Iowa, but they're migrating back down again and we're probably going to have to kill them off again. Mountain lions kill children, thats the reason we killed them in the first place.

      No I don't believe it's necessary to be in iraq, our army is for defending our country, not liberating other countries. If it were I think we'd be in Africa helping the DEMOCRATIC counties there that are being overthrown. But nawwww ... there's no oil in Africa!

      --
      *DrugCheese rants*
    14. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by m50d · · Score: 1

      And so it will balance out. The overshooting coyotes will kill lots of the deer, then there won't be enough and the coyote population plummets, so the deer population rises, but less each time until it evens out again. And doing it that way will result in a much better stable population in the end. Nature knows what it's doing much better than we do, it's had 3 billion years to get it right. Humans trying to interfere in nature one way or the other always cause problems. In australia (I think) the ignorant humans put out all the fires, and now there's too much dry stuff that would normally be cleared out by the regular smaller fires so there's a real risk of an enormous fire destroying whole forests. That's what would result from stopping fires.

      --
      I am trolling
    15. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by bobbis.u · · Score: 1
      You completely missed the point I was making. The only reason they need "managing" is because humans have had such an impact in reducing/encroaching on their habitat. Deer, coyotes and every other species managed to survive millions of years with no intervention from humans. The populations are sustained by their predators and their prey (i.e. plants), in combination with natural selection.

      Then you let wind of the real reason for hunting them and indeeed allowing them to live at all - their meat. I'm sure you want great big fat deer that can barely run - much easier to shoot, much more meat per deer, much tastier. Again this a purely human factor. Deer can survive just fine with ticks, worms and their ribs showing. If genuinely isn't enough food, the least effective foragers will probably die. The genetically defective members you refer to are only defective in your point of view. If there was any serious problem with them they will not be able survive and reproduce. Some "defects" could prove beneficial in the long run.

      Your last paragraph shows your own ignorance. The only reason those forest fires were a problem are because of man. Large forest fire are perfectly natural when caused by lightning strikes. The forest will regenerate after a large fire pretty quickly and it gives a chance for species to compete for the new land again. There are some species that require forest fires to help them reproduce.

      Despite what you may think, I'm not anti-hunting at all. In the real world, I know that animals need to be managed. The point I was making is that the only reason "HUNTING IS 100% NECESSSARY" is because of the uncontrolled expansion of the human population, complete with its own diseases and starvation (see Africa).

    16. Re:Hunting is NECESSARY by Senor_Programmer · · Score: 1

      There is no such thing as 'humane' without humans.

      As for ignorance, animals are not rational. The do not take note of short term climatic variation and conserve resources. This leads to cycles of overpopulation followed by starvation, disease, and death. It's the driving force behind evolution. However, it's far from "humane".

      As for the forest fires, you are showing your ignorance. If you'll do a little research you'll find that the USFS, as a result of political pressure riven by 'emotional environmentalists' and encouraged by an influx of inexperienced idealistic young foresters changed their policy regarding fire control and prevention. The huge forest fires we saw a few years back resulted from: 1)Not allowing fires to burn naturally when they did start. 2)Cessation of managed burning. The uneducated squealed, lobbied, protested, ... that management was 'unnatural'. Well sure it's unnatrual, but the leap from unnatural to evil damnation of the environment is pure immagination. Unless, your goal is to maximize the rate of evolution with a 'natural' environment.

      As for population control, it's a political hot potato on both sides of the fence. It's opposed both by religious zealots and the guilt ridden component of the left(which is egged on by politicos jockying for power amongst the very groups that are suffering because of overpopulation).

      You can't have it both ways. If you want 'humanity' then you need management which includes humans. If you want 'nature' then you've got to accept that humans are just another animal and the overpopulation and damage to resources will, in the long run, sort itself out by way of evolution.

      "...he only reason "HUNTING IS 100% NECESSSARY" is because of the uncontrolled expansion of the human population..."

      Management(including hunting) is necessary in order to control populations to achieve a more comfortable environment for humans and animals.
      Even with their intelligence, forsight, and ability to rationalize, humans can not manage their own populations. In a world without humans, animals are not better at handling this task.

  33. Slantdot by Racine · · Score: 1

    "whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine"

    Come on, tell us your true feelings...

    --
    Tcl my Pico! There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
  34. About time... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's about time that they outlawed Deer Hunter. That game ruined my life! Now I'll have time to watch "The Dukes Of Hazard" DVDs.

  35. BAD PEOPLE - Take Life Force Remotely by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why do people still use the life force of other
    creatures for survival!

    Enlightend Products is proud to offer you:

    The photonic powered hydrocarbon constructor.

    Buy one today - and live guilt free.

    Non life harmful electron credit transfers
    accepted only.

  36. Haha, "sport" hahaha by wtom · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, sure it is a sport... Now, being a meat eater, I have no moral objections to hunting... But calling it a sport is silly. You kill an 8 point buck with a bowie knife and nothing else, I will call you a sportsman. You use a high powered rifle or a composite bow? That's hunting... Sport... heh...

    --

    Styrofoam IS biodegradable, you're just impatient!
  37. A real FPS! by Palal · · Score: 0, Troll

    Finally someone has come up with a real FPS! Next, an FPS on the streets of New York City with a remote-controlled robot! NICE!!!!! ====== Second ammendment does not belong in the constitution. ======

    --
    -Palal
  38. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by LittleLebowskiUrbanA · · Score: 0

    Why stop there? Why not play golf without a golf club? Pool without a stick? Hurdling without the hurdles?

  39. Can't control offshore shooting by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 3, Interesting
    How can they control offshore shhoting? Breed rabits etc in some shit-hole and charge your credit card.

    Of course most likely you'd not be really killing real animals, any more than you're talking to an innocent teen when you dial 0900-VIRGIINS. Instead you'd pay your $50 or whatever and the whole shooting would be mocked up, probably from Discovery channel footage. That way a few thousand cyberhunters get to "shoot" the same bambi and nobody really gets hurt except a few credit cards.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:Can't control offshore shooting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      Instead you'd pay your $50 or whatever and the whole shooting would be mocked up, probably from Discovery channel footage.
      I bet that Christmas lights guy is behind this...
    2. Re:Can't control offshore shooting by TheSync · · Score: 2, Insightful

      An I'm thinking, imagine Internet hunting in Africa...go on safari without leaving home. This could be a bigger money-maker in areas with elephants, lions, etc. It could even generate cash to replenish the "spent" animals.

      It is so sick, yet I think it is way too early to consider banning it, and I don't buy the "less noble than 'real hunting' concept".

    3. Re:Can't control offshore shooting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      reed rabits etc in some shit-hole and charge your credit card

      What, you mean Australia? Plenty of rabbits there, and almost no one on the continent would miss them. Go after the horny toads too and you'd be a hero...

  40. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 0

    Let's only call it the sport of computing if you are using an 8086. Using an Athlon or Pentium 4 is just too easy.

  41. Mixed feelings by realmolo · · Score: 1

    Well, deer are giant rats with antlers. There are too many of them, and their population needs to be controlled. I have no problem with shooting deer. Even if the meat is just going to be thrown out. I'm generally against hunting, but deer are a problem.

    HOWEVER, rounding up deer and putting them in a pen so people can kill them remotely is just...weird and stupid. So I have to say I'm against it. Should it be illegal? Probably not.

    1. Re:Mixed feelings by jotux · · Score: 1

      As a hunter, I talk to people from other states that see deer as pests, and a general problem. In california(I live in sacramento), since they aren't seen too often, most people see deer as bambi and his mother. So the thought of shooting bambi(or his mother) scares them into thinking that hunting is a bad thing.

      This internet hunting is another issue altogether. When I think of hunting, it's a process of tracking, and killing an animal. Using a computer to do this kinda perverses this process. It makes it more of a game. If your going to point and click, why not just buy a computer game? Does it make it that much funner knowing that something is actually dying when you shoot it?

      Either way...having california pass this law is rediculus. The hunting in california is notoriously bad....so passing a law here is bascially some liberal politicians stating there opinion through pointless legislation.

  42. Ironic really... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That this bill was passed in a state run by someone who can act about as well as a webcam taped to a gun...

  43. More teddy bears and padding for our cells by ishmalius · · Score: 1

    I think that hunting by remote control is ridiculous and reflects poor character. Yet what I dislike even more is the attempt by the whiners in our culture to make the world all pink and fluffy, safe and non-threatening. This is the type of weepy hand-wringing that is willing to forbid any type of behaviour for the feeling of comfort and security. The bandana-wearing Madame Dufarge refugees from the 70's have wrought a little bit more of their damage upon the country.

  44. It should be banned! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Internets are an endangered species. If we carry on hunting them, they'll become extinct!

  45. Sad really by Quirk · · Score: 1
    I was raised hunting and fishing. Coming from pioneer stock on both sides I was taught to hunt from a very early age and had alot of lore, and, firearms handed down to me. Killing for food is different from trophy hunting, but either way, if you're going to kill; do it cleanly and well, preferrably with one shot from a weapon matched to take down the game you intend to kill.

    I no longer own guns or hunt. I do hike wilderness areas with a camera and nothing but a K-bar for defense and utillity. What is missing from hunting is the incredible experience of facing large predators, (cougars, wolves, bears in my experience) and letting oneanother pass with respect and knowledge. Facing a 200 lb cat and walking away to leave it to it's ecosystem is an experience that diminishes hunting to a coward's game.

    --
    "Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
    Cohen
    1. Re:Sad really by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 1

      I no longer own guns or hunt. I do hike wilderness areas with a camera and nothing but a K-bar for defense and utillity.

      That won't help you when you pass by my cave...

      -- Ted Bear (Son of Huggy Bear, whose head you have on display above your fireplace)

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  46. Editorial in story submission by AtariDatacenter · · Score: 1

    ...whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine...

    What do you expect them to do, only hunt down the guilty animals? Perhaps just the carnivores and omnivores? :)

    1. Re:Editorial in story submission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're new here, right?

      This whole site is dedicated to liberalism ... otherwise, we would be able to "MOD" the mods...

  47. I'm a member by DaveAtFraud · · Score: 1, Redundant

    People
    Eating
    Tasty
    Animals

    Meat, ummmmm. Yummy. One of the best "roasts" I ever had was elk but my brother-in-law didn't "shoot" it by clicking a mouse. Ditto for some deer jerky one of the folks I used to work with brought in.

    --
    They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
    Ben
  48. Was this important to you? by BrookHarty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I dont see a difference between killing an animal for food or sport, even if the sport is done on the web.

    This sounds like passing a law for PR, nothing else. We dont need feel good, nanny laws created. This is law is purely about ones feeling about hunting, nothing more.

    People need to stop passing more laws for behavior and freedoms of the people, and deal with voilent crimes, polution or robbery. They need to stay out of peoples lives and hobbies.

    If they said "No Church Online" you bet there would be more people talking about this law.

    Serriously, do you need to be told what you can watch, what you can eat, who you can marry, whats proper in your own home? Damn if you people dont see this is a fluff law you are a sheep.

    1. Re:Was this important to you? by linguae · · Score: 1

      Exactly, I agree. This government is becoming more and more like a nanny state. People have brains, they should be able to think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions. The government shouldn't have to tell these thinking citizens what to do as if the government were the parents and the citizens were the children.

      This is exactly the reason why I will become a Libertarian, among some other important ones. These nanny laws are being passed by both Democrats and Republicans, all under the similar catch phrases such as "for the children's sake" and "saving innocent creatures." Once again, people can think, and people should be able to choose their behavior freely as long as that behavior isn't infringing on the rights of others. Instead of California passing laws banning Internet hunting and all of this other nonsense, they need to combat the budget deficit, fix our schools and transportation system, and start getting out of people's personal lives and hobbies.

    2. Re:Was this important to you? by evilviper · · Score: 0, Troll
      I dont see a difference between killing an animal for food or sport, even if the sport is done on the web.

      I have a hard time seeing logging-on to a website, and remotely aiming a gun, a "sport". At least with actual hunting, there is a certain level of physical activity involved.

      Do you see a difference between riding a bicycle yourself, and remotely controlling a motorized bicycle, in the Tour de France?
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    3. Re:Was this important to you? by m50d · · Score: 1

      Food is a basic necessity. It is a right, in fact, part of the basic human right to life. There is no basic human right to sport.

      --
      I am trolling
    4. Re:Was this important to you? by RobertB-DC · · Score: 1

      Food is a basic necessity. It is a right, in fact, part of the basic human right to life. There is no basic human right to sport.

      As I recall, one well-known country was founded on a Declaration that included not just life as a right, but also liberty, which could include the right to be as free as your ancestors were -- though there might be drawbacks to that. There's even an unusual-sounding right to a "pursuit of happiness", which, if you define "happiness" as "hunting $CRITTER_NAME", would imply a right to sport.

      --
      Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
    5. Re:Was this important to you? by evilviper · · Score: 1

      I've seen a lot of bad moderation on slashdot, but this one even surprises me. The above comment is certainly not a troll, just because you might not want to hear arguements in opposition to your views.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    6. Re:Was this important to you? by m50d · · Score: 1

      Both your arguments apply equally well to killing humans.

      --
      I am trolling
    7. Re:Was this important to you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there are two 'L's in 'pollution'.

    8. Re:Was this important to you? by RobertB-DC · · Score: 1

      Both your arguments apply equally well to killing humans.

      Ah, but that would be a most dangerous game, wouldn't it?

      --
      Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  49. Mmm meat by dangerz · · Score: 1

    "whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

    I'm assuming you don't like steak.

    --
    The greatest experience we can have is the mysterious.
    - Albert Einstein
    1. Re:Mmm meat by rhysweatherley · · Score: 1
      "I'm assuming you don't like steak."

      Steak isn't hunted. It is farmed, and the methods of slaughtering the animals is carefully regulated to ensure that it is as humane as possible - a bolt to the brain for a quick death usually. Not pretty, but hardly equivalent to stalking one's meat in the forest with a gun, with the animal slowly bleeding to death in pain because of a misplaced shot.

  50. I'll take the submitter's bait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.


    As opposed to buying them from some conglomeration that keeps them in overcrowded facilities, or at best, buying them from some place that still offs them in ways no less repugnant that blowing their brains out. Is it more moral to slit a throat or shoot the animal through the heart?

    Even worse are people like my neighbor's son's girlfriend. She's vegan and won't let him kill the slugs that are eating their food. I have to wonder what she does when she gets a cold. Moreover, since she is nowhere near self-sustaining in her crops she is supporting other people to kill the pests for her food out of her sight. It's more moral if you pay other people to do it out of your sight, I suppose.

    Pretty much anything that is alive feeds off the dead in some way. Assigning things with eyes or blood or less restricted movement more importance than other forms of life is arbitrary. We must be responsible in how and why we kill but it's ignorant to bitch about someone for the act of hunting an animal. Many, if not most, hunters use the animal's remains responsibly - from skin and flesh to bones and blood, it all gets harvested. Moreover, they help keep populations in check. Would it be better for the deer to die slow deaths from diseases like spongiform? Populations always come into check from a predator of some type, so if it's not human it will be a disease or another beast.

    I will admit I get some enjoyment from those occasional stories of a hunter being injured or killed by a wild animal. It says that there is at least some small semblance of the power wild animals left in our world. But still, to the original poster, I must give a hearty "Fuck you, you ignorant son of a bitch."
  51. News... by goodgoing · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine

    appended to the end of this story? I really don't have an opinion about hunting, but trolling the front page (to get more ad impressions from comment posters?) isn't cool.

    1. Re:News... by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why is 'whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine' appended to the end of this story?

      Because an unbelievable number of people think like that. You know, people who wear nice leather shoes, eat some meat with their dinner, and who have a domestic cat that, despite eating three times a day in the kitchen, stalks and kills neighborhood songbirds just because it's fun. People are spectacularly hypocritical and uninformed about this stuff, and know nothing about the monumental amount of work and cash that hunters put into wildlife management programs and wilderness preservation.

      On tonight's dinner menu at my house: pheasant that my wife, my dog, and I laboriously hunted in South Dakota last October. During that outing we pumped a couple thousand dollars into the vapor-thin local economy, walked over miles and miles of farmland, always filling in the host farmers on what we saw in their cornrows and pastures. The "innocent animal" bit only makes sense if you also consider mosquitos innocent, the earthworms that get sliced up by farm equipment creating vegan meals to be innocent, and so on. Bah. This topic is so rife with nonsensical, contradictory emotional baggage and anthropomorphized Disney-esque pablum. Yeesh.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    2. Re:News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      trolling the front page (to get more ad impressions from comment posters?) isn't cool.


      You're new here, aren't you?

    3. Re:News... by xeno-cat · · Score: 1

      Everyone jumped on the snide comment from the Slashdot editor. But the idea of sitting on the couch, sucking down some brewskis and ending an animals life via a remote controled robot gun pushes the limits of what can be considered "hunting". You know, The Wild Hunt and all?

      Your description of your pheasant hunt is exactly why killing animals via the Internet should not be allowed. If you want to hunt then get off your ass and hunt. If you think the world is some fucking amusement park brought to you by Gia, Inc. you've got another thing coming, which is what this law is about.

      If it Internet "hunting" comes to my state, I hope be able to vote for such a law too.

      How disconected and lazy can people get?

      Kind Regards

      --
      "A few great minds are enough to endow humanity with monstrous power, but a few great hearts are not enough to make us w
    4. Re:News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So when somebody sets this up offshore in the Cayman islands... you will do what? Cry?

    5. Re:News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you buy groceries online? Have you ever bought a steak with said online service? If so, you've done the same thing. You've condemned a (fraction of) a cow's life. (Yes the cow's already dead, but you've increased demand). The only difference here is that the Internet hunters are cutting out the middle man. It's like choosing your lobster from the tank.

    6. Re:News... by jesdynf · · Score: 1
      The "innocent animal" bit only makes sense if you also consider mosquitos innocent, the earthworms that get sliced up by farm equipment creating vegan meals to be innocent, and so on. Bah. This topic is so rife with nonsensical, contradictory emotional baggage and anthropomorphized Disney-esque pablum. Yeesh.

      I'll give you that. Wholly and without question, your words are true as written.

      But that /still/ doesn't mean I have to give the slightest amount of respect to anybody who talks about the "sport" of hunting -- or one who decries "internet hunting" as somehow less pure. Both end with a bag of meat that used to be breathing, and neither bullet, arrow, noose, pipe bomb, or laser tripmine is more "sporty" than the other.

      When you get down to it, as long as you aren't actually driving the species extinct, I have to conclude that I don't especially care if you're blowing animals away or not. America employs a great many people who stand around /deciding/ when and how you may blow animals away; I have to conclude they know what they're talking about. You wanna go do that, fine. Go for it. I'm not stopping you.

      Just don't think you're somebody for it.
      --
      Yahoo! Pipes are awesome. How awesome? http://pipes.yahoo.com/jesdynf/slashdot
    7. Re:News... by Fizzl · · Score: 1

      End of your comment hi-jacked for greater good!

      Thanks for my new sig :)
      Sorry, there was no room for attribution. I promise to guide anyone who asks to this comment ;)

    8. Re:News... by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Heh. While normally a great defender of artists' rights to direct the near-term fate of their material, I'll let you have that one on the house!

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a preacher donates to the boy scouts, does that make it ok for him to molest children?

      If a serial killer donates to orphanages, does it make it ok for him to kill and eat children?

  52. trolling by jotux · · Score: 2, Funny

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    yeah! outlaw all hunting, even by other animals. How could anyone or anything ever hunt and kill an innocent dear, or bunny! We should all become communist, vegan, and move into the wilderness.


    Why can't we moderate the index page?

    1. Re:trolling by DylanQuixote · · Score: 1

      I've never had much problems with hunting myself. I just wish people were forced to do it without guns or bow and arrow. Subsistance hunting is different, but very little hunting is that... If you want to hunt for the sport of it, it should be by your own power. ;)

    2. Re:trolling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Such morals... now, get me that hot coat hanger!! We have unviable fetuses to dispose of!

      --Timothy

  53. Interstate Commerce by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 1

    Cali cannot ban internet hunting. A state cannot impose a law that infringes on interstate commerce. If I have a server in Nevada and I'm charging people to hunt, then Cali lawmakers can get bent.

    If they try and stop their residents from connecting to my server, Nevada (or I) could sue at the federal level and have the law declared unconstitutional.

    Right?

    --
    I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
    1. Re:Interstate Commerce by TheSync · · Score: 1

      The SB 1028 theory is that "California hunting licenses are valid only within the state of
      California, and may not be used to take animals located in other
      states." However, I suspect that that it doesn't pass an interstate commerce test.

      On the other hand, there is US HR 1558, "Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act" waiting in the wings...

  54. Hey, Now! by catdevnull · · Score: 1

    "whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

    In the post-apocalyptic world that will soon be upon us, don't you come whining to my cave about not knowing how to hunt because you can't make your own damn tofu, you insensitive clod!

    --

    I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
  55. but Internet fishing is NOT banned! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    - thank heavens! i've got my virtual pier all set up, with the rods baited and the tide coming in!

    - want to fish? browse to:

    http://www.peta.org/

    (betcha they didn't think of Internet fishing, right?)

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

  56. Defense by Jemima's+Witness · · Score: 1

    I be surprised one bit if the government buys this this technology for sentry guns. Look for a beta version in the sequel to America's Army.

  57. innocent animals by krappie · · Score: 1

    The slashdot writer is completely right. We need more killing of guilty animals. ;o

  58. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by Morvandium · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How many of you criticising this legislation are actually hunters? As someone who is both a techie and an avid outdoorsman, I don't see any problem with this legislation. High powered rifles do not ensure a perfect hunt. I personally am against confined game farms where a hunters prey is pretty much domesticated, and I have a problem with doing it over a computer. Hunting can and should still be a challenge. I don't see something like internet hunting promoting, for example, an intimate parent/child bond as there's hours or days spent away from other distractions. I mean, seriously, if you're out hunting, you're off in the woods or the field, and there isn't an instant messenger or e-mail to pop up -- hell, damned cell phones are enough of a problem in the outdoors. It comes down to that Jurrasic Park conundrum: just because you can doesn't mean you should. Hunting over the internet is not a right. I can understand the advantage for disabled individuals, but then again, I hunt with people who are "handicapped" under my state's laws, and you know what -- there are already special accomadations for them, such as allowing the use of ATVs while hunting, or allowing the use of crossbows. And yes, fat, lazy Americans should get up off their asses to actually go hunt, if that's what they want to do. Sorry to say it, but every group of Americans could use some Darwinistic thinning -- if you want to go hunt, you should have to figure out how to use a gun, walk through the wilds, etc. Those who can't figure this out, and, say, accidentally shoot themselves, or die in the wilderness... well, go population control. And, I can see where PETA would call this a triumph on their part. I find it kind of odd to agree with PETA on something, because I'm usually against what they have to say. I mean, think about it this way ... what real arguments can anyone make for allowing this? What convincing situations and reasonings can someone present?

    --
    "If God's on our side, he'll stop the next war." -- Bob Dylan
  59. What all the fuss is about by Clowning · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.live-shot.com/ After viewing some of the links from that site I ran outside to make sure that my car was not up on cinder blocks.

  60. Room for Food by ScottyKUtah · · Score: 1

    There's room for all God's creatures.. right next to the mashed potatoes.

    --
    He who laughs last is at 300 baud.
  61. Re:Defense - DOH! by Jemima's+Witness · · Score: 1

    Or maybe some spelling/grammar technology integrated with slashdot.

  62. How can California do this? by poofyhairguy82 · · Score: 1
    How can California do this? The sites that allow people to hunt are here in Texas. They are on ranches where killing of deer preditors (to save cattle) has made the deer population become too large and many deer are starving. These ranchers set this up to control the populations and to make a quick buck in the process. Texas won't ban it because its seen as a noble way to fix the overpopulation (compared the the alternative of starvation) of deer. What good does this law do? Does it ban future sites from being set up in Cali? Does it exist just to make animal right's people (who don't understand the alternative of starvation) happy? I don't see how it could be enforced.

    Someone please explain. I like the idea of internet hunting, if only because the site of a starving deer is a sad one....

    1. Re:How can California do this? by Ziviyr · · Score: 1

      Mass starvation helps evolution along.

      We'll be taking notes from them soon enough.

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
  63. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by StupidKatz · · Score: 1

    You kill an 8 point buck with a bowie knife and nothing else, I will call you a sportsman.

    Nice sport. Can't we just have deer wrestling or something? First three-second pin wins?

    Personally, I'd much rather die due to a high-powered rifle bullet to the head than being stabbed to death with a knife. More than likely, a headshot critter won't have time to realize it's dead. OTOH, I'd rather not die by drowning in my own blood due to being lung-shot.

    Real hunters keep their armament in excellent working order, and their sights true. One shot, one (instant) kill - that's the way to do things.

    As for the "Internet hunting", well, that's just plain wrong. Not wrong as in horribly murderously wrong, but wrong as in a fat guy who can't get our of his current room because he can't fit through the doorframe. Should it be illegal, though? I don't think so, but that's the PRC for you. Still not a "sport".

  64. Here's the purveyor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    In case anyone's curious, here's the shootin' website in question. Here's an interesting snippet from the site:

    "An additional $60.00 is charged for meat processing. If you elect to keep the meat for your consumption, then this deposit is passed on to the meat processor. If you are unable to use the meat for yourself, a donation can be made to either a charitable orginization or to an animal orphanage. The $60.00 charge is then used as a contribution to these programs."

    Slashdot away!
  65. Re: Really? by EvilCabbage · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    "in many cases hunting acts as part of the ecosystem, preventing animal overpopulation."

    That must be why other nations not so obsessed with shooting shit are so overrun by wildlife.

    Yes sir, I can't even get to my fridge in the morning without tripping over several feral Kangaroos that have found their way into my house.

  66. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by oldwolf13 · · Score: 1

    wrestle a dear?!

    jesus... they won't even let you toss a dwarf.

    --
    If I can't smoke and swear I'm fucked.
  67. Fish and Game Commission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why should the California Fish and Game Commission care? It seems there job is to make sure that California's Fish and game is handled properly. But in this case, what's being shot is Texas's game. I don't see the need for an emergency law.

  68. good job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i'm completely for this legislation. California is once again at the forefront of quality legislation.

    Killing animals via remote control is absurd. I can understand how and why the military does this, via predator, etc...and that's okay with me.

    Why ? Because when the military kills, it has a chain of command that can be held accountable for error. They are following their orders.

    To compare this horrid hillbilly killing over the internet to military action or something like that is ludicrous. There are hick kids near where I live that kill animals for fun...not sport or food...just so they can giggle and watch 'em die. their parents are a-holes too, so i can see where it comes from.

    I imnagine the only people who seriously support this kind of crap are the same libertarian extemists who want to be able to sell body parts or live ammo and weaponry on ebay. there is such a thing as community standards and living within the rule or law.

    it you really want to roll back standards and the rule of law, well, you might as well let civilization collapse, because the baddest mofo in the area will be coming for your wife, daughter, and in particular your head...so he can stick it on a pike.

    it's fine if your the baddest mofo on your block...today...but there is most always someone bigger and badder that's gonna come for you tomorrow.

  69. grocery store hunters by davmoo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I assume, of course, that everyone here who is objecting to hunting in general is also vegitarian, right?

    If so, while I disagree with you, I can respect your feelings.

    But if not, you're a grocery store hunter and a fucking hypocrite.

    I don't hunt. I do eat meat. And I'm smart enough to know that, regardless of method used at the slaughter house, it ain't "sporting", and an animal died for that nice t-bone steak I'm having for dinner tonight.

    --
    I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
    1. Re:grocery store hunters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm opposed to hunting and am a vegetarian. I, however, still support slavery of animals, since I eat eggs and cheese, and drink milk.

    2. Re:grocery store hunters by kebes · · Score: 1

      You are right that some people have inconsistent/hypocritical ethics when it comes to treatment of animals. However:

      For the record, however, there are many meat-eating persons who oppose trophy hunting (but not necessarily hunting for food). This is not hypocritical.

      There are also meat-eating people who oppose hunting for safety reasons. For example, having firearms available in society for hunting purposes increases the risk of accidental gun deaths, whereas having sharp blades in slaughter-houses does not as greatly increase the chance of death. This is not a hypocritical stance, either.

      I'm not trying to be argumentative here. I merely want to point out that it is not *necessarily* hypocritical to eat meat and yet discourage hunting.

    3. Re:grocery store hunters by davmoo · · Score: 1

      You're not being argumentative here, and in fact I agree with you almost entirely.

      Although I probably should have been more specific, and in that regard am just as guilty of a generalization, the posts I was directing my post at were those that were giving a blanket condemnation of all forms of hunting of animals without exception or distinction...and that type of post, at the time I was posting, were by far the majority type of post. Likewise most posts at that point were condeming all hunters for using high-powered equipment...even though a great many hunters use archery or black powder equipment. Not everyone hunts with a MAC-10 full auto machine gun :-)

      And for the record, you can put me down as opposed to trophy hunting. If you hunt an animal and it puts food on your table, even if it also puts a head on the wall, I have no problems with that and will do what ever I can to defend your right to hunt. I'd even let you hunt on my property if you asked (especially if you give me a nice hunk of deer meat in return). But I think those who hunt an animal, cut off the trophy head, and leave the rest of the carcass in the woods to rot are the lowest of the low, regardless of their choice of hunting equipment.

      --
      I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
    4. Re:grocery store hunters by Minstrel+Boy · · Score: 1
      And I'm smart enough to know that, regardless of method used at the slaughter house, it ain't "sporting", and an animal died for that nice t-bone steak I'm having for dinner tonight.

      Personally, I prefer to think it was just maimed, and may recover to live a long and happy life. Don't disillusion me!

      KeS

  70. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by TheSync · · Score: 1

    Be careful, the rights of people disabled by morbid obesity to hunt is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act!

  71. Ob Obscure comment: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What are you talking about. There are no deer in Agincourt....

  72. Hmmm. by ibm1130 · · Score: 1

    A thought occurs.
    Its not so much they object to shooting animals over
    the internet its that they're afraid someone will
    take it the next logical step and start shooting
    politicians. Vermin are vermin after all.

  73. Too bad I can't kill my beef this way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want that one.....he didn't put up much of a fight......how about that one.......ummmmm, no, that one.........and I want a glass of milk from that one.

  74. Internet Controlled Weapons Considered Harmful by Al+Mutasim · · Score: 1

    It is too hard to get right. When will someone die because of (anonymous?) access to a public Internet weapon interface? I can't imagine the day isn't coming, whether or not there are laws. Will it be intentional or accidental? I don't want to write that app.

  75. This law needs a loophole. by AtariAmarok · · Score: 1

    This law needs a loophole, for those who might be doing something useful, like hunting spammers remotely over the Internet.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:This law needs a loophole. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, we are sorta kindo doing this every night watching on CNN how US and Brit soldiers hunt innocents in Iraq and they don't even eat the meat...

  76. Some of us Alaskans need to eat by core+plexus · · Score: 1
    I live in Bush Alaska, and but for moose, bear, fish, and other animals, I would starve. I don't live in Californicate or Worst Virgina, so I don't know what it is like there. But here, I can't run down to the grocery store for a piece of beef or chicken. I hunt for real, and to live, and leave my computer in the cabin. I also gather wild plant foods. The upside is that I know my food is hormone-and-drug-free.

    -cp-

    Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack

    1. Re:Some of us Alaskans need to eat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure about the Californians (never been there), but the West Virginians I have met (been there alot) would whole heartedly support you in this. So, please don't insult them. They are some of the nicest people I know in the country.

    2. Re:Some of us Alaskans need to eat by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      out of interest

      do you do a day job as well as hunting?

      do you do bits on the side on top of hunting?

      do you sell some of the meat you get from hunting?

      just wondering how you pay for your internet connection etc

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  77. On the bright side . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's open season on Kalifornians!

    Funny how Kalifornians think it's okay to violate whatever laws they choose (S.F. okaying gay marriage, ignoring illegal aliens, not executing prisoners on death row, etc..), but want to crack down on things that are perfectly legal (smoking, hunting, fishing, logging, BBQing outdoors, mowing your lawn, making a profit, etc..)

  78. Bah... by Robotron23 · · Score: 0


    I for one am sick of having to rid myself of casino adverts and pop ups with adaware, aswell as declining access to parts of my browser cache to keep the clever stuff out.

    Lets hope that in less than a decade, malware and spyware is banned too, this is just one small step in the right direction.

  79. Truely scary... by Whyte · · Score: 1

    It scares me that your post was modded "Insightful" rather than "Funny". Seriously, I'm scared.

    --
    -- No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats, approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less.
    1. Re:Truely scary... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you don't live in america do you?

  80. Just a little complaint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine...

    There's something I don't get with people like the person who wrote that story. I mean, the human body is constructed and designed to eat flesh. Nearly every (thinking) living beeing is designed to eat flesh. You don't like it when hunters kill animals, you don't like it when a factory kills 1000 heads per day...

    WTF DO you like?

    Every animal must hunt its own food and so it the human. Eat vegetables if you don't like how it is. But it will allways be this way and it is the nature's way.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not for killing animals for fun or anything like that. But it pissed me off when I hear the so-called animal lovers saying we shouldn't eat flesh, because we kill animals by it. Like what the hell... If you believe in god then go give him shit not us, because he made it this way. Or answer me this; do you feel the same way when you watch tigers eating through a live zebra? I mean, it's like saying don't exhale, because you are killing air.

  81. Obligatory.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Soviet Russia, Internet hunts YOU!

  82. My my. by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 1

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    You obviously don't get the same kind of deer we do in South Carolina. Imagine rats with really long legs. Throw into that the two people in my county killed by impalement just for walking across the wrong field at the wrong time.

    --
    Direct away from face when opening.
    1. Re:My my. by ErikTheRed · · Score: 1

      You're speaking to a community of people who haven't been outside of the basement in years. Everything they know about wildlife is from watching Disney movies. They think you want to kill Bambi, the sentient, loving deer. And Thumper!

      Myself, I grew up in Texas where killing critters and varments is still considered an inalienable right. And I have a great story about punting a 'possum (literally).

      --

      Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
    2. Re:My my. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where 'critters and varments' are defined as any living thing which is not on the Texas electoral role?

  83. Guilty by AtariAmarok · · Score: 1

    Proven beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law of guilt of being tasty, that is!

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  84. Re:Wait... Logic Check...(offtopic but true) by EtherAlchemist · · Score: 5, Funny


    But on some level you now understand what its like to crap in the bushes like a deer.

    Or piss on one.

    My dad and I were hunting years back on a tree farm. About 20 minutes before sunrise (can't shoot here till then) he went off to take a leak. A minute later I hear some loud rustling and he yelled astring of curses.

    He had walked up to a clump of tall grasses and was relieving himself when a buck jumped up from within the grass, where it was sleeping, and ran off. My dad had pissed on it and woke it up.

    He said "imagine being that buck's wife and trying to explain who's scent that is!"

    --
    R(k)
  85. Online hunting is evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If its anything like the online cams, can you imagine thousands of online people clicking LEFT LEFT UP UP RESET FIRE FIRE all at the same time its any wonder it works at all :D

  86. does that mean Sara Connor is safe for now? by infonography · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I wonder if it will get past Governor/Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Consider how much money he made in the Terminator movies.

    --
    Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
    1. Re:does that mean Sara Connor is safe for now? by Mondoz · · Score: 1

      Perhaps if they used these things to spawn-camp the commission's members, and take 'em all out, this wouldn't be an issue anymore.

      But then, you know there'd be whiners going on about camping, and the use of aim bots...

      --
      /sig
    2. Re:does that mean Sara Connor is safe for now? by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      It most likley would get past Arnold. Even though he is into big gun movies and a republican, Arnold himself isn't verry pro gun. Or at least he believes in regulating them. Somethign of this nature would probably not fall into some "sentimental rights catagory" and i doubt he would take any special interest in it.

  87. Football is a sport. Hunting is not. by Deputy+Doodah · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Killing animals over the internet is not hunting, it's just slaughtering animals for your own jollies.

    I am a hunter. When I hunt animals, I am out in the woods with them. Sometimes I find game and sometimes I do not...it all depends on how quiet I am, if I'm tracking correctly, and how well I know the behavior of the critter I'm looking for. It is NOT a sport.

    I am out out there to get meat to put on the table. If I can't eat it, I won't kill it. If I kill it, I eat it. It's as simple as that.

    Any yahoo who would take part in in such an abomination as this deserves jail time.

    1. Re:Football is a sport. Hunting is not. by TheSync · · Score: 1

      Any yahoo who would take part in in such an abomination as this deserves jail time.

      If you are a hunter, you should know that plenty of people think the same thing about your hunts in the wild, so I suggest not trying to limit the rights of those who would hunt over the Net...

      BTW, how do you know that, for an extra fee, the Internet hunting vendors won't overnight you the meat on dry ice? Probably a good up-sell.

    2. Re:Football is a sport. Hunting is not. by Motherfucking+Shit · · Score: 1
      I am a hunter. When I hunt animals, I am out in the woods with them. Sometimes I find game and sometimes I do not...it all depends on how quiet I am, if I'm tracking correctly, and how well I know the behavior of the critter I'm looking for. It is NOT a sport.
      I am a basketball player. When I play another team, I am out on the court with them. Sometimes I land a bucket and sometimes I do not...it all depends on how alert I am, if I'm responding to players' movements correctly, and how well I know the tactics of the other team. It is NOT a sport.

      Yeah, I didn't think it made sense either.

      I'm not a big proponent of hunting without using the animals you kill, and I respect the fact that you, too, will only kill what you will use. That doesn't mean that hunting isn't a sport. Even pure marksmanship, with nothing to "kill" but a target, is a sport.
      --
      "BSD: Free as in speech. Linux: Free as in beer. Windows 10: Free as in herpes." --Man On Pink Corner in #52607549.
  88. Just fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    TheSync, in the article submission, wrote: "Hunters consider... killing innocent animals... is just fine."

    That's right, they do. And so do I.

    When a wolf tracks down a deer and kills it, I presume TheSync has no problem with that. It's just nature in action, right? Well, why should it be okay for a wolf but not okay for a human? Aren't humans part of nature?

    And by the way, humans have already messed up the balance of nature. It used to be that there were plenty of wolves around to eat all the deer. Thanks to humans, there aren't that many wolves around anymore. But deer are a prey species. If SOMETHING (or SOMEONE) doesn't hunt deer, the deer population will explode; and after it explodes the deer will overeat their environment and there will be a big die-off. Which is better, leaving a deer to die from hunger, or shooting it?

    The government regulates hunting, you know. Hunters don't just walk around randomly shooting stuff. Experts evaluate the wildlife situation and figure out what the appropriate level of hunting is, and regulate from there. With careful choices of what can be hunted, the ecosystem can be STRENGTHENED, not hurt.

    And I hope that TheSync is a hard-core vegetarian, or else he/she has an inconsistent value system. If you are willing to eat meat, you should be willing to allow others to hunt animals.

    Anyone who wants to discuss hunting should read this:

    http://www.logicsouth.com/~lcoble/dir9/deer.txt

    Sorry I couldn't find a copy formatted a bit better than that one. Anyway, here is a quote from that:

    It seems clear that it is entire ecosystems that deserve our attention, not simply this animal or that one. When there are no predators except humans, predation by humans, on a species designed by millions of years of evolution to be prey, by those willing to pay for the privilege, is a reasonable alternative (at least in the case of white-tailed deer). Considering the status of the white-tailed deer today, there is no truly compelling reason, philosophical or otherwise, to prohibit the hunting of deer in areas in which the non-hunting populace will not be subjected to undue danger.
    1. Re:Just fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  89. Need a band-aid by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Hunters consider hunting by robot and mouse click 'a digrace to the sport,' whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    Need a band-aid for that bleeding heart? This story has NOTHING to do with news for nerds nor stuff that matters.

    I am a hunter. I don't believe that it's sporting to hunt via an internet connection, but I don't like any sort of bans on the sport.

    I would prefer that true hunters protest and boycott the place and drive them out of business.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    1. Re:Need a band-aid by antiaktiv · · Score: 1

      I am a hunter. I don't believe that it's sporting to hunt via an internet connection What's the difference really? I remember The Daily Show doing a piece on this, and it seemed like it was mostly for hunters who were now unable to go out in the forest, such as old men in wheelchairs. If they love doing it as much as you do, but are unable to, why would you want to take that away from them? I'm against hunting, as I think all lives are equal, and killing for personal enjoyment is wrong, but I don't understand you argument here. What's the difference between killing in a cold wet forest or in the comfort of you own home? And yes, I realize I just used The Daily show as a source, but that's all I know about this thing.

    2. Re:Need a band-aid by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      What's the difference really?

      The difference is that hunting is a competition between an animal's senses and instinct against a human's intellect and discipline. Animals can smell and hear us long before we can see them. A servo mounted rifle removes the only advantage that the animals have. It's not sporting.

      If they love doing it as much as you do, but are unable to, why would you want to take that away from them?

      Because it's not hunting. It's just killing.

      I'm against hunting, as I think all lives are equal, and killing for personal enjoyment is wrong, but I don't understand you argument here.

      This statement explains why you don't understand it.

      What's the difference between killing in a cold wet forest or in the comfort of you own home?

      Sport.

      How much fun is it to beat a comatose person at chess? If there's no competition, there is no sport.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    3. Re:Need a band-aid by m50d · · Score: 1

      If it's not enjoyable for the "hunter", and that's what matters, then where is the need for the law? People wouldn't do it if they didn't enjoy it.

      --
      I am trolling
    4. Re:Need a band-aid by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      If you read my original post in this thread, you know that I'm opposed to the law. I am also opposed to the activity, I believe that hunters should oppose this outfit and drive them out of business via a boycott.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  90. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by northcat · · Score: 1

    In golf, pool or hurdling your opponent too has the same equipment as you do. Not so in hunting.

  91. Vlad is alive and well in South Carolina by AtariAmarok · · Score: 1
    "Throw into that the two people in my county killed by impalement just for walking across the wrong field at the wrong time."

    Ah. Vlad the Impaler is alive and well in South Carolina, and working his extreme form of justice there. I wonder if the victims were guilty of having indoor furniture on the lawn.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  92. What is this? by whativewanted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm sure I'm not the only one asking this question, but what exactly IS internet hunting?

    1. Re:What is this? by folstaff · · Score: 1
      "Hunting" range has an internet camera pointing at a baited field. Camera is linked to a scoped rifle on a remote control tripod. You pay, you point, you aim, you click and you shoot.

      Disgusting.

    2. Re:What is this? by SagSaw · · Score: 1

      Basically, someone sets up a remotely-controlled gun and allows others to aim and fire the gun via the internet (or some other remote method). In the examples I've seen, there is an operator at the gun who must enable the physcial gun immediately before the remote gun can be fired.

      One reasonable use claimed for this technology is to allow people with disabilities to hunt when they otherwise wouldn't be able to. Whether this is a good idea (vs. simply buying them a copy of "Deer Hunter") is debatable.

      --
      Come test your mettle in the world of Alter Aeon!
  93. Unlicensed Individual? by void* · · Score: 1

    You do understand that you do not need a license to operate a firearm, don't you?

    I live in California - a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation - and I do not need a license to operate a firearm.

    There's a little card you have to get to legally buy a handgun, but if that expires, you don't need to renew it unless you'd like to buy another.

    Or were you referring to a hunting license?

    (Note that this is not an argument for hunting over the internet.)

    --


    Code or be coded.
  94. Innocent animals? by Malc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What is this innocent animals statement? Is the writer trying cast aspirations about hunters?

    My brother-in-law is hunter in SW Ontario. We all enjoy the spoils of his "sport" Not much of the animal is wasted. Let me tell you, fresh Ontario Bambi steak off the charcoal BBQ is to die for. I have vension steaks and gound/minced vension for chilli in my freezer too, and will be a far healthier for me than N. American beef that has been pumped full of anti-biotics and growth hormone, fed things that aren't part of its normal diet and has more chance of giving me nvCJD than anything from the UK. And yes, I am aware that there is an epidemic in parts of N. America where elk and deer are dying of a disease similar to BSE.

    For all those meat eaters out there who make anti-hunting comments: are you prepared to kill you own animals, gut them, and prepare them? Or will only accept it in the sterilised format from the supermarket? Think about it. Some people have good reasons, some are just hypocrits.

    Finally, I do realise there is some basis for the author's statement. I do realise that there are "hunters" out there who are just in it for the guns and killing. I don't have much respect for them either. Maybe there is a cultural difference between the US and Canada too (somebody please enlighten me) - muzzle-loading season for deer around here lasts one week, the rest of the time my brother-in-law has to hunt with a bow and arrow (crossbow in recent years actually).

    1. Re:Innocent animals? by Guido+von+Guido · · Score: 1
      Gun season here (I'm in Wisconsin) is usually pretty short--a week or two. I admit I'm fuzzy on the details since I don't hunt deer (I usually hunt birds of one kind or another, and I'm not real serious about it).

      Lately the whole damn thing has been screwed up by chronic wasting disease (similar to mad cow disease). The decision was made to essentially eradicate the affected deer population to prevent it from spreading. So gun season has been much longer.

    2. Re:Innocent animals? by bm_luethke · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Finally, I do realise there is some basis for the author's statement. I do realise that there are "hunters" out there who are just in it for the guns and killing. I don't have much respect for them either. "

      Even in rural East Tennessee (home of the hick rednecks) there are few like that. Most other hunters do not care for it either. But, as long as they folow game laws they are still putting several hundred a year into conservation (liscenes and taxes on some hunting supplies) and game laws are set to preserve the herd, it is irrelevent your reasons why. Unfortunatly those people are usually poachers too.

      "Maybe there is a cultural difference between the US and Canada too (somebody please enlighten me) - muzzle-loading season for deer around here lasts one week, the rest of the time my brother-in-law has to hunt with a bow and arrow (crossbow in recent years actually)."

      That would depend on your state. In much of the US crossbows are seen as an extremely unethical way of taking a deer. Most feel you might as well be shooting a gun and it takes the skill out of archery (personally, I don't really care). Since I hunt with bows and arrows I made myself few would want to be held to that standard - usually quite funny if I decide to be hardline back at the compound bow shooters like they are to the crossbow guys.

      In Tennessee Archery season and gun season are quite long, muzzleloading is a week long. The big differences are in what you can and can't kill. Archery and muzzleloading are either sex hunts, you can kill both does and bucks. Gun season is buck only. The limit for the number of game taken is highest in archery (six where I hunt, at most two bucks), and lowest in gun (two, where I hunt, though season long limit on bucks is three - so if you kill two in archery, one in muzzleloading, your done for the year).

      I don't understand why some feel one weapon is ethical and another isn't (as long as both provide a quick clean kill - amusingly enough many anti-hunters who talk about using a knife - that would be a very brutal, long, and painful way to die compared to hunting equipment). Double lung or heart - deer is dead in seconds regardles if from an arrow or bullet. Games laws usually are set up where the skill needed is about equal (gun you can only kill the older, smarter bucks - in archery you can kill any deer). If they are not set that way then you have a serious ecological problem that the game comission is trying to fix (two counties in Tennessee had a limit of 127 does per person during gun season - the deer had become so overpopulated the damage they were doing was incrediable and it will take decades for local wildlife population to return to normal, some species even need to be reintroduced as the deer made them extinct locally). I do know some states severely limit gun hunting because there are no backstops for bullets and a missed shot may travel 5 miles and hit something/someone (east Tennessee doesn't have that problem, too many mountains/hills), I would guess parts of Canada have the same issues.

      Ultimatly as long as the kill is quick/clean, the game is managed properly, and the method is safe for everyone else I don't see why one would be against hunting by any method. Deer do not have a sense of comsic fulfillness from an arrow (or if the state or food packagers kill them) and regret from a hunters bullet, nor does game management care how they are killed.

      --
      ------- Sorry about the spelling, I suffer from two problems. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell well, lazy makes it
    3. Re:Innocent animals? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Generically you can think of two poles to the spectrum; honorable hunters and dishonorable hunters.
      Most decent people fall in honorable.

      I figure the percentage of jerks is same in the US as in Canada.

  95. Manliness by northcat · · Score: 1

    Why do I get the feeling that most of these posts are driven by some sort of homophobia that exists in USA?

    1. Re:Manliness by northcat · · Score: 1

      Either that or some sense of "superiority" over other beings. Now that I think of it, the latter appears to be more correct.

  96. Tennessee too by espo812 · · Score: 1
    Game and Fish Laws - Prohibits computer-assisted remote hunting in the state; penalty is Class A misdemeanor. - Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 4.
    The above from Tennessee SB1505 which was signed by the governor on 22APR.
    --

    espo
  97. It certainly is by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 1
    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine
    It's certainly less disgraceful than herding them up by their millions in disgusting environments and forcing them through machinery to be slaughtered en masse.
    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
    1. Re:It certainly is by NeuroManson · · Score: 1

      Or, like certain supreme court justices and vice presidents prefer, shoving them into crates and unloading both barrels the moment the crates are opened.

      --
      Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
  98. Hunting by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 5, Informative
    Interesting side note: American forests have been experiencing a major decline in their biodiversity over the last few decades. The cause? Deer. Because of strict limits on the hunting of deer, deer populations in the US (and no doubt Canada as well) are now so large that they are decimating forests.

    There wouldn't be a problem, except that the predators that would normally keep deer in check are largely absent. No one wants cougars or packs of wolves living near their town. But without these top predators, deer populations have nothing to keep their numbers down -- except hunting.

    Therefore, interestingly enough, conservation demands that we hunt more deer.

    It's not unlike the paradox of the principal-of-least-harm. In order to minimize the number of animals that die on account of your diet, it's best to eat nothing but large free-range ruminants. A vegetarian diet results in enormous numbers of rodents and insects being killed by threshers and harvesting machinery.

    I guess I'm a little off-topic now...

    1. Re:Hunting by digismack · · Score: 1
      --
      http://www.hollowdepth.com
    2. Re:Hunting by bigpat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What do you mean nobody wants cougars or wolves near their towns? There are a lot of us willing to allow larger predators back where they belong. We may or may not be a minority, but I know we are a far cry from "No one"

      I am not against hunting deer. Nor against hunting deer via robot hunters as long as the venison is taken with the intention of consumption.

      But the argument that it is either hunting or letting the big bad wolf eat your children is not going to scare all of us. People can exists with cougars and wolfs just fine with the proper precautions.

      The results of killing all the wolves has had bad effect in the hundred years since their elimination. As you say biodiversity has been harmed by largely unrestrained deer populations in some areas, but increasing hunting allowances is not the only answer.

    3. Re:Hunting by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Ahhh yes!

      The old 'kill the deer to save it from dying' arguement.

      I wonder how the ecosystems of the world managed at all for so many millions of years before humans came around to 'balance' it all.

      --
      George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
    4. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, that's the point. We've already decimated the higher-level predators in the food chain (wolves, cougars, etc), so the food chain IS already destabalized. Unfortunately, by displacing the high end of the food chain, we have put ourselves in a situation where we have to fill in that role.

    5. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, yes. The old "post a knee-jerk response without even bothering to think about it" non-argument.

    6. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live in Canada near the US border and we have plenty of wolves (and deer) here. I've never once even heard a story about a wolf harming a human here. We have alot more trouble with bears.

    7. Re:Hunting by carpe_noctem · · Score: 1

      A vegetarian diet results in enormous numbers of rodents and insects being killed by threshers and harvesting machinery.

      I guess I should switch my diet to eating rodents and insects now, right?

      --
      "Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
    8. Re:Hunting by Raistlin99 · · Score: 1

      What part of his argument did you miss. He says its due to the fact that there are no large predators around to keep the population in check. Thats why humans have to step in and cull the herd.

      --
      I/O, I/O, its off to disk I go, with a read and a write, and a bit and a byte, I/O, I/O, I/O, I/O
    9. Re:Hunting by YOU+LIKEWISE+FAIL+IT · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wolves and other large predators. Read his comment, please!

      Wolves have been driven to near extinction in a great chunk of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Nobody likes living with large predators on their doorstep, and for that reason, they've been trapped and hunted to a shadow of original population levels.

      Yes, we caused the problem, but our options right now to fix it are as follows: reintroduce high end predators to areas now contested for use with humans ( I favour this approach, and some places like the Algonquin Park have a blanket ban of wolf hunting, but not all agree ) or manually cull deer, etc, numbers. It's really that simple.

      Of course, yes, the ecosystem will eventually rebalance to a new, diversity-poor, deer-heavy state if we do nothing - just as it has for 'so many millions of years' - but I like the ecosystem we have now, and I'd like to see steps to see it preserved.

      -- YLFI

      --
      One god, one market, one truth, one consumer.
    10. Re:Hunting by dabigpaybackski · · Score: 4, Interesting
      In many areas of the U.S., particularly the Northeast, the gap made by the wolves' extermination has been filled by coyotes, who are extraordinarily adaptable and defy eradication efforts better than larger predators. Visit the northern woods and you'll see (if you're very lucky, that is) coyotes that weigh twice as much as their relatives in the Western U.S. It's quite amazing, actually; they have evolved in a very short span of time to take down the larger prey that wolves and cougars once hunted, though some of this is attributed to cross-breeding with the red wolf population. Coyotes are, in a real sense, becoming the wolves. I think this is a long-term shift in the ecological balance that will not be reversed, even as large predators are slowly introduced into the areas depopulated by extermination campaigns.

      But the public in most areas is largely unaware of what sort of damage the burgeoning deer population can do to the woods. They just graze and graze and cause automobile accidents. And interestingly enough, they are involved by far in more fatal attacks on people than any other North American wild mammal. Yet people fear the quite miniscule numbers of wolves and cougars...

      --
      "OH SHIT, THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL!"
    11. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you fucking kidding me? Where do you live? "The big bad wolf?" Don't trivialize matters. Large predators are dangerous around people. They're dangerous to people's pets. They're dangerous to children.

      You clearly don't live in suburbia. Maybe it's easy for you to say "bring back wolves" when you're safe in downtown whatever. Or maybe you're in farming country, away from the natural habitat of wolves. But look, if you're in a suburban area with lots of woodland, you'd realize that you'd have to be crazy to let wolves run around wild. We shouldn't have to take "proper precautions" in order to let wolves roam. Especially when those precautions include staying inside and owning a shotgun.

    12. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting side note: American forests have been experiencing a major decline in their biodiversity over the last few decades. The cause? Deer. Because of strict limits on the hunting of deer, deer populations in the US (and no doubt Canada as well) are now so large that they are decimating forests.

      Interesting, except in many areas deer are actually imported in specifically to give hunters something to shoot at, they could just as easily be steralized, but then the hunters would be upset.

    13. Re:Hunting by TheGavster · · Score: 1

      Ecosystems managed with large predators. Now the large predators have guns. Problem? I think not.

      --
      "Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
    14. Re:Hunting by Cylix · · Score: 1

      If I see a pack of deer, I tend not to worry too much, but rather slow down my driving speed.

      If I happen to find myself surrounded by a pack of coyotes... well... I get very scared.

      Actually having been surrounded by a pack of coyotes I can say it's not quite as peaceful as being around a pack of deer.

      Now, when someone says, don't go out late because there are coyotes around... really... listen... they apparently aren't mythical beasts.

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    15. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not against hunting deer. Nor against hunting deer via robot hunters as long as the venison is taken with the intention of consumption.

      What difference does it make what happens to the deer after it dies? I'm sure the deer doesn't give a damn. And it isn't like there is a single internet hunter who can't afford to feed his family, so the deer is dying for sport any way you slice it...or don't slice it, as the case may be.

    16. Re:Hunting by Eagle5596 · · Score: 1

      He's a slashbot, you'd be better off asking "What part of the argument didn't you miss." Like as not, he didn't even read it at all.

    17. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There has not been one documented and verified case of an unprovoked wolf attack on a human in the united states in recent time. There HAVE been many wolf hybrid (wolf/domestic dog) attacks, though.

    18. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes, and are you fucking crazy? There are absolutely no precautions that you would have to take that would be different than you otherwise would as a parent or pet owner. As someone else said, coyotes are almost as big as wolves and they roam many suburbs with relatively few incidents. you wouldn't let small children run around unsupervised, so I don't see how caution would be any different than now. Mountain lions are a fact of life in many California suburbs and people have learned to live with them again all without many serious incidents.

      I don't think anyone is saying to drop off a truckload of wolves at your local pre-school, but certainly reintroduction at national parks and state forests should be done to establish some breeding populations. And if a few stray close to more densly populated areas, then so be it, they can be tranked and trucked away on a case by case basis if people get nervous.

    19. Re:Hunting by shawb · · Score: 1

      That's because real wolves are sh*t scared of humans. Now a wolf/domestic dog hybrid, on the other hand, can be very dangerous. Unfortunately letting wolves move closer to people will lead to more hybrids. Any hybrid attack will be viewed as a wolf attack by the reactionary locals.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    20. Re:Hunting by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      What do you mean nobody wants cougars or wolves near their towns? There are a lot of us willing to allow larger predators back where they belong. We may or may not be a minority, but I know we are a far cry from "No one"

      He's saying that anyone who holds such idiotic ideals is a "nobody".

      As you say biodiversity has been harmed by largely unrestrained deer populations in some areas, but increasing hunting allowances is not the only answer.

      It's not the "only" answer, but it's the best answer.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    21. Re:Hunting by learn+fast · · Score: 1

      That's a nice idea, but even totally unrestricted deer hunting wouldn't be enough to keep deer populations down significantly, and in many (most?) of the habitats where deer are found (ie suburbs) hunting is not feasible.

      The only thing that can keep deer populations down are natural predators, but as you mention, nobody likes wolves or mountain lions.

    22. Re:Hunting by Fancia · · Score: 1

      Surely conservation would demand restoring predators to proper levels in order to restore the self-conserving natural balance, not the artificial culling of deer you propose.

      --

      Bít, zabít, jen proto, ze su liska!
    23. Re:Hunting by civilizedINTENSITY · · Score: 1

      Would wild wolves and domestic dogs interbreed without human intervention? I question the rate of occurrence of this in the wild, but have no training in biology.

    24. Re:Hunting by civilizedINTENSITY · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wouldn't eatting insects make sense, though? Could we design beef flavored roaches? Assumed, since most everything tastes like chicken, that chicken flavor would be too easy.

    25. Re:Hunting by bluGill · · Score: 1

      Hey, I'm a natural predator. I like killing deer, my cat likes killing mice.

    26. Re:Hunting by Spunk · · Score: 1

      Really? Where?

    27. Re:Hunting by bluGill · · Score: 1

      Sure. Dogs are essentially wolves. However dogs have been bred for some genes that make them friendly to people, while wolves have not. Assuming they are compatible (dogs come and many sizes, I'm not sure you could bred a toy poodle with a wolf for example) they will breed. Leave a female dog in a pen when she is in heat and male wolves will do everything to get in and bred her.

      Give a male dog any chance at all to get out when there is a female wolf in heat nearby and he will bred her. A dog that normally cannot get out of a pen is motivated to get out when there is a chance to bred.

      Remember there is no such thing as rape to dogs. Male dogs can tell when there is a female nearby read to bred, and when the female is ready to bred (which is all biology) she will take any male she can get. Humans will be more selective, dogs and wolves are not.

    28. Re:Hunting by buhatkj · · Score: 1

      "tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

      Yeh, that was the most ignorant thing I heard all weekend. Thank god some of us actually have at least the remotest understanding of what conservationism is really about. Having killed off all the wolves and bobcats and so forth that were supposed to feed on the deer, and driven all the native americans out onto reservations, there is nobody left to hunt them, and they would starve to death rapidly were it not for hunters. I don't care what anybody says, it is not only a fine sport, but a public service, and its even better if you are that special sort of hunter that goes the extra mile to make a good use of every part of the animal you take.

      --
      sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
    29. Re:Hunting by AmoHongos · · Score: 1

      I once had a dog who regularly made passionate love to a pillow, so I know dogs aren't very selective.

      But I wonder if dogs find certain physical traits in other dogs more sexually appealing, even if they're not conscious of it. Birds are attracted to bright colors in other birds, so why wouldn't something similar apply for dogs? For instance, does one dog see another dog and think "ooh, look at that shiny coat. I have to go sniff that poodle's butt."

    30. Re:Hunting by idlerich · · Score: 1

      Therefore, interestingly enough, conservation demands that we hunt more deer. No, conservation demands that we stop killing the wolves.

    31. Re:Hunting by LilNickiMastaBurritt · · Score: 1

      Yep. Done there, Been that already. They call it Ducks Unlimited. Real conservation orgranization.

    32. Re:Hunting by sconeu · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's quite amazing, actually; they have evolved in a very short span of time

      For those living in Kansas, they have been intelligently designed in a very short span of time.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    33. Re:Hunting by jericho4.0 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Whatever pal. Your paranoia is right in line with what we're talking about. "a suburban area with lots of woodland" is not where wolves are going to hunt your children.

      I live in BC, in the woods. We have wolves, bears, and cougars. There was a steaming pile of bear shit in my yard 2 days ago. The thought of needing a shotgun to protect myself is ludicrous.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    34. Re:Hunting by Moofie · · Score: 1

      Lay off the Barry White, yo.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    35. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I apologize but at the moment I cannot find a link to the specific articles.(which were not in refrence to widespread but more area specific activitys I believe, but which I felt shed a rather dubious light to the claims of thinning deer population)

      Here however are a couple of links with some relevence(of special note is the breeding and hunting of endangered animals)

      http://www.friendsofanimals.org/actionline/spring- 2005/in-my-view.html

      http://worldanimalfoundation.homestead.com/WAFWhit eTailedDeer.html

    36. Re:Hunting by BlueFashoo · · Score: 1

      There was an article in this in the most recent issue of the Sierra Club's magazine. It went on to state that a lot of the biodiversity around streams and such was disappearing because the elks were eating all the young trees. Reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone has caused a complete stop to the eating of these trees. The article points out that human hunters can have similar effects.

      --
      Nice Marmot
    37. Re:Hunting by BlueHands · · Score: 1

      but that might involve culling some wayward children and pets and thats not natural!!

      It always amazes me what some people decide to call natural.

      oh,in case it wasn't clear,i assume you were pointing out the smae thing i was: that people pick and choose what the want to call natural.

      --
      I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
    38. Re:Hunting by antiMStroll · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A friend who lives in Ontario cottage country fell asleep on the back deck after a particularly good summer party. He woke in the early morning hours to the click-click sound of a family of wolves checking out the remanants in the BBQ. The meeting scared them more than they scared him, all three instantly bolted.

    39. Re:Hunting by laughing+rabbit · · Score: 2, Informative


      Well...
      ...around here we have to be content just mowin' 'em down with our vehicles (the dog packs from the dumped and rouge pets do their part as well). Too many crowded subdivisions to allow hunting with guns or bows. Keeps the body shops and collision repair centers humming though. Insurance companies are raking in the cash, too. And occasionally a human dies to kinda' even up the score.

      --
      No incumbents, not no where, not no how.
      Vote them out every term.
    40. Re:Hunting by _Hellfire_ · · Score: 1

      Hey, I'm a natural predator.

      Hehe. You sure are.

      You have forward facing binocular vision (good for judging distances), strong legs and arms (for fighting), plenty of downward force available in your jaw which has canine teeth (for ripping flesh apart), opposable thumbs (for making and using tools and traps) and a highly intelligent brain capable of process thought (good for outsmarting dumb animals).

      In short, your average human being is a nasty piece of nature's work. Add to that the predatory instinct we're all born with and I'm not surprised we kill each other on a regular basis.

      --
      "And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."
    41. Re:Hunting by laughing+rabbit · · Score: 1

      However dogs have been bred for some genes that make them friendly to people

      Tell that to a three year old child who has been mauled by a pit bull.

      --
      No incumbents, not no where, not no how.
      Vote them out every term.
    42. Re:Hunting by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      The old 'kill the deer to save it from dying' arguement ... wonder how the ecosystems of the world managed at all for so many millions of years before humans came around to 'balance' it all.

      So, you'd rather go back, what - 500 years? There are many times more deer in North America now than there were 500 years ago. Or 1000 years ago. Or 10,000 years ago.

      Human hunters have played a roll in balancing out the hoofstock population for tens of thousands of years. Canines and felines in one form or another have been doing so long before that, but according, generally, to the same rule: killing off some of the herd improves the health of the species. Too many in one area, and all of them become weaker from disease and food shortages. Hunting by non-human critters usually snagged the old, weak, or diseased animals, or the young ones being raised by unworthy (unprotective) parents. The humans tend to hunt the larger, healthier animals where possible, so that puts pressure on the dumber ones... creating smarter, wilyier animals.

      Deer populations are reaching terrible numbers, in terms of their health. This is most easily dealt with through expanded hunting, and the game agencies in every state adjust the numbers allowed per hunter, the length and timing of the season, and geography of the zones involved... all to most effectively maintain a healthy herd.

      Your ignorance of the matter is, alas, very typical of too many people. And that's what drives voting, policymaking, and media coverage (or lack of it) on this topic. That hunting has, in a few short generations, become so alien to so many people (who get their meat in tidy plastic-wrapped packages at the store) is amazing and distressing to me. I'd even go so far as to say that the lack of exposure to hunting (and the first-hand experience of the conequences of weapon use) is one of the reasons that more and more kids now see violence as an abstraction.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    43. Re:Hunting by bill_kress · · Score: 1

      There is no solution--there are simply too many people. I've had a few deer around my last few houses and am quite glad. Any more and they would be quite annoying, but it's nice seeing big game in the 'hood.

      If you really feel it necessary to hunt, let's open a hunting season for people--they are the only critter there are just to many of.

      Uh, and wasps, but you've got to be pretty good to pick them off with a .22

      Wasps are probably going to become the next giant predator due to us killing off all the other meat-eaters. They are going to be 8 inches in length and hunt in packs and nobody is going to be able to fuck with them.

    44. Re:Hunting by josefek · · Score: 1

      Indeed some of us do have at least the remotest understanding of what conservationism is really all about. Deer hunting as a viable "conservation tool" is questionable at best. It's ironic that states with the most deer hunting (like mine, Georgia, and my old home state of Minnesota) also seem to have the most deer. Or is it? The permit system surrounding deer hunting is not a conservation plan but a business plan, and it's in the best financial interest of game management to have as many deer to shoot at as possible. In many areas (again, such as Georgia) game management use such techniques as slash-and-burn, winter feeding and even active planting in order to maximize deer habitat to this end. Conservation?

      Here in Georgia the forest service even goes so far as to plant vast swaths of non-native and invasive plants as foodstuff to enhance the availability of game animals such as turkeys. These methods wreak havoc on our indigenous natural areas, especially what little old-growth we have left. Again, conservation?

      Additionally the very nature of deer hunting, along with current management policy, does little to nothing to reduce deer populations because it creates an imbalance in the natural sex ratio. In most states there are far fewer doe permits issued than buck permits (and hey, most "sportsmen" want a rack to display to denote the immensity of their johnson anyway). Deer, however, are polygamous. Thinning males in a herd does little to nothing to reduce the number of offspring that herd produces per season. It simply means more available breeding opportunities for the remaining bucks of the herd when in rut.

      Some scientists also argue that the culling of herds (remember, predominantly males) also triggers natural reproduction compensation mechanisms, causing the more prevalent does to generate more offspring to both fill out the herd and take advantage of the temporary increase in in space and food within a territory.

      In short, if you find pleasure in killing things then fine. I'll confess I can't comprehend how it can be satisfying, but that'd be why I don't hunt. But selling it as a "public service?" There are an awful lot of studies, save those bankrolled by forces that stand to profit from hunting, that call bullshit on any such notion.

      --
      rev.jsfk
    45. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, there is no least-harm paradox. If you want to minimize the number of animals that die on account of your diet, it's best to eat a vegetarian (or preferably, vegan diet), which causes fewer deaths than one based on large free-range ruminants.

      Reference: Least harm: a defense of vegetarianism from Steven Davis's omnivorous proposal.

    46. Re:Hunting by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      Hmm, how about restoring the top predators also?
      And while we're at it, how about we introduce a predator that could keep the human population in check?
      Then maybe the rest of us can enjoy hunting without worrying we might significantly impact the numbers of this or that game species. =)

    47. Re:Hunting by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      maybe not roaches, but locusts and some other
      types of insects certainly. Great source of protein.

    48. Re:Hunting by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1
      We have the same problem in Scotland. Massive overpopulation of deer, coupled with media outrage about deer culls taking place when hinds are pregnant, mean that in the Scottish Highlands there has been a population explosion of deer. Oh, and there are *no* natural predators for them.


      The net result is that over the winter they starve to death, which is pretty unpleasant and results in dead deer lying around all over the place (and they *stink*). Also, during the winter, they come down from the hills to lower ground, where they sleep on the roads. So, I suppose that road traffic could be classed as a predator, but anything short of an artic will come off worse.

    49. Re:Hunting by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      You Sir, are my hero.
      I couldn't have said it better myself.
      Just like to add that these same characteristics
      are just as much the result of, as a prerequisite
      for predatory behavior.
      don't diss your heritage!

    50. Re:Hunting by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Interesting. Seeing as how I live in Georgia as well, do you have any particular suggestions on how I can help fix the policy?

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    51. Re:Hunting by zootm · · Score: 1

      Surely conservation demands that we reintroduce predators, rather than killing deer?

    52. Re:Hunting by BillyBlaze · · Score: 1

      I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch, but how could eating meat reduce the number of rodents killed when growing vegetables? What do you think the cows ate? Chances are, more than their weight in grain.

    53. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason there is overpopulation is because we killed off the natural predator of the deer already.
      So now we have to kill the deer because nothing else will.

    54. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      right so what needs to happen is that the coyotes need to be killed off so we can once again say that we need to kill deer populations to keep things stable.

    55. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how about kill off the humans?? that would work too, right?? muhahahaha

    56. Re:Hunting by shawb · · Score: 1

      By nature, pit bulls are actually extremely loyal/friendly to people. They have one of the highest rates of passing temperment tests of any breed. The problems to people come from two major things. 1)training: pit bulls are often used as a security device, and so trained (against their genetic nature) to be aggressive to people. 2)biology: Pit bulls have massively strong jaws, and so a bite by them will be more devastating than other animals. Along with the bred-in behavior of bite, hold, shake.

      Now, the reason that pit bulls have the human loyalty is also a matter of breeding. Pit bulls were bred to fight other dogs. It's been bred in so that an owner can reach in and physically pulled out of a fight without the owner getting mauled.

      Really, pit bulls aren't inherently dangerous to people. It's just that there are people that turn them into weapons. However, pit bulls can be fairly dangerous to other dogs, due to the massive jaws and bred in dog aggression.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    57. Re:Hunting by mwvdlee · · Score: 1
      They just graze and graze and cause automobile accidents.

      Yeah! So do pedestrians. They just walk across the street and cause cars to run over them.

      Your logic is flawed.
      Imagine multiple deer and multiple cars: automobile accidents will happen.
      Imagine multiple deer and no cars: no automobile accident will happen.
      Imagine no deer and multiple cars: automobile accidents will happen.
      So what do you think is the cause of those automobile accidents?
      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    58. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet there are states (like Maryland) that would
      rather spend millions of dollars to sterilize wild
      does than liberalize or lengthen the hunting season.

      Go figure.

    59. Re:Hunting by evilviper · · Score: 1
      Nobody likes living with large predators on their doorstep

      I think that's vastly over-simplifying. I've never heard of anyone calling for the extermination of black bears.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    60. Re:Hunting by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1

      That's why I very clearly said "free range". The only rodents and insects killed to feed a free range ruminant are those that get stepped on by the aforementioned ruminant.

    61. Re:Hunting by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 1

      Therefore, interestingly enough, conservation demands that we hunt more deer.

      In other words, we're the cure for the problem we've created. People don't want to live next to a pack of wolves, so they kill all the wolves. Then the deer become a problem so they kill all of them. All this so they can live in the country, with all the wildlife.

      Another poster is right that you're missing other alternatives. Not killing the wolves and still living there is one. Not living in the forest in the first place is another. Yes, killing everything in the forest and turning it into a sprawling metropolis is one option, but it's not the one which would be characterized as conservation-friendly.

    62. Re:Hunting by shimmin · · Score: 1

      Why is the change in coyote behavior surprising? If the fossil record has been correctly interpreted, before human beings came to this continent, they were a larger animal, and one that moved in packs rather than as a mostly solitary animal. In areas where wolves were displaced but large ruminants remained, they resumed their former behaviors. Before they reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone, the coyote pack had quite effectively picked up wolves' ecological niche. Coyotes are opportunists extraordinaire. They will eat mice and berries, root through suburban trash, scavenge corpses, or be top predators, depending on where the food is at. Kind of like people for that matter. And no one who has considered the diversity of dog breeds should be surprised when even a small shift in behavior brings about a change in shape or size. The diversity of canine phenotypes is the amazing thing.

    63. Re:Hunting by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      There wouldn't be a problem, except that the predators that would normally keep deer in check are largely absent. No one wants cougars or packs of wolves living near their town. But without these top predators, deer populations have nothing to keep their numbers down -- except hunting.

      Therefore, interestingly enough, conservation demands that we hunt more deer.


      Traditional explaination.
      "We don't want X, it's so dangerous and nobody wants it, so let's kill it. But then Y starts growing uncontrollably, so let's kill Y to keep it in check."
      What about:
      "We love killing. We know Y population won't explode because X keeps it in check. So let's spread some FUD, then kill the X population, then when Y starts growing uncontrollably, spread some more FUD and keep killing Y on regular basis."

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    64. Re:Hunting by aziraphale · · Score: 1

      "They just graze and graze and cause automobile accidents"

      maybe we shouldn't let the deer drive...

      seriously, has it occurred to you that it isn't deer in roads that cause auto accidents, but roads in deer country?

    65. Re:Hunting by sydb · · Score: 1

      ...and a highly intelligent brain capable of process thought... ...
      --
      "PC load letter...What the fuck does that mean?"


      Hmm.

      --
      Yours Sincerely, Michael.
    66. Re:Hunting by ChaosCube · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why is that ludicrous? Don't you wear a seat belt?

      --
      BDR Gear
      Outdoor gear, MREs, and more!
    67. Re:Hunting by _Hellfire_ · · Score: 1
      --
      "And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."
    68. Re:Hunting by buhatkj · · Score: 1

      Are you implying that the deer don't breed on their own? I agree that there aren't enough doe permits issued, but doesn't that just point out how little sense it makes to over-litigate this necessary activity? How is that relevant to the fundamental issue of whether it is moral or necessary to hunt? Given that lack of natural predators, it is required. Simple as that. If you choose not to hunt, well fine that's your choice, but don't go off half-cocked and forget that any species, given a lack of natural predators, will grow to fill the food supply available, and then die of of disease and starvation. Isn't that what humans have done in basically all parts of the world?

      So, if you are so hell-bent on exposing the evil corporate enterprise of hunting, how do you propose to control the population? It's the height of stupidity to tear down a working system without a ready replacement.
      So put your money where your mouth is, eh?

      For that matter, if you were a deer, how would you rather die? Quickly, and perhaps for a reason, or painfully starving to death or rotting of disease?

      --
      sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
    69. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's about as thoughtful as not wearing your seatbelt because you didn't get into an accident yesterday.

      I would never dream of living where I live without a shotgun. We had a rabid fox attack 2 children and 3 adults just less than a year ago.

      If it weren't for shotguns, there would be even more rabid animals running around attacking children.

      Needless to say we stopped that rabies outbreak . . .with a shotgun.

    70. Re:Hunting by nrjyzerbuny · · Score: 1

      Wolves are thankfully making a comeback. They're currently headed south from the Great Lakes area in the MidWest US. Live wolves have been found in Iowa, and I believe have been found in packs. There has been direct evidence of live wolves in the very northern reaches of Missouri for some time.

      Bears are also making a big comeback, in some areas, such a comeback as to make conservation departments create lottery seasons for black bear hunting.

    71. Re:Hunting by sydb · · Score: 1

      Ah, OK, haven't seen it. I take it all back.

      --
      Yours Sincerely, Michael.
    72. Re:Hunting by b3x · · Score: 0

      Not only is there the old skewl method of hunting with rifle or bow, but here in Western New York we enjoy the other sporting method of controlling the deer population: Running into them with your car. It is a blast ...

    73. Re:Hunting by laughing+rabbit · · Score: 1
      I just used pit bull as an example because of the notoriety the attacks get.

      Oh yes, very few pets go off without cause. Usually some human has stirred the pot and set in motion some baser instincts. Then these and other dogs jump the fence, pull away leash intact, drag somebody down like a gazelle and start chewing.

      --
      No incumbents, not no where, not no how.
      Vote them out every term.
    74. Re:Hunting by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1
      What do you mean nobody wants cougars or wolves near their towns? There are a lot of us willing to allow larger predators back where they belong

      Hmm, why do I suspect that "where they belong" doesn't happen to be "near their towns" (referring to the "lot of us willing toallow larger predators..."))?

      I know a lot of city-dwellers who have no problemm with large predators in the country. I can't think of any country-dwellers who are all that enamoured of the idea of having cougars in the backyard. (my inlaws had cougars in their backyard from time to time back when my wife was born - according to them, it was not a comfortable feeling to have a big cat that near the baby)

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    75. Re:Hunting by Jelanen · · Score: 1

      Heh...wait long enough and someone else will post exactly what you were going to. What I would like to add is the reason why there were so few deer "back in the day"(tm). The favored habitat of the deer (whitetail in this case, the kind you see most of the time east of the Rockies, bloated by the side of the road or in my freezer) is not the Disney deep dark mature forests. Deer hate that stuff, theres no food, no place to hide, etc. Deer like the nasty thick scrubby stuff where theres lots of crab apples (deer love apples) and other sorts of mast for them to feed on and lots of places to hide. The consequence is that there is alot of deer population in relatively heavily settled suburban environments where the deer can browse not only on crab apples in the scrub, but also on your landscaping. The other consequence is that its VERY hard to find suitable hunting ground in those areas since houses are so close together. Since you can't hunt those areas to cull the suburban (soccer-mom?) deer, there are no checks to the deer population, therefore you get increased property damage and automobile accidents. Oh yeah...internet hunting of deer is a travesty in this (bow)hunter's opinion.

    76. Re:Hunting by stanmann · · Score: 1

      Due to mad cow disease most cows are vegetarian. Also the chicken I eat are also vegetarian. I agree that eating a egetarian is a good thing.. I try to do that frequently.

      --
      Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed
    77. Re:Hunting by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      I'm with you. As a resident of the suburban Washington DC area, I can tell you that we should have a Baseball Bat season for deer. There are so many that if you just step into the bushes and swing, you'll probably kill two at least, and not risk putting a broadhead into Mrs. Smith's poodle next door.

      My fist deer kill was with a bow, and I only hunt them during bow and muzzleloader season. Too many inexperienced hunters around here, packed into WAY too little viable hunting ground for me to feel safe during firearms season. I love, love, love venison, but am increasingly distressed at the truth of what you've said (about the unhuntable habitiat happening to be the thing that's most boosting their population). Have to travel quite a ways out of town, or become best buddies with a local farmer in order to have safe hunting ground... and that's not where the worst of the population problem is.

      No wonder I'm turning into an upland bird hunter. At least then, when I travel, I'm going someplace where the farmers are glad I'm coming!

      As for so-called internet hunting... here's my take: how about the only people that are allowed are those that can prove 1) a disability and 2) that they've hunted in the field and tagged at least a couple of deer in their lives, and 3) that they will demonstrate taking receipt of the meat - and I'm not talking about just FedExing the backstraps, either.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    78. Re:Hunting by josefek · · Score: 1

      Are you implying that the deer don't breed on their own?

      Where in my post would you get that idea? Of course deer breed on their own. The point is that hunting, especially given the permit imbalance, doesn't reduce the amount of offspring produced and may, according to some scientific studies, even encourage more prolific breeding.

      doesn't that just point out how little sense it makes to over-litigate this necessary activity?

      Given the studies, it's difficult to accept the necessity of this activity. And, as previously mentioned, the imbalance would exist even without the doe-to-buck permit ratio, as the majority of sport-hunters (which make up the vast majority of deer hunters) are specifically after bucks regardless. The lopsided litigation is certainly a factor, but it's far from the only factor. And as irresponsible hunting results in over-killing even with the permit system in place there's a definite likelihood that the removal or severe relaxation of restrictions could result in the decimation of deer populations. Here in North Georgia it's common to run across hunting kill that has been left to rot in favor of a "better" kill every season (often found on private and/or "no hunting" designated areas to boot). Frankly, after 20 years of living amidst hunters and witnessing their tactics in a game area such as this it's near impossible to accept that any reasonable percentage of them are practicing anything akin to a "public service." But the argument of propaganda vs. reality vis-a-vis the psychology of hunters is for another thread.

      How is that relevant to the fundamental issue of whether it is moral or necessary to hunt?

      Nowhere in my post, other than perhaps at the close where I mentioned my personal stance on hunting in general, did I ever mention or allude to the morality (or lack thereof) or necessity to hunt. In fact, I closed by saying that if a person wants to hunt then fine. The entire post was about whether or not claiming hunting is a form of conservation and a "public service" is a viable statement. So hey, you're right; it isn't relevant... because I never brought it up as an argument against hunting in the first place.

      Given that lack of natural predators, it is required.

      Actually, given the lack of other implemented control measures, it's merely justified. Sigh... once again, there is evidence that the way deer is hunted doesn't "control" population, and may in fact have the opposite effect. As for natural predators, another irony is that those predators by their very nature served primarily to cull the old, infirm and unwell; hardly the goal of hunters. The actual population control by natural predators has never been conclusively determined though there are studies, including a 30 year one on ungulate/wolf population dynamics in Yellowstone in which the data showed that prey population had a greater influence on predator population rather than the opposite.

      Simple as that.

      The entire point of my first post that it is not "simple as that."

      If you choose not to hunt, well fine that's your choice, but don't go off half-cocked and forget that any species, given a lack of natural predators, will grow to fill the food supply available, and then die of of disease and starvation.

      Again, there are other options. Natural population checks combined, for instance, with selective immunocontraception would actually be an effective population control. But such a plan costs money while hunting generates money.

      And "half-cocked?" Pot calling kettle... come in kettle.

      So, if you are so hell-bent on exposing the evil corporate enterprise of hunting.

      Pfeh. Welcome to discussions in the year 2005, where pointing out inaccuracies and contrary information in the hopes of having a truly honest and above-board debate is magically transmogrified into a substance free rant. At l

      --
      rev.jsfk
    79. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BS... Deer overpopulation and hence the decline of forested area appears to be caused by (among other factors) the removal of top predators (wolves, bears, and wildcats in most North American areas)

    80. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My God! Foxes! You must be waaaay out in the howling wilderness there. Can't imagine how you'd shit yourself if you ever saw, y'know... a stray *dog* with rabies.

      Rather than just trying to exterminate everything, you should probably just give up your cush suburban house and live in the city. You clearly can't handle the stresses of it.

    81. Re:Hunting by buhatkj · · Score: 1

      If there is data which suggest that contraception would be more effective, I would support that plan, but I have not seen it, and it seems to me unlikely. You have presented no data that was solidly empirical, only what you saw as suggested by other data. This seems open to a lot of interpretation.

      In any case, this is all off-topic from my initial post, because the question I strove to answer in the first place was this:
      Is it morally wrong to hunt animals for the purposes of controlling an unchecked population?
      I stated that I felt it was, and justified my point on a moral basis.

      If a discussion of a moral issue is studied as a scientific one, it has no meaning. You can't answer a moral question with science, you need to make a personal choice, based on emotion. I think, It is emotion, not intelligence that makes us human.

      My opinion, is that humans are omnivourous animals like any other, and as such kill other animals to eat. To deny this seems to me arrogant, like we are above the order of nature.

      "is it logical to hunt" and "is it morally right to hunt" are totally different questions...both open to a lot of intepretation.

      --
      sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
    82. Re:Hunting by Syrrh · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, from everything I've read, it *is* the only way. Moving them is impractical because it doesn't solve the problem. Birth control is far too difficult to get into the population without catching the same individuals over and over.

      Personally, I love the guys and going out to semi-wilderness areas to hang out with them is a lot of fun. But I know that the only way to really do some good to them is to kill a tremendous number, and that's kind of tough to get around.

    83. Re:Hunting by buhatkj · · Score: 1

      btw, deer contraceptives...HILARIOUS... :-)
      Just imagine a buck trying to unroll a condom...I swear dude, that's comedy GOLD that is...

      --
      sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
    84. Re:Hunting by Tassach · · Score: 1

      If God created fundies, I don't think his handiwork qualifies as "intelligent" design.

      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    85. Re:Hunting by Tassach · · Score: 1
      I live in suburban Baltimore and know exactly what you mean. My parents and my aunt both have 1 acre lots that are mostly wooded. I've hunted both back yards successfully and safely. I doubt if the neighbors have ever noticed.

      If you're bowhunting from an elevated position (treestand or rooftop), the chances of a missed shot hitting anything except the dirt next to your target are virtually nil. Personally, I hunt with a (replica) medieval crossbow. [Had a doctor's note for years before MD started allowing crossbows in regular bow season] While I think the crossbow is a little safer for a backyard hunt given it's flatter trajectory, I wouldn't have any safety qualms about using a regular bow under the same conditions. Know your target, and what's behind your target; if you're not 100% sure you can take the shot safely, don't take it. At backyard ranges (10-15 yards max) it's pretty hard to miss.

      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    86. Re:Hunting by Tassach · · Score: 1
      In most states there are far fewer doe permits issued than buck permits
      It's just the opposite here in Maryland (at least where I live. No bag limit, but you have to take 2 does before you can take an additional buck:

      Special Unlimited Antlerless Archery Deer Season Bag Limit Established in Some Counties
      To provide additional opportunities for archery deer hunters to kill antlerless deer during the bow season, DNR has established a Suburban Deer Archery Zone in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties. During the bow season, archery hunters in these counties can kill unlimited numbers of antlerless deer using archery equipment, but must still kill 2 antlerless deer before they can attempt to take a second antlered deer.
      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    87. Re:Hunting by bigpat · · Score: 1

      "I know a lot of city-dwellers who have no problemm with large predators in the country. I can't think of any country-dwellers who are all that enamoured of the idea of having cougars in the backyard. (my inlaws had cougars in their backyard from time to time back when my wife was born - according to them, it was not a comfortable feeling to have a big cat that near the baby)"

      I had a cougar come through my yard when I was a kid. He looked at me I looked at him and he went in the other direction.

      I know the type you are talking about, the Starbuck's environmentalist, ready to impose the whim of the day on poor country people because of his fantasy about a garden of eden in contrast to his concrete jungle. I am not him.

    88. Re:Hunting by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      You bastard! I had that fucking deer right in my sights on my second monitor, just killing time reading /. waiting for it to get out from behind that tree so I could get a clean headshot, and now I spewed Jolt all over my monitors and scared it off!!!

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    89. Re:Hunting by mefus · · Score: 1
      Because of strict limits on the hunting of deer
      You are using a broad brush to paint over complicated problem.

      The US Fish and Game is probably better versed in predator-prey relationships than some anti-gubmint alarmist on /.
      --
      mefus
      In Open Society, GPL Software frees YOU!
    90. Re:Hunting by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      I've had plenty of suburban Maryland friends beg me to bring my tree stand and my bow and help preserve their shrubs. Of course, I don't want to lose my hunting license, so I usually decline. But my biggest concern isn't missing my shot, or having a through-and-through go anywhere than into the dirt... no, my concern is that I've put a shaft right through the heart of a good size buck and watched him make a very speedy (and reckless) 50 yards at least... and that's plenty to get them through the dining room window, or out into traffic, leaving a big old blood trail. Not helpful with the other neighbors that are still a little fuzzy on the whole concept. I've since adopted neck shots... well placed, it's like hitting a circuit breaker - wham!

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    91. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, until you sue the local government further into the red for allowing that cougar to maul your 3 year old next to your swimming pool.

      The fear of the cougar may not bother you, but your lawsuit scares me.

    92. Re:Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have children?

      Where is a whiny liberal when you need her to call DFCS on you and have your kids yanked from your home? This is one case where a whiny liberal could actually do some good for a change.

      Bears shitting in your yard and you don't have a shotgun. That is LAME. Unless, of course, you can pull a Steven Seagal/Spock combo maneuver and become one with the bear, make it witness its own tragic death causing it to run away whimpering like a scared little shit.

    93. Re:Hunting by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1
      I'm addressing this to you and the several AC's below.

      Calm down people!!! I'm amazed by the reactions to this post. What's with the seatbelt apology? Is it in some kind of NRA pamphlet or something? If shit hits the fan, let's say, a rabid fox comes charging out of the woods, I know my neighbour has a rifle, so please rest assured that we are capable of bringing firepower to bear *snicker* on the local wildlife.

      Regarding bear scat in the yard; It's a big yard. It's got several thousand acres of forest at the end of it. There are bears in the forest. There are dogs in the yard, and the dogs like chasing bears. Sometimes, early in the morning, the dogs are sleeping, and Mr Bear comes down from the forest to look for food and shit in the yard. I have no idea why this situation should require a shotgun, and I'm sure my neighbours agree. Bears don't eat children, they eat berries and fish. Bear attacks on humans are defencive, if it knows you are coming and it can leave, it will.

      We take steps to keep our bears from becoming problem bears. No garbage outside, for example. If I'm camping food goes in a tree. But guess what? Unless I'm hunting, I DON'T CARRY A GUN!!!!! You know what you get when you start shooting all the wildlife? No wildlife. And, it would seem, a romantisized image of every mammal in the woods as a man-eater.

      To Mr. "Where's-a-whiny-liberal";There's a 10 year old girl here with more bear sense than you.

      Gees, yer nutin' buta buncha sissy, SUV drivin', latte sippin', shotgun totin', seatbelt wearin' geeks.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    94. Re:Hunting by ChaosCube · · Score: 1

      I enjoyed reading your post. And I am in no way patronizing you. In general, I am calm. I used the seatbelt analogy because it fits well with many situations. I try no to use it too often, however, since it's quite a bit like I'm trying to godwin the situation.

      --
      BDR Gear
      Outdoor gear, MREs, and more!
    95. Re:Hunting by Tassach · · Score: 1
      I don't want to lose my hunting license, so I usually decline
      I'm assuming you're refering to this rule under the general hunting regulations:
      [It is unlawful to] Hunt or shoot at wildlife within 150 yards of an occupied structure or camp without permission of the owner or occupant.
      Shouldn't be too hard to get the neighbors to sign off. Hell, most of the folks I know are so fed up with having their shrubbery eaten that they'd be enthusiastic.

      A square 1 acre lot is about 70 yards on a side. Assuming a regular grid layout with the houses centered in the lots, that gives you 8 houses (other than your own) within 150 yards. Even with fairly narrow rectangular lots (say 50x98) you'd only have to go down 3 houses on either side -- call it 20 houses in the worst case.

      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    96. Re:Hunting by sconeu · · Score: 1

      Thank you. I've been hunting keyboards and monitors for ages, and you're the first target I hit!

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  99. What poor country will be next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's okay to kill Iraqis remotely, just not animals.

  100. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  101. I concur by Heisenbug · · Score: 1

    "innocent animals" is a preposterous and naive term. One look in their beady little eyes and any true man knows that *all* animals are guilty of something.

    The trick, of course, is to scare them into admitting it. Personally, I like to use armed, semi-autonomous robots. It's important to be firm in these situations.

  102. Will somebody just PLEASE think of the robots? by Megahurts · · Score: 1

    I mean, come on, robots are people, too. They have to eat. Better some stupid animals than you or me or our families!

  103. You forgot something... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    Aren't you always supposed to have "hard working" and "innocent" together? And something about "paying the bills" and "supporting a family" (oh, and make sure never to say raising a family, doesn't sound innocent enough. Supporting a family ties right in with the "hard working victim" motif...).

    So, your sentence should have had whereas tracking and killing innocent, hard-working animals who are just paying the bills, and trying to support their families, is just fine.

  104. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by northcat · · Score: 0, Troll

    Newsflash: Huting on foot doesn't make you "elite" or more of a man either.

  105. This is definitely off-topic. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What I want to know is this: why do people who belong to PETA generally have these beliefs (note, generally. I'm sure there are exceptions):

    1. It's wrong to kill animals
    2. It's wrong to kill criminals
    3. It's fine to abort human babies.

    Seems like a gigantic inconsistency.

    Personally, I say kill everything.

    1. Re:This is definitely off-topic. by Columcille · · Score: 2

      Off topic? Sounds right on to me.

      --
      I love my sig.
    2. Re:This is definitely off-topic. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because babies don't taste as good.

  106. Hunters by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 4, Informative
    I used to dislike hunters. Then I met one -- hell of a guy. He gave my family an assload of venison steaks and moose sausage. Damn good stuff. Later, when I took biology in University, I learned about how much of a problem the unchecked growth of American deer populations causes for forest ecosystems, all because of overly strict hunting limits.

    As a sidenote, dickwads with anything are a problem. Is there really any tool you would trust a dickwad with? Guns are just a particularly extreme example.

    1. Re:Hunters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      all because of overly strict hunting limits

      i believe that there used to be predators that kept the deer population under control. we eliminated the predators. that is why hunting is necessary to control the population now.

    2. Re:Hunters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, the same former urbanite tree-huggers who prevent game management of deer (and proper tree management as well, but that's another issue) start freaking out when there's a local population of large predators, such as mountain lions, or even smaller predators, like coyotes, in their backyard.

      You can also go on about how they start protesting the noise created by local farmers, after moving into a new housing tract built on rezoned agricultrual land, get all NIMBY on new housing construction, etc. There's a reason people in neighboring states hate Californians, to give an example...

    3. Re:Hunters by trawg · · Score: 1
      Is there really any tool you would trust a dickwad with?
      Does a suicide booth count as a 'tool'?
    4. Re:Hunters by learn+fast · · Score: 1

      "As a sidenote, dickwads with anything are a problem."

      Dickwads with guns are nothing compared to dickwads with political power.

    5. Re:Hunters by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      A dickwad would push somebody else into it.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    6. Re:Hunters by His+name+cannot+be+s · · Score: 1

      I learned about how much of a problem the unchecked growth of American deer populations causes for forest ecosystems, all because of overly strict hunting limits.

      I'll agree with you on the unchecked deer populations. In 1900, the whitetailed deer population was at about 500,000 for North America.

      Now, its 30,000,000 . WOW

      Apparently Deer eat the same thing humans do. By using the land like we do, Deer have had the opportunity to breed like crazy.

      Here in Canada, there are supposed caps to deer hunting, but I've never seen them reached. I guess they are pretty hight. I have even seen situations where the licenses were free because the Fish+Wildlife dept needed to encourage hunting to thin out the population.

      --
      "...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
  107. Internet hunting may have some merit by xplenumx · · Score: 1
    I'm not for internet hunting and I applaud California for the ban. However, I'd strongly encourage everyone to listen to NPR's story regarding the issue of internet hunting.

    In short, the story is about a gentleman who used to be an avid hunter but is now paralyzed from the neck down. The story talks about the adrenaline rush the man experienced and how, for a moment, it gave him a sense of freedom and his old life back. The article also speaks about the mechanics of internet hunting - the 'hunt' isn't so much like a video game as someone is sitting there with the gun talking to the internet hunter.

  108. EH? by matth · · Score: 1

    I heard of ONE site that does this... like 2 years ago... a search on Google for "online deer hunting" or "online hunting" brings up nothing.. is it REALLY this big of a problem?!?!

  109. Re: Really? by cerberus4696 · · Score: 1

    You clearly don't have to live with the greater North American antler-rat.

  110. Is it real, or? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let see, you sit in one part of the world and one click later, wow, you've killed a wild animal and proven yourself to be a mighty hunter! Only... How do you know you've really killed anything at all? You saw it on the screen? Right. Given today's graphic tech, a decent programmer could easily put together a virtual hunt engine that would be identical in all respects to the real thing, from the point of view of the "hunter." Hmm... That would keep everyone happy, wouldn't it? The hunters will feel that they've hunted, and yet the operators of the virtual safari will know that in reality no animal was injured. Maybe it's a good idea after all.

  111. Battle Droids by TIMxPx · · Score: 0

    How about instead of hunting animals using a fairly immobile remote rifle, we manufacture millions of battle droids and have users control them from home computers, in an arena. We could put some captured deer in there, or better yet, just have the droids battle each other. Then maybe we could take it a step further and just use virtual robots and animals. We wouldn't even need a physical location; it could all be done in a virtual arena. Yeah, we could make programs in which fictitious characters go around shooting other fictitious characters. It would be loads of fun and wouldn't cause injury to people, animals, or machines. We could respawn the characters as needed without incurring great cost or loss of life. Maybe one day my idea will catch on. And if you're hungry while you're playing, you can call your local butcher and order some steak. You could even make a donation in the form of food or money to a local shelter or food depository instead. Seriously, could someone explain to me why virtually killing a real creature is any more fun or satisfying than virtually killing a virtual creature, provided that the computer user is not some sort of sadist? I used to live on a farm, and i have hunted, but i'm not sure i could derive pleasure from doing it over the net, potentially at great cost, in view of the myriad games already available. I don't think that it's like internet gambling, because there's no real opportunity for monetary gain. I guess there's a lower chance of being shot whilst behind a computer screen at home.

    --
    There are 10 kinds of people in the world: That averages about 660,000,000 of each kind.
  112. Re: Really? by hiryuu · · Score: 1

    Yes sir, I can't even get to my fridge in the morning without tripping over several feral Kangaroos that have found their way into my house.

    You joke, but in Australia, qualified hunters are paid to cull herds of kangaroo to prevent overpopulation. My ex-wife's father made his living doing just that for some time. I seem to recall that some locales had to do something similar to prevent the feral cat population from going out of control.

    --
    Karma: Excellent, but still won't get you laid.
  113. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by mog007 · · Score: 1

    Some people consider thwacking a small white ball with a large metallic or wooden stick, a crooked stick mind you, a sport. Sport is a very BROAD word. That has become a synonym with "activity". Swimming is aparently a sport. Now, is swimming the distance of an American Football field in under a minute a testimate to a person's ability? I'd say sure, that son of a bitch is a great swimmer. Is it a sport? I'd say no, unless they did it because crocodiles were chasing them down while they did it.

  114. The MILF Hunter by chiok · · Score: 0

    But... but... I can still MILF hunt on the internet, right?

  115. Interestate commerce clause by HiyaPower · · Score: 1

    Sorry guys, there is this nasty interstate commerce clause that may render this one unconstitutional. Perhaps CA can ban internet hunting within CA, but the way I read the case law, this one is a ban on interstate commerce and so is doa.

    Personally, I don't think robo hunting is something that should be permitted, but this ban runs afoul of the constitution.

    1. Re:Interestate commerce clause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is hunting 'interstate commerece'?

  116. My position on hunting by chriswaclawik · · Score: 0
    I realize that this is a sensitive issue for many people, so I'm going to try by absolute best to not sound like a troll, flamebait, etc. The submitter was oversimplifying things a bit by trying to emcompass an entire sentiment in one snide remark. I myself am opposed to hunting, but I try not to base my opinion on broad sweeping generalizations.

    The reason I am opposed to hunting is not that I explicitly think it's wrong, it's because I see no reasonable justification is right. I think the burden is on hunters to defend their own actions, and not for us to condemn them. Here are the reasons I have heard for hunting:

    1) Fun
    If this is your reason for hunting, then your having fun is contigent on the needless pain and suffering you inflict on animals. Whether or not you think animals suffer is a matter of personal belief, but from what I've seen, pain is a necessary component of ensuring survival in an animal. Plus, if animals didn't feel pain, they wouldn't back down from a fight.

    2) It happens in nature all the time.
    Seeing how far removed from nature we are, it's ridiculous to use nature to justify our actions. Animals go around naked, so why shouldn't we? Animals use physical violence to assert dominance over individuals, so why shouldn't we? (I mean in general day to day life, excluding wars and such). My dog sometimes humps the sofa, so why shouldn't we? I could go on and on.

    3) For Food
    Really, has food gotten so scarce and times so desparate that you have to hunt for sustinence? Is the nutritional value of venison so great that it justifies hunting? Is there nothing else to eat? We're not caveman; you don't have to hunt for food. It is not necessary.

    I realize that most of these arguments can extend to all killing of animals. I in fact have done so. I'm a vegan, the only reason I didn't mention this earlier is because I was afraid I would be dismissed as some nutcase.

    I'm not the type of person who values animal life over human. I'm only angry because most of the suffering we inflict on aniamls is so easily avoided, unlike many of the problems that don't involve animals. I still know what's more important.

    --
    A guy walks into a bar... well, I forgot the joke, but the punchline is that he's an alcoholic.
    1. Re:My position on hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about sadism?

      I enjoy watching animals feel pain and I think it is right.

  117. Argument in Favor - somewhat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't see this as being much different than some of those farms/butcher shops where you get to pick out the animal you want slaughtered.

    I haven't been able to find the website where one can do this, but it is probably just a marketing gimmic. You use the internet to find the animal you want and then pretend to shoot it.

    Someone else then would kill (probably not even shoot since it is on a farm), slaughter, and ship your meat to you.

    Companies like this allow those who want to eat venison, wild board, and such to do so without having to kill and clean the anminal.

    1. Re:Argument in Favor - somewhat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Companies like this allow those who want to eat venison, wild board, and such to do so without having to kill and clean the anminal.

      I prefer domesticated. Less splinters.

  118. Re: Really? by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

    That must be why other nations not so obsessed with shooting shit are so overrun by wildlife.

    Yes sir, I can't even get to my fridge in the morning without tripping over several feral Kangaroos that have found their way into my house.


    BBC: Kangaroo cull targets millions

    CNN: Koalas overcrowded down under

  119. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  120. A good use for this. by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 2, Interesting
    don't buy the "less noble than 'real hunting' concept

    No doubt from one that has never been hunting and frozen his balls off or gone one-on-one with a wild pig.

    Still, I guess there could be some useful things to do with internet hunting. In many places there are various pest species. iHunters could help shoot 'em up and also help pay for pest elimination. For instance, here in New Zealand we have possums introduced from Australia http://www.invasive-animals.org.nz/possum/ I kill about 50 of these a year and still they come... I would not mind a couple of ihunters setting up camp at my place so long as they don't shoot the kids and sheep.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:A good use for this. by MMMDI · · Score: 2, Funny

      New Zealand... kids... sheep...

      Must not insert joke. Must not insert joke. Must not insert joke.

    2. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      A good joke told by an Ozzie:

      How did the New Zealander find the ewe in the tall grass?

      .

      .

      Delightful.

    3. Re:A good use for this. by fr2asbury · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, there's an idea. I could set up a fly swatter with a web cam and let the world kill my bugs for me!

    4. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so long as they don't shoot the kids and sheep.

      That's not such a big deal, the stone and drunk ihunters can kill your kids only once, after that, no worries.

    5. Re:A good use for this. by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

      That's also why we wear tall gumboots.... to hold the ewe's back legs.

      --
      Engineering is the art of compromise.
    6. Re:A good use for this. by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

      I know a bloke who's actually done this, but automated it. The USB cam sees the fly and a laser pointer dot. Servo motors are controlled to put the dot on the fly, then splat!

      --
      Engineering is the art of compromise.
    7. Re:A good use for this. by SA+Stevens · · Score: 1

      Aren't sheep an 'invasive species' as well?

    8. Re:A good use for this. by Tobias.Davis · · Score: 1, Informative
      Well, I don't understand why this is a big deal in NZ. Here in the USA (Indiana) we have rednecks that hunt possums with their big ol' redneck trucks. I commute about 30 miles a day and regularly see about 20 killed on the road a week.


      With that being said, Possum tastes really good with onions and a side of grits (and gravel)

    9. Re:A good use for this. by pauljlucas · · Score: 1, Interesting
      No doubt from one that has never been hunting and frozen his balls off...
      1. Presumeably, nobody forced you to go hunting and freeze your balls off.
      2. Whatever it was you killed lost its life. I feel more sorry for it than your balls.
      ...or gone one-on-one with a wild pig.
      1. Again, presumeably, nobody forced you to go one-on-one with a wild pig. You therefore did it voluntarily for "sport" whereas the pig was simply trying to stay alive.
      2. If you used a gun (or even a knife), I'd say that it wasn't exactly a fair fight.
      If you dislike the potential of freezing your balls off or the odds of going one-on-one with an animal that's fighting for its life, the solution is simple: stay home.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    10. Re:A good use for this. by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 2, Informative

      Your possums are different. They're also a native species which makes them less invasive. In NZ the possums were introduced from Australia. In Australia there are predators and food is relatively scarce. New Zealand has no predator species for possums and they thrive.Possums strip vegitation and eat birds eggs. Since NZ has no real predators, the birds breed slowly. This means they are threatened by possums. NZ has approx 70million possums. Sure we run over a few, but not that many.

      --
      Engineering is the art of compromise.
    11. Re:A good use for this. by Tobias.Davis · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Ah, I see.. Invasive possums, that is a scary thought.

      Thanks for the info!

    12. Re:A good use for this. by Frogbert · · Score: 4, Funny
      For instance, here in New Zealand we have possums introduced from Australia
      You can't complain, over here in Australia we have New Zealand Citizens introduced by New Zealand. I kill about 50 a year and still they come....
    13. Re:A good use for this. by fatman22 · · Score: 1

      Human teeth, claws, and running speed are pretty much useless for hunting. Our other human traits (curiosity, patience, inventiveness) plus a decent hunting knife would almost bring us up to par with the wolf. That would be fair fight, at least with a deer.

    14. Re:A good use for this. by pauljlucas · · Score: 0
      Human teeth, claws, and running speed are pretty much useless for hunting.
      Assuming evolution works, then the fact that our bodies don't make us good hunters should tell you something... like perhaps we shouldn't be hunting.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    15. Re:A good use for this. by rossifer · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Assuming evolution works, then the fact that our bodies don't make us good hunters should tell you something... like perhaps we shouldn't be hunting.

      Ah, but our big brains and opposable thumbs make us very good hunters (us very good tool builders/users can use tools to overcome our lack of running speed, sharp claws and sharp teeth). The calorie density of meat is the only reason your distant (and your fairly recent) ancestors flourished and resulted in a population that included you.

      Among primitive man, nobody who lived very long was a vegetarian, and nobody had the luxury of buying their meat already killed and cleanly presented in the supermarket. If they didn't kill the animal themselves, they knew who did.

      If you're a strict vegetarian, congrats, I haven't got much criticism for you (though I do dislike a lot of the self-deceptive propaganda you read). If you're not a vegetarian and you buy meat from a supermarket, there's only one response you deserve:

      Sit down and shut the fuck up.

      Having someone else kill your meat for you doesn't put you in any better ethical position than a hunter who kills his own meat. If anything, the hunter has some control over how much pain the animal feels as it dies. You'll need to be keeping a close watch on the slaughterhouse that supplies your butcher to claim the same ability. As someone who had an informal tour of an operating slaughterhouse, I know I can do better with a rifle. And after taking that tour, which showed me just how horrible the process is that puts cleanly wrapped cuts of meat on the supermarket shelf, I took up hunting again.

      Regards,
      Ross

    16. Re:A good use for this. by pugnatious · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Riiight.
      We should all just up and die.
      In that line of reasoning we shouldn't try to fly
      either since we have no wings.
      Our bodies make us excellent hunters, in fact.
      So good, the ballance is tipped so strongly in our favor we could cause the extinction of the prey species.
      That hideously bulbous skull on your shoulders is there for a reason.

    17. Re:A good use for this. by zootm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That would be fair fight, at least with a deer.

      I wouldn't class fighting against a herbivore at all as fair, but go figure.

    18. Re:A good use for this. by pauljlucas · · Score: 1
      Having someone else kill your meat for you doesn't put you in any better ethical position than a hunter who kills his own meat.
      Lest you forget, the case at hand is internet hunting that, short of them FedEx'ing the carcass to you, isn't done for meat.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    19. Re:A good use for this. by danro · · Score: 1
      I wouldn't class fighting against a herbivore at all as fair, but go figure.
      That's good to hear.
      Y'all quit fighting us vegetarians... it's not fair.
      --

      "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
    20. Re:A good use for this. by spacecowboy420 · · Score: 1

      Evolution works, that's why our brains evolved the ability to design tools to hunt prey - much like an ape uses a stick to retreive termites from termite mounds - should they not be eating termites? In addition our brains would not have evolved to the point that they have without eating meat. Most meat you must hunt. We are born hunters AND gatherers.

      --
      ymmv
    21. Re:A good use for this. by evilviper · · Score: 1
      1. Presumeably, nobody forced you to go hunting and freeze your balls off.

      This is the most moronic response I can imagine. He's talking about whether actual hunting is more of a sport than online shooting, and your response is "nobody forced you". In fact, you're even supporting his claim that hunting is a sport...

      The only thing worse than your response, is the fact that it somehow got moderated up.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    22. Re:A good use for this. by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 0

      Was the wild pig carrying a gun too?

      --
      That was classic intercourse!
    23. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "If you used a gun (or even a knife), I'd say that it wasn't exactly a fair fight."

      I've been hunting since I was 5 (though I was only carrying meat, not using a gun myself until quite a few years later), and I have to say that that's the most thoughtless argument against hunting that I've ever read. If you're actively trying to turn it into a fair fight, you've already missed the point of hunting. You don't try to make it 'fair' unless you're doing it just to get your kicks by stretching the act of killing something to be as entertaining as possible. Anyone who goes out of their way to make their hunting trips 'fair' is seriously fucked up.

      Now, while your parent might not have presented his position with amazing eloquence, I do understand what he's trying to say. An important aspect of hunting is making or witnessing the kill firsthand. The main reason for this is that you gain some understanding of the value of life. You are directly confronted by the reality that your existence is maintained by the sacrifice of other lives--an important truth that is concealed from most people behind cellophane and foam.

      The reason that most hunters I know* find this point-and-kill deal disgusting is that it removes all of the values and lessons learned through the experience and reduces it to pure, effortless entertainment. For the 'hunter', the fact you've just extinguished a life is, at best, surreal.

      *Any hunter that reads hunting magazines knows about these operations, as practically all of them have had several articles on the subject.

    24. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and you thought latency was bad for VOIP

    25. Re:A good use for this. by zaroastra · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Among primitive man, nobody who lived very long was a vegetarian, and nobody had the luxury of buying their meat already killed and cleanly presented in the supermarket. If they didn't kill the animal themselves, they knew who did.
      Indian culture is vegetarian (India indians, not native americans). As they are the second most populated country with around 800 million habitants (or almost a billion as americans call them) I would say that you can be vegetarian, live long and procriate.
      On top of that mankind has another source of proteins that doesnt involve hunting. Man started domesticating animals thousands of years ago.

      --
      I'm trying to get modded "Interesting Flamebait Informative and Insightful Redundant Troll" *-* Please Help *-*
    26. Re:A good use for this. by Vinster · · Score: 1

      But, by the same token (evolution), our brains make us the best hunters on the planet.

      --
      Hey, nobody ever said English was logical; just memorize it and get on with your life. - Paul Brians
    27. Re:A good use for this. by jotok · · Score: 1

      Assuming evolution works the way we think it does, I don't think you can derive moral statements from the facts of species change (that is to say, your "should" statement is invalid).

      I've never been hunting but according to most hunters with whom I have spoken, the "sport" aspect has to do with using your advantages (adaptability, cleverness) to overcome the animals' advantages (speed, heightened senses, knowledge of local terrain).

    28. Re:A good use for this. by eclectic4 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "though I do dislike a lot of the self-deceptive propaganda you read"

      I'm a vegetarian by default, as my wife's a vegan. Critical thought. If you use it then you are going to be fine. Consider your source, find corroboration, etc... You know, the stuff that no one does anymore...

      The far bigger problem, as you pointed out, is the sanitized version of eating meat that most enjoy, and take for granted on levels not seen in many other arenas (in other words, self-deceptive propaganda). Coupled with the fact that we do not need to eat meat to survive (our "big brains" have taught us how to eat healthier on a no meat diet) and the "propaganda" swell shifts. While waiting for the next Outback Steakhouse commercial, my wife has stacks of University studies to read showing the health benefits of going veggie.

      --

      "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin
    29. Re:A good use for this. by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 1

      Anyone who goes out of their way to make their hunting trips 'fair' is seriously fucked up.

      Though possibly true, there are times when a man must truly see what he is made of and sometimes confronting nature 1 on 1 and a severe disadvantage, has not only the ability to change a person, but also allows someone to not see hunting as senseless killing but true survival of the fittest it allows one to understand our role and how delicate our climb to that role was.

      For instance, I am one of those seriously fucked up people as I have faced many, many wild boar in bare handed combat and won (as well I once fought a panther and won but that was not by choice, and by won I mean I got out with my life it was more of a draw). To me the Internet is no different than the gun or the slaughter house it is all technology to give man the advantage. The men I hunt with as well as myself kind of just chuckle when we see the men from the city come out to the grounds with their modern rifles and there new camo outfits, all used in vein to become the great white hunter.

      Conversely, I asked myself what was man greatest asset in hunting and how without guns or knifes or speed did we ever survive being so frail and the answer is deceptively clear, by intelligence and intelligence alone. By using intelligence man was able to overcome his limitations by training other animals to help him in his assent to the top of the food chain and to fill in the gaps that man lacked. Man's best friend has also been his oldest friend and the two have had a symbiotic relationship since the dawn of man. Man saw that the dog possessed the speed and power to track and take down prey and the dog was thus guaranteed the role of the second hand man on the ladder so to speak. It was then that I realized that true hunting for me was to use the assets of man and dog to track and hunt with only the assets provide to the two.

      I for one find it far more offensive to lack the courage to hunt but to eat the animals. I mean farming animals is pretty much the most efficient means of hunting, far more efficient than the internet. So to me the more one remove ones-self from the process the more they are relying on technology to hunt for them. At least the hogs I hunt have a chance; they can easily kill me as they are over 400 pounds and have razor sharp tusks. I have only my reactions and thought as well my 70 lb bull dog only has his speed and agility together we work as a team to out maneuver and outsmart an animal that could most assuredly kill either one of us alone. But as a team we know that one another's life depends on the assets of the other. My dog must know the absolute times to catch and release in order to allow me the ability to maneuver around the hog in an effort to flip it and tie it up. As well I must be able to maintain control of the hogs head at all times so that neither I nor my dog suffer a mortal wound by the hogs tusk.

      One might ask why someone would chose to do this to which I can only say that it is not about being macho or being tough but rather it is about enlightenment it is about self realization and it is about realizing that we as humans are capable of amazing things with only the use of our minds to orchestrate the capture of an animal that is far our physical superior. To me this is far more noble than getting your hunt at McDonalds those that would be sheltered from the kill have lost the drive that makes us human and that drive is curiosity. (as well, hogs are a nucence in Florida and are destroying our ecological system as we have no large natural predators left. So I catch as many as I can and usually give what I cannot eat away to poor communities)

      As for those that argue we should not eat meat well I cannot really logically argue a illogical argument with the exception of saying that the loss of humans at the top of the chain would only mean that we would be replaced by something else maybe the wolf maybe the mountain lion; but nature always puts something at the top.

    30. Re:A good use for this. by nospmiS+remoH · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We don't have very good hands for digging either. So I suppose we should not farm then? Really, it seems we are best suited for scavanging and eating things that have already died since we don't have to catch or plant dead things. Although, we do have that uncanny ability to reason and in doing so we realize that dead rotton meat is not as good as a nice slab of grilled domesticated cow meat with a side of corn and potatoes. Further, we reason that it is well within our abilities to create or use tools to domesticate animals and plant fields of crops. Although, some people enjoy other kinds of meet, such as deer and cannot afford to buy their family cow meat. For some people hunting does provide food on the table when it would otherwise be hard to come by. Contrary to what many believe, there are people who hunt who are not beer drinking crazy rednecks hellbent on "killin' sumthin'" for the fun of it.

      --
      !hoD
    31. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look at all those dumbshit animals we've hunted to extinction! We're AWESOME hunters, hippy.

    32. Re:A good use for this. by feed_me_cereal · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't think he ever said that a vegetarian civilization can't survive, just that we evolved as hunters. From what I've seen/read/learned, I agree. Obviously we're no longer cave people and are advanced enough to be able to take full advantage of our role as omnivores, all the way up to making the decision to be vegetarians. As a vegetarian, I'm more comforted by the fact that I choose my lifestyle in spite of my evolutionary history, rather than to suit it.

      --
      "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
    33. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Coupled with the fact that we do not need to eat meat to survive (our "big brains" have taught us how to eat healthier on a no meat diet) and the "propaganda" swell shifts. While waiting for the next Outback Steakhouse commercial, my wife has stacks of University studies to read showing the health benefits of going veggie."

      ===
      Well.. YOU may not have/want to eat meat..
      But the science that developed those lil supplement pills I see vegans scarfing down to give them the vitamins they require were developed by MEAT EATERS.
      The irony meter is pegged...

    34. Re:A good use for this. by Buz · · Score: 1

      Go Ross!
      Killing for the sake of killing is idiocy. Killing for food is what we (humans) do. I don't hunt. But I can't wee where it would be any worse than breeding an animal in a confined area and slaughtering them wholesale. I've heard that chickens are bred such that some of them can't even support their own weight. That seems at least as barbaric as hunting. Are you going to stop going to the store and stop buying chicken? Most people aren't.

    35. Re:A good use for this. by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1
      I wouldn't class fighting against a herbivore at all as fair, but go figure.

      That was funny! Really!

      You ARE aware that the most dangerous animals in Africa are herbivores, right? Elephant, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, as examples.

      Or consider either moose or buffalo (or longhorn cow) in North America.

      Or the Bull in pretty much any pasture.

      Contrary to Niven's earlier stories, herbivores aren't necessarily timid, safe creatures.

      I'd rather hunt a lion with a pocketknife than hunt an elephant with a machinegun. Or a Cape Buffalo with any weapon....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    36. Re:A good use for this. by zootm · · Score: 1

      Touché. I come from the timid ol' UK where herbivores are cute and cuddly. :D

    37. Re:A good use for this. by rossifer · · Score: 1

      Lest you forget, the case at hand is internet hunting that, short of them FedEx'ing the carcass to you, isn't done for meat.

      Oh, I agree with just about everyone here that the "hunting as video game" that was the original subject is utterly reprehensible, and for any number of reasons. It's the swipe at the end of the /. posting that's gotten all of the attention and discussion here.

      Regards,
      Ross

    38. Re:A good use for this. by theVP · · Score: 1

      He's right. Do you know what animal kills more people than any other on a yearly basis? The HIPPO. Just because it doesn't want to eat you, doesn't mean it won't mind killing you to protect it's territory.

      --
      "No one is more miserable than the person who wills everything and can do nothing." -Emperor Claudius 10 BC - AD 54
    39. Re:A good use for this. by rossifer · · Score: 1

      For several years, I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian (this actually happened shortly after my first hunt, where my emotions were so strong that I found it difficult to bear the sight of meat for quite some time). Since I live in California, I live near thousands of people who currently practice vegetarianism to varying degrees. I am also personally acquainted with several dozen of them and have had books, articles, studies and personal anecdotes sent my way for many years.

      Anecdotally speaking, of course (since I don't know which studies you're referring to), not one of the assertions in the papers and books I've ready is substantiated by anything better than self-serving, anecdotal reports. You'd think that nobody doing vegetarian advocacy had heard of double blind testing. Most of this material (especially the books) don't even get that far, and are instead pure assertion and wishful thinking wrapped up with fake certifications, memberships, and mail-order degrees. And then, my friends who are the most consistent vegetarians are the least healthy people I know. Far too thin (emaciated was the word my fiance used), and constantly complaining about various problems (most seem to have joint problems).

      As for the propaganda of the meat industry, I differentiate between advertising and propaganda (where one is hawking a product or service and the other is attempting to alter more fundamental meme patterns about a position or a subject). Not too many people are claiming that a diet of pure meat is even slightly healthy. Instead, the most credible evidence shows that a balanced diet, including moderate amounts of meat (about as much as a single Outback steak divided up over a week), results in the fewest risk factors for long life and overall quality of life.

      Personally, I find that the most credible discussions have involved people who have practiced several forms of vegetarianism, have personally observed the changes in their own bodies and who currently have a healthy body image (as opposed to the distorted body image that many with eating disorders have). This site tries very hard to walk a sensitive line (while maintaining a sane position) and is maintained by several lapsed and moderate vegetarians.

      And I agree completely that the bigger problem is the moral separation that people have from the cruelty done in their name when they buy packaged meat from the supermarket.

      Regards,
      Ross

    40. Re:A good use for this. by Lovesquid · · Score: 1

      Don't you mean the mosquito?

    41. Re:A good use for this. by eclectic4 · · Score: 1

      She doesn't eat any "pills" at all. Not one, not even a multi-vitamin, and she's been vegan for 11 years and is in perfect health. You can get everything you need in food sources. You may want to inform your vegan friends to do a little more research...

      --

      "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin
    42. Re:A good use for this. by eclectic4 · · Score: 1

      One of the problems that I have seen over and over again with vegetarians/vegans is that their nutrition research has been anemic, or rife with dis/misinformation. Fortunately, my wife (she turned vegan at a very young age, 13) had parents that demanded she do the research in order to maintain a healthy diet. She did. And without a derogatory ping to mention, she is slightly overweight. It wasn't a health/weight issue with her, but rather a moral one, and she eats plenty. You see, being underweight has nearly nothing to do with being vegetarian: it is the result of an unhealthy diet, and your friends should take note of that. Unfortunately, as I stated previously, our society doesn't serve the proper vegetarian diet in a convenient way, and therefore much work has to be done on the individual level. Research, consult a nutritionist, etc... whatever you need to do, because just eating salads is going to produce an extremely unhealthy result, and I see it constantly to my dismay.

      The health benefits (links with references to the studies done) are hard to ignore, and are readily available to peruse. I found those in one minute of googling. I can provide more in depth studies if one wishes.

      Just to reiterate, an unhealthy vegetarian, just as an unhealthy meat eater is the result of a bad nutritional intake, but research over the last 30 years has shown that an all veggie diet can in fact reduce many common modern health risks (diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, among others).

      Kindly,
      eclectic

      --

      "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin
    43. Re:A good use for this. by Tassach · · Score: 1
      Next on Fox: When Possums Invade

      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    44. Re:A good use for this. by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1
      Do you know what animal kills more people than any other on a yearly basis? The HIPPO.

      I saw a nature show a couple years ago about hippos and crocodiles. Seems that hippo mothers teach their children not to be afraid of crocodiles by setting the kids down in the middle of a bunch of adult crocodiles.

      And watching.

      If a croc makes a wrong move, the hippo kills that croc, and puts the kid back.

      Really entertaining watching a baby hippo bite a crocodile's tail while the mother sat there.

      The crocs knew better (they were being taught to be afraid of hippos at the same time the baby was learning not to be afraid of crocs) than to get upset.

      And they knew better than to leave, since the mother hippo would hurt them if they tried to swim off.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    45. Re:A good use for this. by Tassach · · Score: 1
      the fact that our bodies don't make us good hunters
      H. Sapiens is unquestionably the most successful hunter on the planet, for three reasons:
      1. We communicate (and can therefore cooperate) with each other better than any other species. Humans successfuly hunted the largest and most dangerous animals using stone-age technology. Name one other species that was capable of bringing down a wooly mammoth in it's prime.
      2. We're capable of abstract thought, which allows us to adopt more complex and effective hunting strategies.
      3. We excel at using tools. Many species use tools (EG, sea otters use rocks to crack open shellfish), so the argument that using a pointy stick or a rock (or any other weapon) to hunt is somehow "unnatural" doesn't hold water.
      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    46. Re:A good use for this. by Tassach · · Score: 1
      I wouldn't class fighting against a herbivore at all as fair, but go figure.
      Herbivores can be very dangerous.

      The Cape Buffalo is considered by many to be the most dangerous game species in the world, and it's an herbivore. Hippos are very aggressive and territorial; rhinos are notoriously foul-tempered. Both are herbivores. Even a whitetail deer will attack you if it's cornered.

      --
      Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
    47. Re:A good use for this. by zootm · · Score: 1

      Sibling post beat you to it.

    48. Re:A good use for this. by rossifer · · Score: 1
      Thank you for the reasoned response.

      As it turns out I've read much of the information referenced from the Vegetarian Society and they are a perfect example of my complaint about vegetarian literature in general: they don't effectively provide control data for their statistics and conclusions.

      Fundamentally: they're comparing causes of mortality of people who eat meat in the general population to vegetarians. There's no isolation for the effect of meat in the diet. Those who eat meat in the general population are largely unaware of their diet, eating the "SAD" or something roughly equivalent. The "Standard American Diet" can be described as:
      • too many calories (frequently eating to over-satiation).
      • erratic scheduling (typified by a minimal or completely missing breakfast).
      • dominated by refined food products, specifically refined sugar and refined flour.
      • lots of fried foods.
      • lots of saturated fats, hydrolized oils, and low density cholesterol from multiple sources.
      • lacking sufficient quantities of several necessary vitamins and minerals.
      • includes meat (sometimes in excessive quantity).

      So how can they be sure it's just the meat that's at fault for those health problems? Of course the SAD diet is unhealthy. Any diet where you're aware of what you're eating will be healthier than that. If the meat's to blame, the studies I've seen (and I've seen a lot) have yet to make that case.

      While I agree that a vegetarian diet can be healthier than the SAD, it's not the only diet that is. Just about any diet with moderate quantities of varied food eaten regularly throughout the day will probably do the trick. In my own cooking, I specifically include a wide variety of steamed vegetables, whole fruit (very little juice), whole grains and whole grain products, and moderate quantities of meat, usually fish or venison that I've personally harvested.

      If they were to conduct a study of a stable varied diet including meat against a stable varied diet excluding meat, I suspect the health benefits of the vegetarian diet over a diet including meat would be very difficult to identify. This is not to say that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy: far from it. Only that moderate quantities of meat are not unhealthy and have eliminated the cravings I used to regularly feel during my own years as a vegetarian.

      Regards,
      Ross
    49. Re:A good use for this. by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      Farm animals aren't invasive. Not native maybe but they are controled and do less damage to the enviroment then their worth is expected.

      I know it is splitting hairs and calling a spade a spoon but you realy have to look at it that way. If an animal is a "cash crop" and can be controled, it escapes alot of the negetive effects that other nusaunce animals have.

    50. Re:A good use for this. by gronofer · · Score: 1
      On the other hand, humans are invasive. Not native and they are uncontrolled and do more damage to the enviroment then their worth is expected.

      Once the humans were eliminated, the farm animals would run amok.

    51. Re:A good use for this. by gronofer · · Score: 1

      I know how you feel, here in London there are millions (so it seems) of Aussies and no matter how many are accidently involved in train crashes and unrelated bombings in exotic holiday locations, the supply never seems to dry up.

    52. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my Indian history class (that is, "History of the Indian Subcontinent), the professor said that there are a few sanskrit texts that describe Hindu upper classes eating beef. But they date to around 8-13th centuries. I can buy the idea that Hinduism has been strictly vegetarian since at least European cultures got there and started recording observations (not to be Eurocentric but not too many other cultures wrote quite as much, or candidly). Anyways, East and South Asian people are incredibly malnourished, even the middle class, and no I don't mean from the American BMI perspective. When the Brits were looking for Indian recruits in WWII they found the vast majority, from all strata of society, weak and physically thin. Even today I read somewhere that 19 of 20 applicants to the Indian army are rejected because of health and weight issues. Sure, India and China are huge, bursting at the seams even. Shame so many of them starve to death and suffer nutrition-related health problems.

    53. Re:A good use for this. by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      interesting concept except for humans are the ones that place value or "worth" on objects. We are the ones who are defining reletive usefullness.

      OTOH, Humans arer quite like a virus in some ways. But this still doesn't makes them "worth" less then an animal. Again humans interpret "worth" and we are the ones that determine it.

    54. Re:A good use for this. by chthon · · Score: 1

      Hey, this is great. I got that idea years back, when none of the technology that could made it possible even existed or was too expensive.

      I always thought about using a kind of radar though. I got the idea from reading about how anti-aircraft systems work.

      Did he write the fly recognition software himself ?

      Great feat implementing this.

    55. Re:A good use for this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Among primitive man, nobody who lived very long was a vegetarian"

      "Among Primitive Man" are the key words here. Vegetarians now a days, if you do it right, are supposed to live longer than most meat eaters, though I'm not sure of the number of years.

    56. Re:A good use for this. by flubbergust · · Score: 1

      Indian culture is vegetarian That is good to know. Now I can feel better knowing I eat vegeterian when I order my chicken vindaloo, rogan josh, tandoori chicken or sheek kebab.

    57. Re:A good use for this. by eclectic4 · · Score: 1

      I concur. And while admittedly I could be considered a minority, I eat horribly on a vegatarian diet. Fried foods, cheese galore, massive amounts of pasta: ergo pizza, french fries, ravioli, deep fried anything, etc... and it's because these are the things provided easily. They surround us. Now, one that is vegetarian for health reasons (which would be the vast majority) won't be as easily swayed as I am to these foods, and therefore agree with your argument.

      The study merely states, therefore, that a vegetarian diet seems to be healthier than the "normal" meat eaters diet, not necessarily that it's the meat itself that is the cause.

      --

      "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin
    58. Re:A good use for this. by fbg111 · · Score: 1

      Indian culture is vegetarian

      No, they eat plenty of lamb meat, but just not their sacred cows.

      --
      Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
    59. Re:A good use for this. by shaitand · · Score: 1

      "so the argument that using a pointy stick or a rock (or any other weapon) to hunt is somehow "unnatural" doesn't hold water."

      Indeed. The argument that anything humans do could be unnatural doesn't hold water. Humans are simply animals. Human animals have opposable thumbs and brains that are the result of evolution. There are other animals that are more capable than us in every area; speed (cheetah), bulk(elephant), strength(ape), vision(hawk), smell(dog), intellect(dolphin). These creatures are native inhabits of the planet Earth, they are the result of natural evolution, just like us.

  121. Hunting? Outlawed geek sport by saskboy · · Score: 1

    Well, now with Internet Hunting, and Wardriving illegal, I guess all that's left of the "geek sports" to outlaw is Porn Surfing.

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  122. innocent entities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...if the animals are innocent, how much more innocent are heads of lettuce and little cute soy-beans? They were alive once too, you know.

    Think of the poor heads of lettuce that were killed, the next time you're eating your tofu salad.

    (i actually once made a hard-core vegan idiot cry, when i told here that lettuce was alive too (which, it is, of course), and that it screams when you kill it, just not as loud... i imagine she's starved to death by now)

    (ac cuz i already moderated)

    .

  123. Irony is better with logic... by Ogre-On · · Score: 1
    ...whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    On the other hand, raising "innocent animals" for slaughter and mass consumption is just fine, right? Or don't you eat meat or wear leather?

  124. Re:Innocent BLOOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, liberals are never innocent, but yes, they are animals...

    KILL 'EM

  125. Re:SLASHDOT = PETAphiles? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BUT killing "INNOCENT" animals on foot is still legal! FUckINg ameriKKKan PIGS I"11 FUCK your JESUS up the ASS! hail my PETA!!!

  126. good, now give monkeys some guns by dindi · · Score: 1

    hunting, together with fishing and other killing activities - when not directly serving the survival of you, or your family should be banned alltogether ...

    yes some might think differently, but what kind of a sport is it to go with high-tech sniper rifles against innocent animals ????

    want a shooting sport? go play paintball or airsoft, there you can show if you can outrun a gun, hide and seek and play one-on one or be part of a commando ....

    i am facinated by killing tools, just from the tech standpoint... i am interested in guns and paintball/airsoft guns or bows or blowguns.... damn even knives or swords ...... but in no way i would consider shooting at living things (except people wearing protective gear a,d with paint) in case no one directly threatens my survival ....

    hunting is not a sport, it is a sick way of entertainment....

    internet hunting ? go play quake or doom or cs or halo or whatever you morons!

  127. All Animals are By Definition Innocent by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Seeing as how guilt, good and evil are all human inventions. Therefore that word is redundant. I would suggest another. Perhaps "delicious"?

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  128. Hunting.c by Felinoid · · Score: 1

    Ahhh man and I just got that code that tracks the target to work right.
    Oh sure sure it only targets burrocrats however I had to have a basis for the simulations and burrocrats are dumbest most predictable animal so a simulation was simple.

    --
    I don't actually exist.
  129. not wearing pants by MonkeyBoyo · · Score: 1

    Maybe they just want to make sure that hunters are wearing pants when they kill.

    Occasionally in flipping through the TV channels, I've come across hunting shows where some guy in a tree ambushes a deer. And some of those guys get really worked up and excited untill the climax of the kill.

    Maybe the opponents of internet hunting want do discourage people from engaging in unseemly behavior in their basements.

  130. Leather and steaks? by HermanAB · · Score: 1

    So, killing innocent cows and sheep for meat, glue and leather at point blank distance while captive is somehow OK, but hunting isn't? We got to live, we are omnivores and eat meat - life isn't fair - get over it.

    --
    Oh well, what the hell...
  131. 3 TOED SLOTH MAN!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He'd still be in the trees eating leaves like a 3 toed sloth... what a fag... how many innocent bacteria has he killed trying to spoon feed shit to the slashdot crowd?

  132. Faked shooting? by Firethorn · · Score: 1

    Except the guy in Texas that was proposing it had sending you the pelt and meat as part of the service.

    Also, it wouldn't be on public land, it would be using essentially 'farm' animals on private property.

    Still werd and a bit sick, but not something that I would feel that a new law needs to be made for. I would tend to think that animal cruelty laws would cover just fine.

    Of course, I view any new law with extreme suspicion. I feel that all the laws of the land should be able to fit into something the size of a dictionary. In the same or larger font.

    --
    I don't read AC A human right
  133. But... by n6kuy · · Score: 1

    ..how am I going to get my Free iPod, now?

    --
    If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
  134. My biggest problem... by scrwvwls · · Score: 1

    with internet hunting is that it makes the experience less personal and lowers people's inhibitions to shoot irresponsibly in places that would cause more suffering to the deer. You cannot see/hear the animal suffering over the internet as clearly and certainly that would make people less squeamish over essentially torturing the animal.

    1. Re:My biggest problem... by scrwvwls · · Score: 1

      Unless of course I'm missing something and it isn't direct pointing and clicking and involves some type of moderation or 3rd party hunting.

  135. Re:Snide remark ROFL ROFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes yes, we won't kill the "innocent" liberal animals... just the nasty GUILTY ones that kill other animals, and destroy the environment by removing foliage.

    WHat a fucking TARD... TIMMAY! TIMMAY! RUUHHHHH!

  136. Not totally true by L053R · · Score: 1

    There is no such thing as "innocent animals", they are all guilty of the high crime of "being made from meat". Punishable by death by grilling.

    --
    L053R
    1. Re:Not totally true by Sigma+7 · · Score: 1
      There is no such thing as "innocent animals", they are all guilty of the high crime of "being made from meat". Punishable by death by grilling.


      I couldn't find a way to agree more. After all, these "homo sapien" units are very delicious, and are considered quite a delicasy.

      After all, humans were created by an intellegent designer, to make them as tasty as possible. The only problem is that the design isn't perfect - their sentience wasn't restricted well enough and as a result, they don't like being harvested for food...

  137. ugh... I submitted this three days ago... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    pathetic...

    1. Re:ugh... I submitted this three days ago... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must not have added the bit about killing innocent animals.

      Idiot!

  138. Priorities - You betcha. by Firethorn · · Score: 1

    1. While not currently a hunter, it's mostly because, at this point in time I do not have the resources available to properly utilize any game I take. I'm not going to spend $200 for the privilage of hunting a deer that I'd end up donating 90% of the meat because I can't use it.
    1a. If I'm going to go after game, I'm not going to do it on my computer.
    2. I would not consider internet hunting a big deal at this time. Most likely it's a fad. Look at the popularity of bow and black powder hunting. These guys aren't going to use the internet.
    3. California, from all reports, is going through a number of crisises, including many financial.
    4. Books of Law are already bigger than Encylopedias and harder to read than medical texts. Do we really need a law this specific? Do we need another law?

    --
    I don't read AC A human right
  139. Excuse by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1

    Please excuse my overly liberal use of the word "everyone". I just mean "lots of people" -- enough people that large predators have been virtually wiped out. Even if it were just a minority of people are doing the complaining, that can be enough constitute "everyone" in a political sense; look at how much power the 20% of Americans who are fundamentalist-Christian exert over the other 80%.

  140. Managed by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1

    They managed because of top predators. Most of the top predators are gone now though, thanks to us. Wolves are rare, cougars practically wiped out, and bears have seriously declined. North America now has a serious lack of predators, other than the pink two-legged kind.

  141. An assload?! by autophile · · Score: 4, Funny
    I used to dislike hunters. Then I met one -- hell of a guy. He gave my family an assload of venison steaks and moose sausage.

    I don't think this could be funnier if you tried.

    --Rob

    --
    Towards the Singularity.
    1. Re:An assload?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, an assload is still many cubic assloads less then a fuck-ton.

    2. Re:An assload?! by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      A cubic assload? Shit a brick...

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    3. Re:An assload?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe he just likes donkeys...

  142. Act on the bill by ScottLay · · Score: 1

    If you want to weigh in on the bill, you can e-mail the current committee through this link: http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/SB_1028

  143. whatever by dibblda · · Score: 1

    *innocent animals* boo hoo..... The animal kingdom is not innocent. They don't call it the law of the jungle for nothing. Go play with an innocent grizzly bear / wolf / etc. if you don't belive me.... No moral framework in nature => no innocence or guilt. That said, internet hunting is retarded. A good hunter always eats what he kills.

  144. Tracking by Columcille · · Score: 1

    For me there is a sportsmanship issue here that even goes beyond the absurdity of hunting from a computer. When a hunter shoots an animal and the animal runs off the obligation is on the hunter to track the animal rather than have it suffer a slow death. Every hunter I know follows this, even when it costs them a good deal of time to do so. I'm sure there are those who don't, but there's exceptions to everything. Will the guy running the site be sitting there during a person's paid session so that if an animal is simply wounded he will track it down? Perhaps, but I'm not thinking so.

    --
    I love my sig.
  145. Something is just not right by yderf · · Score: 1

    Many have said it so far, that most of the arguments against, especially those about fairness of the hunt, are pretty much moot.

    But it is clear by the reaction here that many seem to have a problem with this. I count myself among them. Maybe I'm partially against hunting already and this just seems to push laziness to the next level. Or maybe this creates a level of detachment from the action of killing that disturbs my subconscious.

    But I'm curious if anyone, those for or against, can give me a good explanation why so many people seem to feel there is something wrong about shooting animals from your computer? I just can't put my finger on exactly what about it bothers me.

    1. Re:Something is just not right by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      Because it's not productive. Good hunters will eat/use what they kill. If you're killing something 1000 miles away chances are you're not going to have it shipped to your home to eat.

      It's just killing for the sake of killing and any proper hunter will agree with that.

      While I don't agree with the typical hunter [e.g. weekend deer terrorist] I don't think the practice is bad. I eat meat and I fully realize it comes from the Meatrix so I'm not a hypocrite.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  146. innocent animals? by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 1

    innocent animals?

    Trust me, if deer had high speed Internet in the forrest and a valid credit card, they'd be hunting you online. I consider this self defense.

    --
    The Internet is generally stupid
  147. What the F? by birge · · Score: 1, Insightful
    The midwest is more infested with humans than with deer. Where can I apply for a human hunting license?


    What simple-minded zealots modded this unbelievably stupid straw-man "argument" as insightful? This is why it's so hard to be liberal these days. I don't want to be on the same side as these assholes.

    1. Re:What the F? by Eagle5596 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Agreed, there was nothing insightful about his comment. There is no "human infestation". Humans in the midwest aren't putting themselves in a position where other humans in the midwest are starving as a result of their overpopulation. In fact, the Midwest is pretty well thriving these days (minus Ohio), and has a much more managable population level than the coasts.

    2. Re:What the F? by birge · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Agreed, there was nothing insightful about his comment. There is no "human infestation". Humans in the midwest aren't putting themselves in a position where other humans in the midwest are starving as a result of their overpopulation. In fact, the Midwest is pretty well thriving these days (minus Ohio), and has a much more managable population level than the coasts.

      Allow me to go so far as to also say that if they were starving each other out, it still wouldn't be ok to shoot them. :-)

    3. Re:What the F? by lee1026 · · Score: 1

      in that case can I go to africa and shoot those people? they are really causing themselves to starve by overpopulation. it is our fault in the first place for removing smallpox

    4. Re:What the F? by BlueFashoo · · Score: 1

      There're assholes on every side. Get used to it.

      --
      Nice Marmot
    5. Re:What the F? by birge · · Score: 1

      Actually, it seems the "party of tolerance" has got the upper hand when it comes to assholes on this issue. I've heard little but fair reason on the side of those supporting hunting, but very little other than cheap emotion-based pot shots from the anti-hunters on this one.

    6. Re:What the F? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no "human infestation". Humans in the midwest aren't putting themselves in a position where other humans in the midwest are starving as a result of their overpopulation.

      Is it ok if we just shot the Republicans then?

    7. Re:What the F? by Eagle5596 · · Score: 0

      Please, grab a wooden board and smack yourself over the head repeatedly, I'm not arguing for shooting people or some other such idiocy, just that the Midwest is far from overpopulated. Just representing foo.

  148. I love animals... by RoverDaddy · · Score: 1

    That's why I love to kill'em.

    --
    RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
  149. hah haha hahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Supporters have suggested the remote hunting could be beneficial for hunters with disabilities and questioned why Californians should be barred from patronizing a legitimate Texas business.

    ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ah ahahahahahahahahahahaha

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha

  150. Internet hunting is wrong, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I agree with the sentiment that hunting over the Internet is wrong for many reasons. Maybe (maybe) there should be an exception for people who are too disabled to use a rifle. Maybe. But other than that, the idea of Internet hunting is indefensible.

    However, gee, don't we have a lot of other things going on in California to worry about? Like healthcare, education, the budget, the environment, things like that? There are people dying every day (including today!) for lack of adequate healthcare, there are students who don't have adequate schools, AIDS patients who are dying because they don't have AIDS drugs etc. These are real problems affecting real people right now. Why aren't our legislators drafting some emergency legislation on those issues, instead of addressing this mostly-hypothetical concern? There's one company in Texas attempting to do this. Do they have any actual users yet? Has anyone in California done this? How many people would use it, even if it were widely available?

    Sometimes I am disgusted by what are the CA legislature's priorities. I agree with the idea, but it seems to diminish the stature of the entire legislature when they get involved in things like this.

  151. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by raehl · · Score: 1

    Hunting can and should still be a challenge.

    What if you could hunt HUNTERS over the computer? That would make it more challenging for both parties!

  152. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by SuperPunch · · Score: 1

    he/she really didn't say or imply that n00b.

  153. That's a pretty broad assumption. by raehl · · Score: 1

    You're assuming that all vegetarians have the same goal: kill the least number of animals. The truth is there are lots of reasons for people to be vegetarians.

    For some it's that they don't like killing animals, period, in which case your point is valid.

    For others, it's that they don't like the way animals which are bred for slaughter (or to produce dairy products) are kept - it's the QUALITY of the life, not the taking of the life, that the object to, in which case killing many free-roaming wild mice is preferable to raising an animal in a pen not big enough for the animal to turn around.

    And for yet others, it's because they work behind a counter at a coffee shop and "not slaughtering innocent animals" is the only way they have to feel like they're special.

    I can't count the number of people I've met who are vegetarians primarily as a mechanism for being different than their parents.

    1. Re:That's a pretty broad assumption. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For others, it's that they don't like the way animals which are bred for slaughter (or to produce dairy products) are kept - it's the QUALITY of the life, not the taking of the life, that the object to, in which case killing many free-roaming wild mice is preferable to raising an animal in a pen not big enough for the animal to turn around.

      I'd hope these people would support the taking of free roaming wild deer/etc then. It's one step more natural than free range farmed. Unless they could make the argument that there is no way to ensure a humane death when shot with a rifle.

  154. ethics of hunting by tjic · · Score: 1, Insightful
    I've never hunted.

    However, I think that the stance in this post:

    ... whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine."

    shows some fuzzy thinking.

    Like most /.-ers, I'm an omnivore. I'm known to eat the occassional burger, ham sandwhich, carnitas burrito, etc.

    ...and when I do, as an animal lover, I often think that the factory farming system we have sucks. Animals are raised in tight conditions, under artificial lights, and never get to go outside, or live in the environment their species evolved in.

    I consider it far more moral, as a consumer of animal protein, to harvest animals that have lived full natural lives outdoors, than it is to outsource the process, and delegate to others the raising, handling, and slaughter of animals in factory farms ("there are vast fields, Neo, where...").

    The more I think about it, the more I think that I should start hunting, and should ONLY eat meat that comes from creatures that got to live outside.

    1. Re:ethics of hunting by DeanMeister · · Score: 1

      I think you make a really good point here. I was a little put off by the "tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine" as well. I think the important thing to keep in mind here is that hunting is something should be kept simple. Banning a robotic gun is just like banning steroids in baseball.

      --
      Society never gets more or less violent, the definition of violent just keeps changing.
    2. Re:ethics of hunting by eraserewind · · Score: 1

      And exactly how long would you give any unfarmed species to continue existing if everyone who eats meat hunted wild free animals? You know all those big extinct mammals? They went extinct for a reason, and when hunting technology was a lot less sophisticated than it is now. Farming is the only way to feed a civilization.

    3. Re:ethics of hunting by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 1

      Banning a robotic gun is just like banning steroids in baseball.

      You mean, something which the government shouldn't get involved in?

    4. Re:ethics of hunting by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 1

      Farming is the only way to feed a civilization.

      Farming, yes, but not raising of animals for slaughter. Most of us would have to change our diets, as meat would become a delicacy as it was in the past, but there's no reason elimination of farm-raised meat products would cause society to starve.

  155. Re:Snide reply by tcgroat · · Score: 1

    You claim that "most" hunters violate Colorado state law requiring all edible meat from game animals be prepared for human consumption (see Article XI section 020.D.1). That is insulating to all license holders in this state.

  156. Sport, or not? by rwyoder · · Score: 1

    "In a sport, both sides know they're playing!" -- Paul Rodriguez, on 'Politically Incorrect'

  157. Think if it from a hunter's perspective by Infonaut · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Why does there need to be a law for everything?

    I don't think there needs to be a law for everything, but to me this is a case where hunters are saying that they don't want hunting to become inundated with people who are not hunters.

    Hunting isn't just about taking out your high-powered rifle and wasting an animal. You have to be out in the environment. You have to be where the animal is in order to kill it. While the technology for finding and killing animals has become more advanced, there is a connection between the hunter and the prey . I'm not a hunter, but every hunter I've ever talked to takes this seriously.

    It seems to me that one of the primary reasons people go out early in the morning and spend long hours in the woods looking for animals to kill, then doing the dirty work of dispatching the animals and hauling their dead bodies is that they want to be closer to the life and death struggle of nature. They want to feel less removed from it, not more removed from it.

    In that sense, a ban on Internet hunting is a way of saying that they want to preserve this aspect of hunting, so that it is not overwhelmed by people who have no sense of what hunting is all about, and think of it as merely a video game featuring live animals. While I don't hunt because I don't see the need to kill animals in order to feel closer to nature, or in order to prove my dominance over other creatures, I can understand why hunters would want to keep hunting from becoming an exercise that requires no interaction with the natural world.

    As a side note, California does have to focus on balancing the budget, but I hardly think it's a question of balancing the budget or passing a law banning Internet hunting.

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
  158. Smokescreen - It's the DROIDS they're looking for! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The ethics arguments are merely a smokescreen. The Department of Homeland Security doesn't want a non-governmental market to develop in teleoperated and autonomous weapons. The 4th amendment is disposed of if citizens have bolt action rifles, and DHS has ED-209's.

  159. License to Kill by potat0man · · Score: 1


    MI6?

  160. "innocent animals" by MicroBerto · · Score: 1
    Do you feel bad for a zebra when the lions hunt it too? Are they innocent and we should ban all lions?

    It's called a food chain, buddy. There's no innocence and guilt in the food chain -- only survival or the stoppage of your gene propagation.

    --
    Berto
  161. In related news... by wombert · · Score: 1

    Legislation pending against Yahoo! Pool; "disgrace to the sport", says BCA

    --
    Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
  162. Overpopulation by ari_j · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, it would be much better for animals to have their population controlled by Chronic Wasting Disease induced by overpopulation and destruction (by humans) of their habitat, rather than controlling the population through conservation techniques such as licensed and regulated hunting, which not only controls the population but also funds the conservation efforts and studies.

    Yes, death by overpopulation, malnourishment, and disease is much better for the "innocent" animals than feeding my family after I spend months developing an effective load to cleanly kill them, years target practicing, and weeks tracking the animals in the outdoors to get the perfect shot.

    1. Re:Overpopulation by BlueHands · · Score: 1

      you are forgeting the most natural form of controling population: roaming packs of wolves! I am sure that people would be much happier with that solution, just as god intended! We might loose the odd person to those packs, but at least people would not be hunting the cute little deer!! BAMBIII!!!!

      --
      I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
    2. Re:Overpopulation by BlueFashoo · · Score: 1

      And what, exactly, is unnatural about roaming packs of humans killing deer?

      --
      Nice Marmot
    3. Re:Overpopulation by ari_j · · Score: 1

      That's his point, I think. I know that pro-hunting people are rare on Slashdot, but I think we're also all really sarcastic. ;)

    4. Re:Overpopulation by BlueHands · · Score: 1

      not a damn thing. Like i said,i find it funny where people want to draw the line about what is and isn't natural......man has been killing things for a very long time,no reason for us to stop now.....

      --
      I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
  163. Sounds short sighted of California by TykeClone · · Score: 1

    They should think "out of state hunting licen$e$" and encourage it!

    --
    A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
  164. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...what real arguments can anyone make for allowing this? What convincing situations and reasonings can someone present? "

    Not that I'm in favor of it, but I'm sure the argument is that WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO ALLOW OR DISALLOW THINGS THAT ARE 'RIGHTS'?

    Really, the reason we have a Bill of Rights is to prevent the government from trying to make arbitrary limits on... oh, never mind...

  165. What is hunting? by Johnboi+Waltune · · Score: 1

    Human beings, at least the male ones, are hunters. Our bodies are evolved to chase down herbivores until they can't run anymore, and then slay them with hand to hand weaponry. For most of human history, it was either do that or starve. The men who brought the meat and skins to the tribe (at high risk of personal injury to themselves) were rightly treated with honor and gratitude.

    Today, that just isn't the case anymore. We domesticate animals and farm crops for food. People still get an atavistic sense of honor and strength from killing animals for essentially no purpose whatsoever -- neither to eat, nor turn into clothes, nor anything else.

    Hunting still has one purpose, which is to maintain populations of herbivores when the natural predators have been driven away or rendered extinct. That should be a JOB, not something that people do for thrills. If you want thrills, make a spear out of a stick and a piece of flint and hunt with that the way our ancestors did. Doing it with a rifle from a hundred yards isn't hunting, it's execution.

    I've hiked a lot and seen plenty of deer. All they want to do is eat foliage and make baby deer. I despise the enjoyment that people -- who eat very well by other means -- gain from shooting them. This 'internet hunting' takes it one step further into pure sadism divorced from purpose or reality.

    --
    "The advanced societies of the future will be driven by competing systems of psychopathology." -JG Ballard
  166. How California would handle it by John+Jorsett · · Score: 1

    Therefore, interestingly enough, conservation demands that we hunt more deer.

    Actually, it just demands that more animals die by whatever means. In the case of California, it would never do to allow the citizens to hunt deer themselves. People might have a good time doing that, and besides, it wouldn't cost the state anything. No, if more deer have to die, California will take the opportunity to put deer euthanizers (and deer euthanizer supervisors, deer trappers, deer cremators, deer euthanizer auditors, etc.) on the payroll. More government employees, more unionized workers, bigger budgets, and best of all, no crazed, Bambi-murdering private citizens to enjoy themselves and to eat what they bring down.

  167. MOD PARENT DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    it's best to eat nothing but large free-range ruminants. A vegetarian diet results in enormous numbers of rodents and insects being killed by threshers and harvesting machinery.

    Parent poster doesn't seem to realize that large ruminants eat corn in some form, whose harvesting kills the same rodents. So eating large ruminants is not going to kill fewer rodents.

    1. Re:MOD PARENT DOWN by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1

      "free-range" implies grass fed.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  168. Shooting scientific stuff.. by EvilStein · · Score: 1

    I agree with that. I happen to enjoy taking old hard drives out to the forest and shooting them up, but I don't shoot stuff that is obviously serving some scientific purpose.

    Back when I worked for a weather forecasting company in Chico, CA, one of the remote weather stations was reporting back really odd data. It decided that it was 613f outside and the winds were blowing at 1,247mph. Really bizarre stuff like that. A couple of the techs went out and got the unit, and it was still working, but riddled with bullet holes. Some idiots ignored the "please don't disturb this box" stickers and shot the thing full of holes.

    Blowing up your own stuff is entertaining, but blowing up other peoples stuff is just vandalism.

    1. Re:Shooting scientific stuff.. by pugnatious · · Score: 1

      that's why you need a camera and a remote controlled gun.
      And make it known that next time, the scientific stuff will shoot back.

  169. killing fields by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Be sure to read my new book entitled, "Internet Hunting For Sociopaths." Never has killing humans been so easy or relaxing!

  170. obligitory south park quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "They're Coming Right For Us!" *BLAM*

  171. Bringing opinion back around by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Well, people sure do seem to hate hunting around here.

    But let me tell you what they just banned - tele-operated MECHS. Now how do you feel? Not so smug, eh?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  172. Re:aspersions by Malc · · Score: 1

    Oops thanks ;) I missed that one when I proof read.

  173. The only good argument... by wombert · · Score: 1

    ...that I can think of to oppose this legislation is that it puts a gun into unknown hands.

    That's it. It doesn't matter that they're killing animals. It doesn't matter that the weapon is connected to a machine instead of physically held by the person shooting it. It doesn't matter that the command to pull the trigger is transmitted from miles away.

    Since when is something illegal just because it's disgraceful? (Especially when it comes to the internet?) You can order Omaha steaks online - surely that translates to an animal's death, and you're contributing with the click of a mouse button. Hell, if I put a "pick your own lobster" webcam up, would there be this kind of uproar? And would there be any justification for a law to prevent it?

    The only difference I can see here is that whoever provides this online hunting service is handing over a gun to someone whose identity is unknown. They could, technically, be allowing a convicted felon to pull the trigger - but that's about the only reason I could possibly see for shutting down the service. (I'm not even sure that that's enough.)

    There are plenty of distasteful and disgraceful yet legal uses of the internet. You need a better argument if you think it merits government involvement.

    --
    Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
  174. tracking animals?? by SQLz · · Score: 1
    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine

    If by 'tracking', you mean parking your pickup truck on the side of the road and releasing some dogs to flush deer into the open while down a case of Shlitz...yeah, thats tracking.

  175. This would be sooo cool. by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 1

    Fuck that shit, gimme a web interface for a robot in iraq so I can kill insurgents.. just make sure they're clearly identified with bright clothing or something, otherwise I'll be forced to enlist to satisfy my neanderthalic desires!

  176. Wolves, Read his comment please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wolves and other large predators. Read his comment, please! Hey wolves! Stop reading slashdot and start eating some deers, stupidheads!

  177. OT: Interbreeding by sconeu · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure you could bred a toy poodle with a wolf for example

    My sister's friend has a... German Shepherd/Daschund mix. I'm not kidding.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  178. and the disabled??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure there's an Americans With Disabilities act lawsuit that is sure to follow...

  179. MOD PARENT +5 INSIGHTFUL!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MOD PARENT +5 INSIGHTFUL!!!

  180. Hope no one's surprised... by j!mmy+v. · · Score: 1

    ...because in CA you can't have shit.

    In fact, we're eagerly awaiting a November vote on a San Francisco city measure that will, if successful, make it illegal for civilians to posess a firearm with barrel length less than ten inches (at which point you'll need to be surrendering your firearms for state-sanctioned disposal.)

    This is easily more than 99% of all handguns.

    CA regularly and routinely regulates the shit out of anything that looks dangerous, regardless of its specifications or ballistic potential.

    Sorry, back to topic: I love my home state very much, but on matters gun: fuck California's law, lawmakers, and aggressively unclued voters; thanks to these fine, fine people, not only are my firearms-ownership rights second-class to those enjoyed in other states, but now my worldwide web-use rights are, too.

    --
    -- often wrong; never in doubt
  181. Sadistic people by glrotate · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't believe in animals rights, and I know god wanted us to eat them otherwise he wouldn't have made them taste so good. However, people who kill animals for entertainment have mental issues. Any psychologist will tell you that children who kill animals for fun are prime candidates to become serial killers.

    If you want to go out in the woods playing super predator, tracking and stalking, have fun. When you catch your prey why not shoot it with a paintball gun and call it a day? I don't get the thrill out of killing animals.

    1. Re:Sadistic people by Malc · · Score: 1

      I agree with you. But I don't think there's anything wrong taking pleasure in hunting and preparing and eating a tastey meal. That doesn't imply sadism towards animals.

    2. Re:Sadistic people by TroyFoley · · Score: 2, Funny

      I know god wanted us to eat them otherwise he wouldn't have made them taste so good.

      I could say the same thing about people, though. :)

      --
      After I have received the wisdom of good teaching, I will untiringly teach all people. - The Teachings of Buddha
    3. Re:Sadistic people by roseblood · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you want to go out in the woods playing super predator, tracking and stalking, have fun. When you catch your prey why not shoot it with a paintball gun and call it a day?

      Wow, that 300lbs black bear I bagged 3 seasons ago would have just been royaly pissed off to be pelted by a paintball gun. Bad enough it was able to move about 10 meters before giving up the ghost when hit with a heavy broadhead arrow (scarry! No firearms allowed to be carried afield durring bow-hunting season.)

      --
      There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
    4. Re:Sadistic people by Big+Hairy+Goofy+Guy · · Score: 2, Funny

      I know god wanted us to eat them otherwise he wouldn't have made them taste so good.
      ...Any psychologist will tell you that children who kill animals for fun are prime candidates to become serial killers.


      Well, I know god wanted us to have condom-protected pre-marital sex otherwise he wouldn't have made it feel so good. And any psychologist will tell you that adults who know the mind of god are prime candidates to become megalomaniac cult leaders.

    5. Re:Sadistic people by evilviper · · Score: 0, Troll
      However, people who kill animals for entertainment have mental issues.

      "Entertainment" is really stretching it. People that hunt animals don't do it for entertainment, anymore than people who run marathons do that for "entertainment".

      Any psychologist will tell you that children who kill animals for fun are prime candidates to become serial killers.

      That's absolutely ridiculous. There are plenty of productive healthy members of society that went out hunting with their parents when they were quite young. They far outnumber the type of people whom you are aluding to...

      It's not the "killing" of animals that is a sign of psociopathic tendencies. It's the torture of domestic animals, and the brutal methods of death (strangulation, mutilation, etc).

      I don't get the thrill out of killing animals.

      Just like everything else. You don't happen to like to hunt, so it must be wrong for anyone else to do so.

      Just to preempt the gun-nut comments, I should say that I've personally never gone hunting for sport, and the only animals I've ever killed were rodents...
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    6. Re:Sadistic people by m50d · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. Why are christians so anti-sex? Seriously, why would we be made the way we are if it wasn't something we're meant to do?

      --
      I am trolling
    7. Re:Sadistic people by dwpro · · Score: 1

      I have heard this, but I am not sure it is true. Perhaps I am an anomaly, but I was quite a sadistic hunter when I was young.

      I likely shot hundreds of rabbits and killed multiple armadillos by grabbing them by the tail and smashing them against trees. Even so, now I don't even hunt, and consider myself to not be particularly mentally unbalanced. I was simply young and not aware of the immorality of my acts.
      --
      Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. -- Susan Ertz
    8. Re:Sadistic people by deadweight · · Score: 1

      Because then I won't be able to eat it? If you eat meat you either kill or PAY SOMEONE ELSE to kill. Kind of like a Mafia Don saying he never has hurt a fly. True, but only because he has people to do all that for him.

  182. Morality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love it, slashdot's morality police are out in full force to tell everyone how wrong hunting is.

  183. It's just an on-line butcher shop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you can order a side of beef on-line what is the big deal about ordering a side of deer? So what if you mouse click to kill it. Is it hunting if you order a side of beef an use a mouse click to select the cow??

  184. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by pauljlucas · · Score: 0
    Hunting can and should still be a challenge.
    When the deer can shoot back is when I'd agree with you.
    I don't see something like internet hunting promoting, for example, an intimate parent/child bond...
    If you're suggesting that conventional hunting (killing a defenseless animal for "sport") is a good way to promote a parent/child bond, I... I... I don't even know how to respond to that other than by saying there are so many better ways to bond with a child. Good parents can think of them.
    --
    If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
  185. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by Reene · · Score: 1

    You mention crossbows...This is slightly offtopic, but I am not sure why exactly crossbows (and in some areas composite bows, but what sane person hunts with one) are illegal in as many areas as they are. I can't imagine any danger element a crossbow would introduce that a gun wouldn't introduce as well. 'Course, a law against crossbows doesn't stop certain aquaintences of mine from going out and shooting squirrels for dinner with an 80 pound crossbow...(mm, squirrel stew! I am not joking.)

    That said I agree with the notion behind this legislation but I can't say it doesn't worry me a bit. But I also can't understand what would possess a person to use a service like point-and-click deer hunting in the first place, so perhaps my judgement here is clouded. What's next, remote automated fishing (heh)? Perhaps the opportunity to literally shoot fish in a barrel.

    --
    "He does look a bit Oompa like, even if his Loompa is a bit off-kilter."
  186. Remote hunting to the next level by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Take it up a notch, combine a remote gun placement and free municipal WiFi. Shoot at anything from the convenience of just about anywhere in the world.

  187. MOD PARENT TO APPLE HATER HELL by jericho4.0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    What "critisism of apple"? What are you implying? You're lucky I don't have mod points!!!

    --
    "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  188. 3 other reasons by BlueHands · · Score: 1

    I can think of that some people do not eat meat. Here we go

    1) Health. Some people feel that eating meat is unhealthy for you.

    2) To get laid. But then guys will do anything for that,so I suppose that is a reason for anything.

    3) They really hate plants.

    I had a friend who would only eat animals that ate their own young. Basically, if it is good enough for the animal it is good enough for us.

    --
    I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
    1. Re:3 other reasons by iocat · · Score: 1
      My girlfriend used to be a #1. Then her doctor told her she needed to start eating meat. She was all "but I don't like meat," and he was like "you don't have to like it, just eat it. You have low blood pressure, anemia, and you need more fat, salt, and iron in your diet. Eat some red meat once in a while."

      That doctor is my personal hero.

      --

      Dude, I think I can see my house from here.

    2. Re:3 other reasons by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      you need more fat, salt, and iron in your diet. Eat some red meat
      Wow, now that's not something you here every day here in America!
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  189. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by FinalCut · · Score: 1

    First off, I am not a hunter. However, my father is. I consider my dad a pretty good parent and some of the best times of my childhood with him were hunting. It wasn't about killing the animal. (or dragging its heavy corpse back through the snow to our campsite) It was about the time we spent together. Him teaching me about all sorts of wildnerss things - knots, tree and plant identification, tracking, constellation observations, etc.

    My family did a ton of stuff outside - but few of them were as peaceful and quiet as the 99% of the time your hunting. We didn't get much (in game) but we did talk to each other alot and spend some very quality time together.

    If you didn't experience it with your dad you really can't knock it because, frankly, you have know idea what your talking about.

  190. Spare me the save the whales speech by photon317 · · Score: 1


    Whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine?

    You're damn right it is. God forbid all you liberal weenies ever have to rough it living outdoors on your own, you'd never make it trying to subsist on berries. By the way, didn't you ever stop to consider how the berries feel about it? Welcome to Nature, we kill things to eat them here. Cheetahs use their speed; spiders use their venom; humans use their brains to build whatever implements they might need.

    --
    11*43+456^2
  191. Well, there is the Wolf by MichaelPenne · · Score: 1

    re-introduction of which into it's former range would help a great deal with deer population.

    Internet hunting might be ok, AFAIC, IF some means is employed to track down wounded deer. No self-respecting hunter would leave a legshot or belly shot deer to die a long slow painful death, right? Right?

    Here in California, we're getting alot more cougars near towns, partly due to increased deer pop. (and to be fair due to decreased ML hunting).

    But wolves would be preferable as natural predators to lions IMO, since they don't attack joggers, bikers, and small children.

    Nor do they take wild drunken potshots at anything that moves, which far to many hunters in the remaining wilds of s. california do. (At least with iHunting presumably it would be done a good ways away from habitation and in defined well marked areas).

    1. Re:Well, there is the Wolf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Nor do they take wild drunken potshots at anything that moves, which far to many hunters in the remaining wilds of s. california do."

      To be fair, golf (yes, golf :p) results in many more accidental deaths in the US than hunting. Doctors are, statistically, 9000 times more likely to kill someone through malpractice than a gun owner is likely to kill someone with his/her firearm, etc. etc.

  192. Re:Bobcats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I read in some Nature Magazine(it was in a waiting room so I forgot the name) that Bobcats have even been known to kill deer. This is amazing considering a Bobcat is only twice the size of a housecat. The bobcat pounces on the deer's neck, sinks its teeth in, the deer panics into a run and the bobcat uses its four class to thrash the larger deer to death.

    I would like to see a government program that breeds bobcats that are three times the size of a housecat to take out the excess dears. I can defend myself against such a bobcat, but a pack of wolves or a cougar is more dangerous to humans.

  193. Necessary evil by katorga · · Score: 1

    Ummm. Since we have killed off almost all of the major and minor predators in the US, or limited them to a tiny percentage of the landmass, there is a problem with overpopulation of prey animals.

    Deer for example breed like rabbits. They rapidly overpopulated even the smallest patch of land. I've seen over 50 deer in a single 5 acre wooded lot in the middle of town before (850K population urban area). These had to be exterminated by fish and wildlife officers.

    I don't hunt. Don't have the time or the heart to do it, but it is a very very necessary function. Either depopulate humans and repopulate predators or allow for controlled human predators. There is actually no choice on this.

  194. Re:Wait... Logic Check...(offtopic but true) by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

    "My dad had pissed on it and woke it up."

    Now that's real hunting, a direct hit with only his bare...uh...actually, that's a mental picture I don't want.

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  195. How About Timothy Hunting? by adavies42 · · Score: 0, Troll

    I propose setting up slashdot-poster-controlled robots to hunt down and exterminate Timothy. Posters consider editing by insertion of political messages 'a disgrace to slashdot'.

    --
    Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
    -kfg
  196. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by pauljlucas · · Score: 0
    Him teaching me about all sorts of wildnerss things - knots, tree and plant identification, tracking, constellation observations, etc. ... My family did a ton of stuff outside - but few of them were as peaceful and quiet as the 99% of the time your hunting.
    So you couldn't have taken pictures of the animals instead?
    --
    If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
  197. an intimate parent/child bond by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "C'mon son, you're gonna be three pretty soon. It's about time we go in the forest to kill a few animals and bond."

    Nothing says I love you like killing an animal.

  198. What about rabbits? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you know how dangerous rabbits can be? Didn't you ever see Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

  199. "innocent" animals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fact is that humans have been eating and killing animals for thousands of years.

    Yes, it is fine. It is why we survived as a species.

  200. Picking up the Kill by michaelbuddy · · Score: 1

    One thing that's important here, whether it's private land or not, is that if your fat ass is going hunting, that means your fat ass tracks, aims, kills, and then carries and eats the remains, not letting it rot in the woods, or risking some 15 year old farm hand to scoop it up, skin it and mail it to you. I'm sorry, but my family who are hunters have always told me that if you kill it, you skin it, and you eat it. Can't agree more.

    This is just like when the white man used to shoot the buffalo from the railroad cars for sport and leave them for dead.

    Also, regarding deer populations, I think we all should make sure we have accurate information. I've read several conflicting statistics on whether hunting them actually makes a positive difference on deer or overall populations.

    What are people saying that the disabled hunters rights are at stake? Can American's accept 'no' for an answer or do they feel entitled to everything? You know, sometimes you just can't do something anymore after an accident. Sometimes you have to accept that you don't have the money, the time, the limbs for something, and let the attachment go. Geez, no wonder we're all in debt, lazy and fat.

    --

    ...::----::...

    I am in no way affiliated with this sig.

    1. Re:Picking up the Kill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since you bring up that disabled thing: Bless you!

      In a nearby town of ~5,000, there are, perhaps, five people in wheel chairs that are actually capable of getting around on their own. At a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars (~$2 million I believe-$400 per man, woman, and child), this city passed an ordinance requiring all sidewalks to have two way ramps at each intersection and a curb ramp in front of EVERY house/business sidewalk (sidewalk leading to door.)

      You do the math and so on. This is fscking insane. If your so proud that you can't ask a friend to push you down to the store...wait a minute...are you accepting disablity payments?!!? Go all the way and be independent. Show us how good you REALLY are. Climb them curbs on your own and pull down $50,000 telecommuting.

      When I was in college, I worked at a pizza joint that had a huge flight of stairs in front of it. We were forced to install a huge contraption of a ramp. In three years, I never saw a wheelchair come up it. We did (before and after the ramp) have a nice guy that would call in his order and pull up down on the street...we always ran his pizza down to him. I know there are assholes that wouldn't do this for him (and there are fat bastards that would try and take advantage of this service) but don't spend $400 per man/woman/child to put in ramps EVERYWHERE for five people. And don't force businesses to put in several thousand dollar ramps that will NEVER be used.

  201. Animals are INNOCENT??LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    To Fags who run this place:
    Cat got your tongue? (something important seems to be missing from your comment ... like the body or the subject!)

  202. It's mostly vaporware, anyway by Animats · · Score: 1
    Live Shot has been talking this up for a year, and it's still not on line. All they have is target practice with paper targets. It's vaporware. Like Hunt for Bambi.

    Although bringing those two concepts together has real potential for a porno site...

  203. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by LittleLebowskiUrbanA · · Score: 1

    Last time I checked we didn't have antlers, fangs, or claws. Correct me if I'm wrong.

  204. ok...fine... by cryptocom · · Score: 1

    ...if you're going to think that way, then the military needs to immediately stop all work on UCAV's, since I would expect humans to hold a bit more worth than animals (even though I wonder sometimes).

    --
    It takes just a moment and an action to destroy. It takes some time and thought to create.
  205. Stay Home? by iq+in+binary · · Score: 1

    Presumeably, nobody forced you to go hunting and freeze your balls off.

    Without the people that actually partake in the aforementioned, you'd never eat a good seafood or rare-meat meal again.

    Whatever it was you killed lost its life. I feel more sorry for it than your balls.

    No argument there :-P

    Again, presumeably, nobody forced you to go one-on-one with a wild pig. You therefore did it voluntarily for "sport" whereas the pig was simply trying to stay alive.

    Now, what about the people that have gone one-on-one with a wild animal trying to stay alive even though he/she never intended to harm it, let alone kill it? As a man with scars from wild animals acting instinctually without provocation; that statement actually pisses me off. Wild-pig or not, going one on one with it is not a funny or forcefull thing. If anybody is going melee with a hog, trust me when I say it was definitely unintentional.

    If you used a gun (or even a knife), I'd say that it wasn't exactly a fair fight.

    Get ONE thing straight: animals always have the advantage of strength and lethality. Would you take a lion without a weapon? No matter what the situation? How about a pheasant? I'm telling you that even the pheasant could KILL you. Fair fight? Tell you what, go take on a mountain lion bare-handed and tell me it was a fair fight.

    You're living in a techno-world, my friend. People who actually chose to be able to be able to survive in a world otherwise are not cretins or cheaters. They're geniuses. There will once come a day where a man like that will save your life, and you'll change your mind. A man who decides to take on a moose with a 30-30 is not only suicidal, if he wins he's a frickin assasin. Realize this for the benefit of your long and prosperous life: Nature is always one-up, the trick is to surprise her. Whether it be by gun, knife or spear, you're winning a big battle

    --
    Of all the Universal Constants, here's one I know: Nice guys finish last ;)
    1. Re:Stay Home? by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Without the people that actually partake in the aforementioned, you'd never eat a good seafood or rare-meat meal again.
      Considering that we're talking about Internet hunting (whatever that's supposed to mean) here, I doubt that we're talking about professionals here. Hunting for food is a whole lot more respectable than hunting for sport (and "hunting" over the Internet isn't respectable at all).
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:Stay Home? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      What makes you so sure that someone who love venison (and has hunted deer all his life specifically to put that lean, healthy meat in his freezer for the many meals that it provides), who finds themselves in a wheelchair all the sudden (as an example), isn't going to pay the hunt host to ship him the venison on dry ice the next day? I for one definately like to pick and choose the animals that I serve. I'd rather avoid a stinky, too-mature older buck, for example. You have to see them walk past your blind or tree stand to size up the animal - pretty much like people choose the lobster from the tank at a restaurant.

      "hunting" over the Internet isn't respectable at all

      How about with your bare hands? Ok, how about with a rock? A spear? A bow? An old-fashioned flint-lock rifle? A shotgun? A modern high-powered rifle? That same rifle with a high-power scope on it, allowing a 200-yard shot?

      So, where do you draw the line? As humans, our main hunting tool is our mind, followed shortly by our social nature. Meaning, plenty of elder Native Americans who knew the habits of the tribe's traditional prey would go along with the younger folk to provide advice on the hunt, but let the younger members actually deliver the lethal blow and run down the game. That's just an older, analog version of the topic being discussed here. Man is a tool user, and would have died off a long time ago without that trait. The nature of the tool has evolved tremendously over time, but I'd say that remote-controlled rifles are less of a change, in principle, than when we graduated from clubbing the animal to death (or running up and poking it with sharp sticks, hoping to get it to bleed to death) to being able to shoot an arrow right through its heart from a tree branch, killing it more or less instantly. Perhaps that change didn't seem "respectible" either, at the time - but the meal was just as good, and the animal died much more quickly and without a great, bloody foot chase.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    3. Re:Stay Home? by pauljlucas · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Without the people that actually partake in the aforementioned, you'd never eat a good seafood or rare-meat meal again.
      And this is a problem because...?
      Now, what about the people that have gone one-on-one with a wild animal trying to stay alive even though he/she never intended to harm it, let alone kill it?
      Last I checked, we're talking about hunting which is when one goes out in the wild with the intent of killing something. Self-defense when you weren't looking for a fight is an unrelated case.
      animals always have the advantage of strength and lethality
      Best to leave them alone, then.
      --
      If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    4. Re:Stay Home? by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Insightful
      How about with your bare hands? Ok, how about with a rock? A spear? A bow? An old-fashioned flint-lock rifle? A shotgun? A modern high-powered rifle? That same rifle with a high-power scope on it, allowing a 200-yard shot?
      I have no problem with any of those, because you're still the one dealing with the body afterwards. IMHO, it's the personal involvement that's important. "Internet hunting," though, would be no more involved than a game of Quake, and I think with the abstraction people wouldn't have the proper appreciation of what they're doing. Killing an actual living animal shouldn't be regarded as casually as fragging an imaginary character, but that's what would happen if this were allowed.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    5. Re:Stay Home? by Mant · · Score: 1

      you'd never eat a good seafood or rare-meat meal again.

      You hunt seafood? What do you do, shoot crabs and stalk muscles? Those oysters are coming right for me!

      As for rare meat, I can go to a restaurant and order a good, rare stake without anyone having hunted the animal. It just has to be good meat, not cooked much. I'm pretty sure nobody hunts cows these days.

      animals always have the advantage of strength and lethality.

      Right, so how many hunters get killed per year vs how many animals? I think any advantage the animal has is rather negated by the hunter's gun.Not that a careless or stupid hunter can't get hurt, by the odds really are massively in their favour.

    6. Re:Stay Home? by TheSync · · Score: 1

      I think with the abstraction people wouldn't have the proper appreciation of what they're doing.

      And this is different from someone walking into Outback Steak House, and essentially killing an animal? We abstract the deaths of animals all the time.

      (Don't get me wrong: I love meat!)

    7. Re:Stay Home? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Certainly one would hope that someone paying big bucks for a guide/farmer to rig up something like these remote systems would, for the $1000 bucks they're charging, also pack and ship the meat on dry ice. The only time I don't take the meat, personally, is when I'm ridding some farmer of a serious varmint. Say, groundhogs. Colonies of those critters will dig holes in cow pastures and end up breaking cattles' legs. Or they'll totally undermine a crop by chewing through root networks, etc. In many places, the natural predators have been completely or largely removed, but the scavengers are still around... so, a shot groundhog, left in the field where it was killed, will usually be gone the next morning, having become a nice dinner for turkey vultures, foxes, coyotes, and so on.

      But for the remote hunter - who presumably is considering something like this because he can no longer physically get out into the field - I'd certainly like to think that someone doing business like that is focused clearly on the utlimate destination of the meat. Incidentally, a lot of hunters will keep some portion of the kill, and then clean and package the rest for donation to local shelters, foodbanks, etc.

      Another reply to your post, though, did sum it up clearly: every time someone picks up a cold cut sub at Subway, they're passively enjoying the fact that someone else wacked a cow for them. Most kids have absolutely no idea where that meat comes from, and I think every one of them ought to personally break a few chickens' necks before they get in the habit of ordering 6-pack of McNuggets. And if they're really classy, they'll start enjoying Pheasant McNuggets they hunt and prepare themselves. And while spending all that time tromping around fields bird hunting, they'll learn about a jillion other facets of the natural world, including natural selection, weather dynamics, physics (can't shoot without good old Newtonian physics!), soil health, and the benefits of actually walking around everyday and getting some exercise. And nothing makes the average person more cognitively connected to the consequences of violence than the act of deliberately commiting some, and then cleaning the guts out of that to which you did it. It's sobering, thought-provoking, and can be a very fulfilling social experience when it's taught correctly and in the right light. Anyone providing remote hunting has got to consider how to maintain that part of the process in the mind of the hunter.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    8. Re:Stay Home? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Best to leave them alone, then."

      Where's the "-1, Welcome our dumb animal overlords" mod option when I need it.

    9. Re:Stay Home? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      ...who presumably is considering something like this because he can no longer physically get out into the field...
      I guess I'm just cynical then; I imagined the market for internet hunting would be lazy slobs and former CounterStrike players who decided they just wanted to kill things.

      Regarding your last paragraph: no argument here!
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  206. Re:Snide reply by Jeremi · · Score: 1
    That is insulating to all license holders in this state.


    Well, at least it keeps them warm... (imagining the Tauntan scene from Empire Strikes Back)

    --


    I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
  207. My family hunts for food by Danger+Stevens · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm a web developer in Seattle but my family is from the Cascade Mountains just a couple hours northeast of here. When I was young my mom took up hunting as a way to provide food for her family and be able to make ends meet. It's been a tradition in my family for generations so it seemed like a natural solution to high grocery bills.

    It provided my single mother and my sister and I with organic, all-natural meat for a year every time she went elk hunting. Though it was part of the experience, she never hunted purely for sport. When we kids graduated and moved out she stopped hunting because she didn't financially have to.

    This is a form of hunting that has ancient traditions. It's respectful to the animals because we hunt with gratitude for the well-being of prey and take measures to make sure they are sustained and protected by legislation. When they are threatened, those who depend on them are threatened.

    Internet hunting is a sport for those who have made no investment in the animals they hunt. It sickens me that hunters who do it for the rush of the kill would associate themselves with the human tradition of depending on animals for our food. There's nothing in common between the two.

    --
    World Changing - News for Humans, Stuff about our planet
  208. Law by Fringex · · Score: 1

    I don't understand why time was devoted to such a law. The only things I can see are:

    A. Acountablility for faulty and potentially dangerous equipment. Which could hurt a human if the equipment fails and does a variety of dangerous things. Granted it is computer run but someone has to provide maintainence and run the place. So there will be a human presence. Or...

    B. Someone really wants to kiss some PETA butt or even win a couple votes.

    The hunting of deer or other assorted animals from your computer has its place in the market. I am sure there are a variety of crippled individuals who can no longer participate in the sport. Or even people who can't actually get out into the forests of america to hunt for any of a number of reasons. (Allergies, asthma, fear of the dark, work, etc...)

    I am sure there is a percentage of these people who would love to kill their first deer or continue their legacy of hunting.

    Is it the same as getting in the thick of it and actually hunting the creature? No way. But it suits a means to and end. There is a certain feel to actually tracking your prey down. Primal for sure, but it is something you just can't experience in day to day life. Unless you are a bar brawler which I am sure is a similar feeling.

    So why even bother with such a law. Other than the potential danger to humans who might wander near by or work at the ranch from potentially faulty equipment. It doesn't hurt any citizen in California other than the feelings of animal rights activists. Hunting will continue to be around for hundreds of years.

    It just doesn't make sense to me. Thats all really.

    1. Re:Law by aXis100 · · Score: 1

      IANAPETAA, but from an animal rights perspective remotely operated hunting is pretty lame:

      1) You cant check/fishish off your prey
      2) You cant clean up your prey

      Both of these items would require a separate live operator to attention, but might not be effective. The process of safely locking out the gun before inspection would delay #1 and 2.

  209. what d'ya mean 'innocent animals'? by porky_pig_jr · · Score: 0, Troll

    there is no such a thing as 'innocent'. we are all born in sin. that little bunny Foofoo didn't accept Jesus as its savior, so it has deserved to be mercilessly hunted and killed.

  210. Hunting necessary ... by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

    Newsflash: Huting on foot doesn't make you "elite" or more of a man either.

    However it does give you a clue about the sport, it does make you more likely to finance conservation efforts, unlike the clueless urban newb who reads a website and gets all "political". Here's reality: I lived in a part of the country where deer are abundant, overly abundant, as in there is only enough food to get the population half way through winter. Most will starve. Deer are a prey species, nature intends them to be subject to predation. Modern hunters fill the ecological niche formerly filled by predatory species. Hunting helps the herd survive the coming winter. Humans aren't as talented as a wolves so we need rifles. Then again, a rifle can be far more humane. A wolf pack will cause its prey to attempt to escape. One member will attack the real quarter of the fleeing animal to inflict a gaping wound or to at least start severe bleeding. When the animal falls another animal will bite down on its muzzle to secure it. Another will then tear open its throat. That's how nature worked before our intervention.

  211. Hunters fill necessary ecological niche ... by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine

    I lived in a part of the country where deer are abundant, overly abundant, as in sometimes there is only enough food to get the population half way through winter. Most will starve unless herds are thinned. Deer are a prey species, nature intends them to be subject to predation. Modern hunters fill the ecological niche formerly filled by predatory species. Hunting helps the herd survive the coming winter. Humans aren't as talented as a wolves so we need rifles. Then again, a rifle can be far more humane than a wolf pack.

  212. Hunting should be promoted in all forms by tacocat · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's so much more humane to blow the brains out of your food than to ruthlessly rip it out of the ground. Plants have no chance. They have no fight or flight mechanisms.

  213. Cougars and wolves, you seem misinformed... by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

    People can exists with cougars and wolfs just fine with the proper precautions.

    Not really, at least with cougars. Unless you consider not letting kids freely ride bikes on trails, play in backyards, etc. to be a "proper precaution". Seems extreme to me. The fact that you toss out cougars and wolves together like that suggests you don't really know what you are talking about. While attacks by healthy wolves are virtually non-existent attacks by healthy mountain lions are far more common. We have a 100+ years of good documentation on that. Now that it not a predictor of future events. As wolves breed with feral dogs and are subject to greater exposure to people as they grow up that may change. But that change will be for the worse.

    1. Re:Cougars and wolves, you seem misinformed... by bigpat · · Score: 1

      "We have a 100+ years of good documentation on that."

      You need a 100 years of documentation because occurances are so rare. Yes, shark attacks happen too. And getting hit by lightning. And a thousand other things that we don't respond to by eradicating a species or cowering in our homes.

      Having your children abducted by a human predator is far more likely than a wolf and the precautions would be very similar.

    2. Re:Cougars and wolves, you seem misinformed... by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

      Having your children abducted by a human predator is far more likely than a wolf and the precautions would be very similar.

      Unless you typed "wolf" by accident you need to re-read my post, wolves are currently not a problem, barring rabies. Moutain lions and other cats are currently the problem. Hell the cats take adults every so often not just kids. Witness the bicyclist attack in southern california last year.

    3. Re:Cougars and wolves, you seem misinformed... by Rakarra · · Score: 1
      Holy shit! You mean some guy was attacked last year? What an epidemic.

    4. Re:Cougars and wolves, you seem misinformed... by bigpat · · Score: 1

      Unless you typed "wolf" by accident you need to re-read my post, wolves are currently not a problem, barring rabies. Moutain lions and other cats are currently the problem. Hell the cats take adults every so often not just kids. Witness the bicyclist attack in southern california last year.

      Not by accident, my point was that wolves need to be reintroduced in areas where they were exterminated. So saying that there are no incidents with Wolves wouldn't exactly support my argument.

      I'd really like you to quantify your argument to justify it as something other than paranoia. Citing one incident last year hardly makes for a problem. By your reasoning we should just exterminate the deer populations since they cause many injuries due to collisions.

      What about Moose? And how many deaths are caused by people swerving to avoid fuzzy rabbits? You know the ones with the big teeth... bite your head off, they will.

  214. Vegetarians have all sorts of reasons by Dioscorea · · Score: 1
    It's not unlike the paradox of the principal-of-least-harm. In order to minimize the number of animals that die on account of your diet, it's best to eat nothing but large free-range ruminants. A vegetarian diet results in enormous numbers of rodents and insects being killed by threshers and harvesting machinery.

    Yeah, but don't assume that all vegetarians are trying to "minimize the number of animals that die on account of their diet", rather than (say) protesting the cruelty/consumerism of the meat industry, or avoiding flesh for nutritional/health reasons, or siding against the prevaling Judaeo-Christian ideology towards animals, or making some other political point; or even just avoiding meat for purely personal, subjective reasons that they may not even advertise.

    Besides, the death of the animal you're eating is something you have direct control over. The deaths of rodents/insects/etc due to industrialized agriculture, that you're referring to, are a secondary effect. Arguably this is a separate issue that could be separately addressed, e.g. by eating organic food or joining a co-op where you have more control over where your veggies come from.

    Not that I'm accusing you of this specifically, but it does always surprise me how many omnivores assume they know exactly why all vegetarians choose the diet they do. Often, they start attacking your reasons for it based entirely on their prejudices. It can be pretty funny actually (on a good day).

    Anyway, you're right that this is somewhat off-topic for the hunting discussion. To be honest I don't see much to discuss there. While hunting may well be a useful form of culling, hunting with remote-control robot guns is clearly lame, sick and pathetic. It distances people from nature, and encourages the view that people can use technology to lord it over animals however they please. I have absolutely no problem with government restricting this kind of activity. Same goes for hunting with packs of dogs and upper-class twits (but that's a different story for the UK crowd...)

  215. only possible excuse by Errtu76 · · Score: 1

    IT'S COMING STRAIGHT AT US!!!

    (blablabla lameness filter .. it *needs* to be shouted!!)

  216. No bias in the original post! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No sir, no bias at all. "Innocent animals", yep, innocent until proven guilty. "Ooo, icky, meat; I feel all squemish; you must be a bad man".

    Bet you consider wolves taking down a deer part of nature's cycle, hmm??

    Or perhaps you feel we should feed wolves on special vegetarian pellets that taste like meat but aren't because everyone knows meat is murder, even if wolves do it, right?

    Either way, people aren't part of nature, right? And animals have feelings, right?
    And you are denigrating that which you know not of, right?

  217. First decent piece of legislation out of Cali... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First off, I'm a gun owner, I'm the NRA, and I support the rights of all sane able-bodied individuals to keep and bear arms.

    I do not hunt. I do not fish. I choose not to, and I don't like the taste of fish. BUt I have lots of friends who DO hunt and fish. They EAT what they catch. What they don't eat, they donate to the homeless shelters (deer mostly).

    They enjoy getting up early, traisping around in the mud and high grass and tracking a critter... I prefer to sleep in, then hop on the Net and see what's up...

    But I digress -- as much as I support the rights of people to have guns and hunt, I found the idea of hunting over the internet to be offensive - and almost nothing offends me. BAck in the caveman day, it was a decent fight - sticks v. critter... As we improved our technology, it's become a bit more (ok, a lot more) slighted in our favor, but hey - with limits on how much game one can take, and what 'accessories' one can use to enhance the effectiveness of one's weapons, it wasn't too morally out there for me to deal with...

    But sitting on your ass, blasting some creature to death while click on your mouse is just too much. It's not FUCKING DOOM3 people, it's actually killing something real (dare I say in meat-space?)!!! There's a certain amount of soul-searching that every hunter endures when they take a life so that they can eat, and I doubt that happens when some nitwit sitting on his ass clicks the mouse over bambi...

    eHunting or iHunting or whatever - Hunting over the Net - never should have been, and being as morally reprehensible as it is, I hope it goes away forever...although information does want to be free so I sure that it will survive somewhere...

  218. Outlaw remotely operated guns by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

    Being a long time target and skeet shooter I find it odd to be saying this, but here goes: We need a new gun law.

    We should just outlaw remotely operated guns, assuming it is not outlawed already. It is not a technology they we need developed and marketed towards civilians. Going after this one application of the technology does not make sense, except that it will get legislators good PR.

    Now those of you in a bunker in Montana don't get all preachy on me. I am well aware of what a poor track record politicians have writing legislation relating to technology, especially gun technology. Perhaps this is one of those rare occasions where they could get it right. Have the NRA help draft the legislation, the NRA helped with gun legislation in the past. For those of you shaking your head I believe the original incarnation of the "cop killer" bullet ban was so poorly worded it would have outlawed nearly all rifle ammunition. The NRA provided the technical expertise so that the legislation only addressed the ammunition it intended to address. There were similar problems with legislation to outlaw "plastic" guns. Again, the NRA helped.

  219. OK, so... by n6kuy · · Score: 1

    ...who's gonna go out there (in front of the internet-controlled gun) to pick up the deer after its been shot? Not me!

    --
    If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
  220. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
    Hunting can and should still be a challenge.
    Eh, I don't have a huge problem with using whatever tactical advantage you want. The real issue, I think, is that hunting should still be personal. There's a huge difference between personally dispatching the animal (whether with a primitive knife or a modern rifle) and reducing it to the level of Quake by doing it over a computer. If somebody's going to hunt that's fine, but they need to understand and accept responsibility for the death of that animal. "Internet hunters," on the other hand, would treat it as "just another frag," without considering the fact that it's a real life they ended, and it's not going to "respawn."
    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  221. Re:aspersions by Tim+C · · Score: 1

    Clear communication is never off-topic. Sometimes I despair of the slashdot readership - I thought nerds were *supposed* to be pedantically exact?

  222. Internet Urban Sniping by pugnatious · · Score: 1

    gets my vote.
    Don't think it's illegal too =)

  223. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by NegativeOneUserID · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I mean, think about it this way ... what real arguments can anyone make for allowing this? What convincing situations and reasonings can someone present?
    For internet hunting? I can't make any argument in favor of that.

    For a law against internet hunting? My argument against that is that it is not the job of the government to teach ethics and morality.

    If you actually think internet hunting is bad then talk to your friends and neighbors about it. Participate in protest marches. Pass out flyers on the street corner. Even make posts on slashdot if you have to. If you make a convincing enough argument I will agree with you. But please please do not go to the government and use the government for force me to agree with you. That is not what the government is there for.
  224. the perfect set up for MURDER!! by httpamphibio.us · · Score: 1

    1. Find the location where the gun/camera thing is. 2. Figure out what it's coordinates are. 3. Get somebody to go geocaching in this location. 4. Shoot them!

    It's easy to prevent yourself from being traced to a specific location, and payment is also easy to fake.

    --
    sig.
  225. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    You can't eat pictures...

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  226. Re:Vampires by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > And while we're at it, how about we introduce a predator that could keep the human population in check?

    well yes, that's what vampires are for, but the point is re-introducing top predators and keeping accidents to a minimum.

  227. How do you know they're innocent? by WillerZ · · Score: 1

    This always confuses me. I've yet to find a human who wasn't guilty of something, and I see no reason to assume that animals are inherently more law-abiding.

    --
    I guess today is a passable day to die.
    1. Re:How do you know they're innocent? by Phist · · Score: 1

      [i]This always confuses me. I've yet to find a human who wasn't guilty of something, and I see no reason to assume that animals are inherently more law-abiding.[/i] I'm still confused about what is proof.

  228. A vegetarians perspective... by danro · · Score: 4, Insightful
    If you're not a vegetarian and you buy meat from a supermarket, there's only one response you deserve:
    Sit down and shut the fuck up.
    Having someone else kill your meat for you doesn't put you in any better ethical position than a hunter who kills his own meat.
    I am a vegetarian, and I agree completely.
    If anything, I have a lot more respect for someone that hunts his own meat (as long as he/she is a good shot and knows his limitations), than for someone who buys it neatly packaged at a supermarket.

    But, people, if you are going to hunt, be responsible and learn to fcking shoot!.
    People willing to take a shot at an animal, but not willing to put in the time to be good enough to make a clean kill (or track down a wounded animal whatever it takes) makes me sick.
    They're not any better than "internet hunters".
    --

    "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
    1. Re:A vegetarians perspective... by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 1

      (or track down a wounded animal whatever it takes) makes me sick.

      Kudos. There is my #1 problem with Internet hunting. It's irresponsible to be in a position where you can't track a wounded animal. Even the best shooters don't always get a takedown shot on the first try.

      --
      Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
    2. Re:A vegetarians perspective... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1
      But, people, if you are going to hunt, be responsible and learn to fcking shoot!.
      People willing to take a shot at an animal, but not willing to put in the time to be good enough to make a clean kill (or track down a wounded animal whatever it takes) makes me sick.

      As a (very occasional) hunter, I agree completely. If you can't be bothered to identify your target, and track it down and finish it, then don't do it at all.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:A vegetarians perspective... by rossifer · · Score: 1

      But, people, if you are going to hunt, be responsible and learn to fcking shoot!.
      People willing to take a shot at an animal, but not willing to put in the time to be good enough to make a clean kill (or track down a wounded animal whatever it takes) makes me sick.


      *applause*

      When my grandfather and I went hunting, he told me that before I took a shot at a deer, I must be prepared to follow that deer wherever it went and that I wasn't welcome back at home while there was a wounded animal still suffering because of my action.

      As a result of that directive, stated in no uncertain terms, I tend to only take very high probability shots and I've only had to really walk one time so far (and I still get upset with myself for not ending that deer's suffering more quickly). Hunters who can't be bothered to follow wounded animals get me absolutely furious.

      Regards,
      Ross

  229. Argh! by TheWormThatFlies · · Score: 1

    The point isn't really that it's remote-controlled, the point is that it's canned. You do realise it's canned, right?

    Seriously, some of the posters here seem to believe that these people are forking out bazillions to build highly advanced armed robots that roam the countryside in pursuit of free-range game. What planet do you live on?

    In reality, what you're controlling by remote is a swivelling apparatus in a pen, and what you're shooting at are fenced-in animals which were probably reared by humans on a farm. Which is about as sporting as going to a farm and shooting some cows and sheep. Ooh, the adrenalin rush.

    If you're going to compare this to non-remote-controlled hunting, then compare it to canned hunting in person. Comparing it to tracking animals through the forest is just ridiculous.

  230. Why!? by t_allardyce · · Score: 1

    As pathetic as this system is I don't think it should be banned. It needs to be regulated tho - someone has to be fully legally responsible for whatever happens (is it the owner or the user?) and obviously the gun should be on your property (clearly fenced and marked with warning signs like military ranges) and mounted to some standard (fixed arc of rotation etc) so that where ever it fires its guaranteed not to endanger anyone outside. Apart from that this whole law seems pointless, more deaths will occur each year from stupid idiots with loaded un-safe guns in their pockets - most of them under 18. The whole idea is going to raise a generation of fat lazy c^Hhunters but its probably safer because the idiot won't be able to have an accident.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  231. your point? by alizard · · Score: 1

    Assuming you have one, and if you're a PETArd, you're incapable of making one that any reasonable person should spend time on.

  232. Predators by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1

    Reintroducing predators isn't always practical. They are difficult to breed in captivity, and lots of people don't want predators living near their homes. Cougars, wolves, and bears are all quite willing to kill people's pets and livestock. Cougars in particular are quite willing to attack children. If food is scarce they'll even attack full-grown humans.

  233. difference by Lotharjade · · Score: 1

    The theory behind hunting in more wilderness areas is that you hunt to put food in the freezer. Also, hunting regs in Alaska say that it has to be a fair chase and hunt. For example, flying and hunting the same day are illegal. I am of the mind that you shouldn't hunt if you aren't going to use what you get. Same for fishing.

    --
    Party at O'zorgnax's Pub! Buy me a Slurmtini aye?
  234. Actually ... by Chris+Daniel · · Score: 1

    Actually, at least one online hunting service (I believe the first one mentioned on Slashdot, one down in Texas) allows for the hunter to have his game packaged and shipped to him.

    --
    Don't blame me -- I voted for Roslin.
  235. I never read the articles. by ShagratTheTitleless · · Score: 0
    Without hunters Bambi would have been a terrible movie. Without internet hunting where will the Bambis of tomorrow come from? Think of the children!

    As an aside, I believe slashdot moderation is making me stupider. I now strive to spell things wrong and verbally stroke OSS projects in pursuit of a post rated +5. I have abandoned reasoned arguments and humor in favor of cliched puns and predictable one liners. For example, the above post is extremely stupid, but it should be just bewildering enough to avoid being labeled as a troll.

    --
    Sometimes at night I imagine the darkness is filled with horrible things with too many teeth, like Julia Roberts.
  236. I don't get it by mydocuments · · Score: 1

    Shooting rabbits? Sniping deer? There's no experience points for killing grey stuff anyway!

  237. Jesus Wept! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny, I feel the same way about Americans.

    End of story.

  238. Speaking for us carnivors. by Big+Smirk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thank god I mostly eat meat from the grocery store - there they only kill the guilty animals! "whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine." Oh, and I here they only pluck guilty vegitables as well. Don't want to kill the innocent type.

    --
    TODO: create/find/steal funny sig.
  239. Not all Internet hunters are lazy... by mynameismonkey · · Score: 1

    This aired on NPR a while ago: "A Texas game ranch that offers real-time hunting via the Internet is drawing criticism. Hunters such as Dale Hagberg, an Indiana man paralyzed from the neck down, can shoot animals with a rifle controlled by computer mouse."

    The audio archive is here.

    (I hope the Web UI follows accesibility standards...)

    --
    -- Religion is not an exact science
  240. ethics of hunting by willCode4Beer.com · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You make a very good argument, and I agree with you on most points but, I might disagree on some details.
    Although I agree with you on the role of evolution, I disagree with using it as justification. Primitive man also killed his competition for a better chance of propagation. As for our biological requirements, you are completely right.

    As for having someone else (butcher) kill an animal vs killing it yourself, I believe that killing the animal yourself is more ethical. Look at how much meat is thrown away in this country. People who kill their own animals tend to have much more respect for the creature and do not waste them. Where I disagree with you is in the making a sport out of killing the creature. I have butcherd a few animals (goats, sheep, and pig) for BBQ's. However, I try to make it quick, simple, and as painless as possible.
    Now, I do understand the desire for the sport, hell, we've got millions of years of evolution that make it desireable. There's the inrush of all kinds of hormones and nuerochemicals to make it a desireable activity. But, as a thinking being I find it distasteful to make sport out of killing.

    Just my $0.02

    --
    ----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
  241. cliches, anecdotal observations and hearsay by j4ck50n · · Score: 1

    slashdot - hunting ethics...gimme a break.

  242. I love this.. by technomancer68 · · Score: 1

    whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine.

    Innocent animals. Anyone that even remotely thinks this has never been out in the woods camping and ran across a bear, or even yes a deer can be quite aggresive. I don't agree with the whole sit on your butt and shoot from a computer, but hey, if you wanna do it have a private club or something on private land then its your choice of what you do in my opinion. But don't call animals innocent.. if you do it's obvious that the only animals you have seen are either domesticated or in zoos (or the discovery channel.. weeeee.. actually they do a pretty good portrayal of animals for the most part).. this is grizzly adams, signing off..

    --

    The Technomancer
    "Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active."-
    1. Re:I love this.. by m50d · · Score: 1

      Erm, no, that's called *defending your home* and is something that's supported under law. You can kill people in defence of your home and still be innocent; plenty of people have done this.

      --
      I am trolling
    2. Re:I love this.. by Phist · · Score: 1
      You can kill people in defense of your home and still be innocent; plenty of people have done this.

      Guilty of unmanslaughter?

      I think the term used in court is 'not guilty' because no one is really innocent.

    3. Re:I love this.. by technomancer68 · · Score: 1

      Actually killing someone in your home can not be in protection of your home but rather in protection of your family. The individual has to have a weapon on his or her person and you have to be in fear for your life or the lives of your family to be able to legally kill that person. I hardly think a camper constitutes threatning. Be that as it may, taken that into consideration what about the many attacks on humans that are in their own yard. Alligators, bears, large cats (ie bob cats, panthers, etc.). Or do we label only certain animals innocent. Animals live off of instinct. They don't have silly laws or things of that nature. And they will kill whenever they feel the need arises. And that need comes in many forms, but among those forms food. Which most hunters who hunt on foot use the animals for. There are trophy hunters, don't get me wrong, but most hunters eat the meat and feed their families with the animals they kill. A hungry bear would have no problem eating you.. trust me..

      --

      The Technomancer
      "Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active."-
    4. Re:I love this.. by m50d · · Score: 1
      IIRC the criterion is "legitimate fear for your life". An animal may well have seen campers kill its friends or family, and certainly knows humans have the ability to kill, I think if the human doesn't back off after a few growls or even knowing about their presence then the animal would be in legitimate fear for its life.

      Yes, a few animals are guilty of some things. But the vast majority are innocent. You can't evecute a random 10% of some town just because you know there's a big mafia there.

      Many people will kill when the need arises. Plenty of them, myself included, would have no problem killing you if they thought it was necessary under the circumstances. Does this give you the right to kill them?

      --
      I am trolling
    5. Re:I love this.. by technomancer68 · · Score: 1

      Yup.. I have the right to kill them, eat them and use their fur for clothing if I so choose.. the same way a lion would with an elk.. though I haven't seen too many lions in elks clothing.. at any rate they eat the elk, so I feel it's my right to eat deer.

      --

      The Technomancer
      "Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active."-
  243. Re:Wait... Logic Check...(offtopic but true) by George+Tirebuyer · · Score: 1

    I would score that as a kill. In fact you should patent it as a sport for PETA types.

  244. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by m50d · · Score: 1

    What makes a more even match for a set of antlers, a knife or a high-powered rifle?

    --
    I am trolling
  245. Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That was 20 years ago and the deer population still hasn't fully recovered to normal levels, though it's getting there through nice, sustainable, controlled growth, encouraged by more aggressive wildlife management policies (more hunting).

    Don't you see some error in your way of thinking? How is KILLING more deer to allow RECOVER the original population? Or you mean the population is STILL TOO HIGH (despite the mass dying because of the harsh winter) and you intend to help recover its original, lower number?

    Truth is, the population WOULD have regulated itself. 75% of the population - the weakest would die. Next year the "boom" would be smaller. Then possibly there would be more food over winter, and so, in some time the population would ballance itself, equal number dying over winter as being born as "surplus" over normal population.

    But no, hunters couldn't stand seeing so much good meat, so much game going to waste. Feed them now, shot them later, the preferred way. Of course let the weak survive so we could shot the best ones and still have the numbers matching.

    The problem with hunters is that they justify their actions by short-term problems ("if we don't kill enough deers, they will destroy trees this winter") while their long-term tactics is directed at maximizing their own interest - first kill off all the predators (remove the competition) then maximize the population, while maximizing hunting - more born, more killed, more meat. The ballance could be kept - some predators, some herbivores and just several shots a year to keep the ballance wherever it gets out of hand. But no, you prefer to turn forests into game factory, where you MUST kill A LOT of wild animals to keep the area from ecological disaster. It's not "population control". It's "meat harvest."

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    1. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      How is KILLING more deer to allow RECOVER the original population?

      Primarily because it funds conservation efforts that prevent the deer from being killed in other ways. For example, by automobiles.

      Of course let the weak survive so we could shot the best ones and still have the numbers matching.

      Hunting does select differently than "natural" predation and mild winter kills, but it doesn't select for the weak and take the strong. What it really does is select for high intelligence and a preference for country that is too rugged for people to easily negotiate.

      The problem with hunters is that they justify their actions by short-term problems ("if we don't kill enough deers, they will destroy trees this winter") while their long-term tactics is directed at maximizing their own interest - first kill off all the predators (remove the competition) then maximize the population, while maximizing hunting - more born, more killed, more meat.

      Almost. The only major error in the above paragraph is that hunters don't kill off the predators, farmers kill them and houses, buildings and roads drive them away.

      Controlled hunting allows the deer population to be stabilized at a much higher level than would occur without any predation. This means more meat and sport for hunters and more deer for hikers, bikers and sightseers to see. It also means less periodic damage to the forests.

      To summarize:

      1. Natural predation yields moderate, fluctuating, populations with occasional moderate winter kill.
      2. Hunting yields large, sustainable populations with minimal winter kill. It also funds other conservation efforts to help deer cope with encroaching humanity.
      3. No predation at all yields small, wildly fluctuating populations with occasional severe winter kill.

      Given that option 1 is not compatible with human occupation and farming, and given that the people and the farmers are not going away, do you really think option 3 is better?

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    2. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      Whoa! More rape for virginity!

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    3. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      So... if you don't have an argument you spout a sarcastic, non-sequiteur cliche.

      Impressive.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    4. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      1) Yeah, raping for virginity. Shot 500 to save 100 from automobiles. Long time ago I have noticed the deep hipocrisy of the hunter society. The funding comes out of your pockets, right? You claim you love the nature, love the wild animals, right? So why won't you fund all the environmental efforts WITHOUT killing deers from population that is already too small?
      2) Deers are herd animals. You see a herd of deers in shoting range. Do you shot the one that stands in direction of nearest town or the more with most impressive antlers?
      3) Bluff again. Predator hunting. Hunters love to bend facts to their needs. Predators, as more rare, are more expensive to hunt. Endangered species, illegal to hunt, are top price. So much for protection. In some places there's a shortage of predators (or none at all.) In others, surplus. So what's the most obvious solution, according to hunters? Kill predators where's the surplus, kill herbivores where's shortage of predators. Somehow solutions to all problems you encounter involves killing things. And somehow never killing itself is the point, you always "fund environmental care", "regulate population", "protect vegetation" and so on. Typical solution to ANY environmental problem presented to average hunter is to kill some of something. Say, some species is on threshold of extinction. So organise hunt to kill off half of the existing specimens and use the money to save the rest.
      4) Hardly possible that the winter alone would kill more of a population than winter+predators. You, as a hunter, probably know the "prey-predator curve" from math, and know that for certain boundary conditions the amplitudes can be minimised. Without predators, winter plays the role of "predator". Of course if you start off with population on the "game factory" level, and not on "sustainable without predators" level, you are bound to end up with ecological disaster. You gladly do so, to "prove" your point to the authorities by showcasing the "mass dying".

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    5. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      Shot 500 to save 100 from automobiles.

      Actually, in Utah twenty years ago, nearly three times as many deer were killed by automobiles as were killed by hunters. Today it's about even, thanks to the crossings and fences constructed by the Dept. of Wildlife Resources with money from hunters.

      So why won't you fund all the environmental efforts WITHOUT killing deers from population that is already too small?

      People simply won't donate the kind of money that they'll pay for hunting licenses, because they get more out of the latter. As for the population being too small... have I not made it clear that the population is *larger* with controlled hunting than without?

      Deers are herd animals. You see a herd of deers in shoting range. Do you shot the one that stands in direction of nearest town or the more with most impressive antlers?

      Actually mule deer (what we have in Utah) are not really herd animals. During the rut they travel in groups, basically a buck and his harem, and the rest of the year, except for does with fauns, they tend to be either alone or in very small groups. Since English isn't your first language, I suspect maybe you're European and thinking of "red deer", which we call elk. Elk are, indeed, herd animals that are rarely alone. With deer it's less common to have a choice of which to shoot out of a herd. With deer you typically have to decide on a case by case basis: "Try to take this one or pass it up and hope I see something else?".

      However, what you're asking is how a hunter chooses which to shoot when he or she does have a choice. Typically the biggest rack, sure. What's your point? If you're trying to argue that this weakens the herd somehow you'll have to elaborate your argument. Frankly, I doubt you know enough about the life cycle of the animals to do it. Few outside of naturalists and hunters do.

      Hunters love to bend facts to their needs.

      Cut the ad-hominems. They really don't help your case.

      Predators, as more rare, are more expensive to hunt.

      At least in Utah, nearly all of the natural predators for deer are gone, and have been for a long time. Many were killed by farmers and ranchers, the rest were basically just driven out by encroaching human settlements.

      Some of the remaining predators are hunted, but it's extremely limited, because the DWR is also focused on maintaining healthy populations of those as well. These hunts aren't just expensive, they're very rare, and it costs lots of money even to apply -- and very few applicants get permits. For example, mountain lions (which almost never kill deer), are hunted, but there are only a handful of permits given out each year in the entire state. Each hunter who applies for a permit pays a fee and only a small number are randomly selected. The net is that the DWR takes in tens of thousands of dollars for study and maintenance of lion habitat for every animal that is killed. Yet again, it's a net benefit to the size and health of the lion population.

      Actually, in Utah at least, *more* effort is put into maintaining and growing the populations of the predators that remain than is put into helping deer and elk. The bears and wolves aren't going to come back, but we want to preserve and enhance the animal populations that are left.

      Say, some species is on threshold of extinction. So organise hunt to kill off half of the existing specimens and use the money to save the rest.

      No. Species that are endangered are not hunted legally at all, and poaching is vigorously prosecuted. Hunting is only for species with sustainable populations.

      Hardly possible that the winter alone would kill more of a population than winter+predators.

      That just shows you don't understand this issue at all. Look, I'm a mathematician, and I definitely understand the typical, simplified curves. But winter imposes boundary conditions that cannot be modeled with sm

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    6. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      Today it's about even, thanks to the crossings and fences constructed by the Dept. of Wildlife Resources with money from hunters.

      Less killed by cars, more left for shooting? Keeping -roads- safe being the business of dept. of Wildlife Resources? Sounds like a bad pun. Or at least there's a serious flaw in this way of thinking.

      People simply won't donate the kind of money that they'll pay for hunting licenses, because they get more out of the latter.

      "people" meaning You. The hunters. The "nature lovers". These who claim they do it all from love to the nature, to help maintain the population levels, to protects the farms... Who would count all the things they are obligated to do by law as their great contributions to The Nature. That's the base of the hipocrisy: You cover up your will for killing with different noble aims. But remove the ability to kill, and suddenly all the will for noble aims is gone.
      No. You pay, because you want to kill. Bloodlust. You don't care if the money goes to preserving wildlife or to funding a villa for some politician. You don't care if the people living near the forests are safe or if the farms are damaged. You just care that there should always be enough game to hunt and enough good publicity (FUD) to still be able to kill. A rogue man-killing mountain lion is not your civil service for protecting people, but an exciting hunt.
      And that directly influences the rest of the points. I'm not saying hunters aren't needed. I'm not saying culling is unnecessary. But I'm saying all the aims of the current-day hunting are directed at the above. All the noble things you talk about, just a cover-up for a bloody entertainment, which is the highest priority. "preserving the population" should mean keeping it on a self-sustainable level, which could go unattended for years, unless something like especially harsh winter happens. Not at levels that produce most game, and left unattended lead to disasters. Funding preservation of wildlife should be an act of good will, not an obligatory pay for license to kill. And what to say about all the cows and dogs with huge "COW" or "DOG" painted on them, so they wouldn't get shot by drunken hunters during the season? How does that contribute towards safety?
      You are not defending noble vigilantes, good citizens who do this all from love for Nature. You are defending a bunch of rogues, a mob that has a lot to say about how much good they do, except they do something completely different. Confront all the "humanitarian killing" with hunter tales "how painfully the bastard was dying". The noble traditions with amount of alcohol they drink. All their contributions to the wildlife, with how much would they give without being able to kill - and how much they spend on guns and equipment.

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    7. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      Less killed by cars, more left for shooting? Keeping -roads- safe being the business of dept. of Wildlife Resources?

      Sure. Why not? Keeping the animals off the road protects both the animals and the people (people die when a small automobile hits a 200 lb animal at 80mph). The Dept of Transportation also does some of this, but they only worry about the cars, not the animals. The put up fences, but don't create crossings.

      You cover up your will for killing with different noble aims.

      Hold up here... who's covering up anything? I believe I was quite clear in my previous post. Since you didn't read it, here it is again:

      BTW, I'm not trying to argue that hunting is "moral" because it helps the animal populations. I don't intend to try to defend the morality of hunting, because that's an argument that we'll never agree upon. Those who have never hunted have an irrational queasiness about it, don't understand it and likely never will.
      All I'm saying is that controlled, managed hunting as it is done where I live cannot be rationally criticized on the grounds that it hurts the animal populations.

      A rogue man-killing mountain lion is not your civil service for protecting people, but an exciting hunt.

      Such rogues are not killed by hunters. Removal of a specific, dangerous animal is performed by rangers, or, more likely, county animal control (the "dogcatcher").

      You are so full of confused misinformation it's staggering.

      "preserving the population" should mean keeping it on a self-sustainable level, which could go unattended for years, unless something like especially harsh winter happens. Not at levels that produce most game, and left unattended lead to disasters. Funding preservation of wildlife should be an act of good will

      Why?

      And what to say about all the cows and dogs with huge "COW" or "DOG" painted on them, so they wouldn't get shot by drunken hunters during the season?

      I have never seen such a thing. It's very hard to see why anyone would feel it necessary; since hunters can't go around shooting anything that moves. The effort required to determine if the animal is the right age and gender usually provides a good determination as to the species as well.

      Oh, and as far as "drunken hunters" goes... I don't drink while hunting. I don't drink, ever, actually.

      You are defending a bunch of rogues, a mob that has a lot to say about how much good they do, except they do something completely different.

      You clearly know nothing about the people you're criticizing. You've obviously never met them.

      Confront all the "humanitarian killing" with hunter tales "how painfully the bastard was dying".

      Anyone who would tell such tales would be scorned by the hunters I know. Real hunters prefer the kill to be as quick and painless as possible. I realize it's difficult for people who've never been there to understand, but, in truth, hunters have a great deal of respect and admiration for the animals they hunt.

      The noble traditions with amount of alcohol they drink.

      I think you've confused hunters with university students.

      All their contributions to the wildlife, with how much would they give without being able to kill

      I don't think you'll find many who would claim they'd donate money to the DWR. I really don't know where you get this crap. You're trying to imply hypocrisy where none exists.

      and how much they spend on guns and equipment.

      And what does that have to do with anything? Some spend a lot, some spend very little... mostly that is driven by income and interest. My father in law is an interesting case there, he spends relatively small amounts but has a vast collection of weapons. Last I checked he had close to 100 rifles, most of them very beautiful weapons, but he rarely spends more than about $30 on a rifle. He buys old, dilapidated rifles, builds beautiful custom stocks for them, repairs the receivers and cleans and blues the barrels. It's his hobby. I'm sure it you find it appalling.

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    8. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      All I'm saying is that controlled, managed hunting as it is done where I live cannot be rationally criticized on the grounds that it hurts the animal populations.

      The problem is that this hunting is NOT done in rational way. People who should do the best for the animals, do the best for themselves. Keyword: Corruption.

      "preserving the population" should mean keeping it on a self-sustainable level, which could go unattended for years, unless something like especially harsh winter happens.

      Why? Because if for some reason the forces behind it vanish (e.g. a serious war begins and most hunters join the army) or because of some other reasons the regulation of the population ceases, it results in ecological disaster.
      You've already given example, in your original post, what are the results of ceasing the hunts in such an area without leaving the population at a -regulated- level. Massive losses in wildlife, agriculture, numerous problems caused by starving animals seeking food amongst humans. Keyword: Irresponsiblity.

      Funding preservation of wildlife should be an act of good will
      Because otherwise it's encouraging this two-facedness, where in one hand you play a great nature lover and great protector, in the other you enjoy pain and suffering of the animals. That's the same league as "defense by pre-emptive attack", and all the lies you face in business and politics. Keyword: Hipocrisy.

      I think you've confused hunters with university students.
      Either you don't know the hunter society or you play that you don't.

      I don't think you'll find many who would claim they'd donate money to the DWR. I really don't know where you get this crap. You're trying to imply hypocrisy where none exists.

      Well, I found one here - you. And quite a few in the past. Claiming hunting is ah-so-noble because their money goes to DWR and funds all the useful stuff. Say, I organise a hunt on homeless children. Hand out guns, let people kill the kids, find some twisted way to make it legal. $1mln/shot. All going to the Salvation Army or some other charity. How would you feel about them boasting they donated SO much money to the charity, to help the poor?

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    9. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      The problem is that this hunting is NOT done in rational way. People who should do the best for the animals, do the best for themselves. Keyword: Corruption.

      Evidence? There doesn't seem to be much where I live. Certainly if we judge outcomes, the system seems to work very well. What more can we ask?

      Why? Because if for some reason the forces behind it vanish (e.g. a serious war begins and most hunters join the army) or because of some other reasons the regulation of the population ceases, it results in ecological disaster.

      You mean, some disaster like fruitcakes like you getting hunting banned?

      Other than regulatory mistakes like that (or like the overzealous restrictions of the 70s, led largely by anti-hunting types like you that didn't understand what a disaster it would be), there hasn't been any significant lack of hunters in Utah in the last 100+ years, including through two world wars. This argument is a non-starter.

      Plus, even if it's somehow true, it makes absolutely no sense stop controlling the populations -- and thereby demolish them -- just because we may some day have to stop controlling the populations. That argument is just plain silly. I think you should stop eating solid food now on the grounds that you may sometime break your jaw and have to eat everything through a straw.

      Because otherwise it's encouraging this two-facedness, where in one hand you play a great nature lover and great protector, in the other you enjoy pain and suffering of the animals.

      I don't enjoy pain and suffering of animals. I always strive to kill them as quickly and cleanly as possible, primarily for humane reasons, although it also avoids contamination of the meat with lactic acid. The best meat is from animals who are healthy, have been eating well and are calm and rested when killed. Stress and suffering during death makes the meat gamey.

      And although you'll never understand it, hunters are both nature lovers and predators. That may seem two-faced to you, but it's really just two sides of the same coin.

      Either you don't know the hunter society or you play that you don't.

      Ahh, so now you're going to tell me that you, a non-hunter, know hunters better than I do. Given that I spend time with hunters while hunting, don't you think that's a bit ludicrous.

      Well, I found one here - you.

      I'm hypocritical am I? Okay, spell it out: Where have my words and actions not been in agreement?

      As for your analogy with the mass murder of children, I'm not even going to honor it with a comment except to ask -- are you really so twisted as to be able to equate children with deer and rabbits?

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      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    10. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      Certainly if we judge outcomes, the system seems to work very well. What more can we ask?

      Reading further you certainly saw points, what doesn't work very well. Besides the obvious "less accidentially shot pets and farm animals" and such. A hunter nearly missed my friend, when he was riding on a bike. Another friend's horse was shot. Thank you for this kind of protection.

      That argument is just plain silly.

      Yes, "I don't see what could possibly go wrong?" and "We're doing this for ages, why should we change anything?"
      Whole civilisations died and empires fell because of using these counter-arguments to those who saw the danger.

      I'm hypocritical am I?
      "hunters don't kill off the predators"
      "You might think that ceasing all hunting would allow the population to rebound faster, but the hunting feeds much-needed dollars into various conservation efforts, such as building road crossings for the animals."
      "the deer population still hasn't fully recovered to normal levels, though it's getting there through nice, sustainable, controlled growth, encouraged by more aggressive wildlife management policies (more hunting)."
      "The net effect is that hunting is crucial to the maintenance of healthy herds."

      Lies, slippery twisting the facts, bragging with all the good your money does, a range of fallacious arguments. I'm still not sure if hunters tell all these lies in cool blood or do they really convince themselves and believe they are true. If the former, there's no point in arguing. If the latter - analyse each of the sentences above and find the fallacies.

      I don't enjoy pain and suffering of animals.

      So you don't. I've heard enough hunters boasting how painfully their victims died. Of course when asked publicly, they all say they don't enjoy causing pain. Only around the campfire, passing drinks to other hunters, all this "non-enjoying" goes away and most messy and gory stories attract most interest.

      And by the way, -comparison- - do you know such a word? I'm not equating apples to oranges. I'm comparing contexts. Exagerrating to make certain dependencies more obvious. Bicycle riding at speed of light thing. Reduce children to rabbits, $1mln to license fee, slippery means of getting alibi to legal license, and "some charity" to DWR, and you get the same chain of dependencies. Values may differ. Things that were horrid may be just a bit disgusting. But the lies are still the same.

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    11. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      Reading further you certainly saw points, what doesn't work very well.

      What points? The only time I saw it didn't work well was when anti-hunting groups pushed massive reductions in deer hunting and the result decimated the deer population.

      Besides the obvious "less accidentially shot pets and farm animals" and such. A hunter nearly missed my friend, when he was riding on a bike. Another friend's horse was shot. Thank you for this kind of protection.

      It sounds like hunting wherever you live is very poorly regulated. About like it was here up until the 1950s.

      The solution is better regulation, not banning hunting.

      Yes, "I don't see what could possibly go wrong?" and "We're doing this for ages, why should we change anything?"

      Two points. One, you have failed to provide any alternative mechanism for maintaining populations. If you want to abolish one thing, you should probably have a suggestion as to what should go in its place. Two, you have failed to provide any believable scenario in which the current approach fails.

      It's neither possible nor sensible to change everything that's working just because it may not work in the future for some as-yet-unknowable reason. Perhaps we should stop using computers because they may someday cease to function?

      You used the following statements to claim I'm hypocritical. Let's take them one by one and try to find any hypocrisy.

      First, though, let's review what hypocrisy is. Merriam-Webster says "a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not".

      "hunters don't kill off the predators"

      This is a true statement. Hunters may hunt the predators, but they don't kill them off. Here in Utah, the predators have been killed off to protect livestock not game.

      Now, as to hypocrisy. Since the statement is not about me, it you must be trying to imply it's something I say but do not believe. I do believe it.

      "You might think that ceasing all hunting would allow the population to rebound faster, but the hunting feeds much-needed dollars into various conservation efforts, such as building road crossings for the animals."

      Again, a true statement. Hunter-provided dollars reduced roadkill by more animals than hunters killed during the rebound years. The number of animals not killed by autos is only estimated, of course, but it can be estimated quite accurately since the DWR has all of the historical data.

      As to hypocrisy, again this is not about me, and it is something I believe, so hypocrisy doesn't apply.

      "the deer population still hasn't fully recovered to normal levels, though it's getting there through nice, sustainable, controlled growth, encouraged by more aggressive wildlife management policies (more hunting)."

      Yet another true statement, though one that may seem self-contradictory on its face if you don't understand it. And I'll grant I didn't explain it well. The more aggressive policies in question aren't more aggressive in terms of the numbers of animals they kill, they're more aggressive in terms of the fact that the DWR is taking a more active hand in managing the population. New policies include many more "special" hunts, which target specific regional populations, or even specific segments of specific populations. Although the general hunt has been scaled back -- fewer permits, more expensive permits, made harder to obtain -- specific hunts are used very heavily to maintain overall balance and growth.

      One related example is the way elk hunting has been significantly increased, because the elk populations are muscling the deer out. We want to have good populations of both, so it's necessary to reduce the elk in prime deer habitat.

      As to hypocrisy.. same as above.

      "The net effect is that hunting is crucial to the maintenance of healthy herds."

      Yep. Humans have already destroyed the natural balance and without the a

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    12. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      The solution is better regulation, not banning hunting.

      Especially helpful if the president of the local hunting group is the judge who reviews your case, the guilty was a manager who is his friend, an army officer, and a bunch of their friends on high positions will witness against you. The problem is usually hunters are influential/rich people, and they know really well how to protect themselves from prosecution. Regulations? But he shot that horse himself, and now wants to claim damages! We all saw Johnny was in different part of the forest, didn't we? (and shut up, you sonuvabitch if you don't want the rest of your horses shot). That's how your regulations look in practice.
      People, who kill for pleasure find it easy to lie for profit.

      One, you have failed to provide any alternative mechanism for maintaining populations.
      Hunting+predators, maintaining populations at self-sustainable levels, near the point of ballance of the predator-prey curve. Hunting as a REAL regulatory service, not entertainment. I thought I had stated this clearly?
      Two, you have failed to provide any believable scenario in which the current approach fails.
      Any believable to YOU. Just as lung cancer is not a believable solution to smokers, and crashing is not a believable senario for drunk drivers.

      Perhaps we should stop using computers because they may someday cease to function?
      Perhaps you know of companies that went bankrupt because they replaced their paper-based systems with computers, destroyed paper backups and then lost all their data in computer crash due to some critical error in design of their infrastructure?
      Everything done in a reasonable way is okay. But hunting is NOT done in a reasonable way.

      Here in Utah, the predators have been killed off to protect livestock not game.
      At least some of them, by hunters. So they took a part in the process of killing them off. Not singlehandedly, but they did. What about other places than Utah? There are many places on Earth where certain native species of predators can be found only in zoogardens, thanks to hunts. Wolves have been brought to threshold of extinction, or just killed off in many countries - by hunting. Several species of tigers are on threshold of extinction. England, the great house of most noble world's hunters have been nearly wiped off predators, except of a small population of foxes.
      If the claim was "Hunters in Utah don't sindehandedly kill off predators", then it would be okay. But otherwise, "hunters don't kill off predators" it's at best a half-truth, and a half-truth is a whole lie.
      Of course "accidentially killing off whole species" is one of more shady regions in hunting, so hunters will do everything they can to deny it, or blame it on something/someone else.

      "You might think that ceasing all hunting would allow the population to rebound faster, but the hunting feeds much-needed dollars into various conservation efforts, such as building road crossings for the animals."
      Argument always brought up by hunters. That falls directly under bragging, and hipocrisy when (as usually) presented in the light of "noble support to the environment" while the whole funding is obligatory fee forced upon hunters.

      "hunting is crucial to the maintenance of healthy herds."
      Predators are crucial to maintenance of HEALTHY herds. Hunter, when facing a choice between a big rack, and a weak, sick specimen, will pick the obvious. Predator will pick the opposite obvious. Hunters suck at maintaining healthy herds.

      "(more hunting)."
      - many more "special" hunts
      - general hunt has been scaled back

      As for me, it would mean less hunting total. Scaling down the "entertainment" zone, extending the "regulatory" zone. Seems reasonable but definitely net total must be that less animals are shot if the population is to grow - so less hunting (unless you count shoting deers with a paintball gun as hunting).
      Plus your original argument wa

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    13. Re:Calling bluff. by swillden · · Score: 1

      People, who kill for pleasure find it easy to lie for profit... hunters will do everything they can to deny it, or blame it on something/someone else... Brutal, homicidal monsters, without culture, without respect to -any- form of life, full of themselves, ready to take any steps to protect their right to kill. Killing those who oppose them, too

      You know, it's just not possible to have a rational conversation with you on this topic. You insist on throwing all of these off-the-wall, unsupportable, ad-hominem attacks. I've managed to ignore them through many posts now, but I give up.

      If you'd like to continue the conversation without such rhetorical excesses, let me know. Until then, you'll have to find someone else to debate you.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    14. Re:Calling bluff. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      It's hard not to address people in discussion, when people are its target. So let me support my unsupportable, off-the-wall attacks by citing parts from an older discussion I have archived. It was a discussion about a critical article about hunters. A girl wrote...

      My father is a hunter for 35 years. Fully-featured activist. They always drink till they fall on these hunts. I got to know about a hundred hunters in my life. Unfortunately they are mostly simpletons. They may be directors and managers in their private life. When it comes to shoting, they are total cretins and brutes.

      Replies:

      Fucked up father, certainly difficult childhood. Enough to fume like this.

      ----

      Fuck you! Your opinion worth as much as a cunt hair!

      ----

      The accident that your father was a hunter is some kind of omission. If I was in his hunter group, I'd f*** throw him out. And as a drunkard, you see what kind of daughter he has. What can one do, drinking so much? Why would your mother tollerate that? Suspicious bunch, that family of yours."

      ----

      You bitch
      ...
      ....
      you bitch


      I didn't get to archive discussions where I was getting personal life threats unfortunately... but I found it really scary that of such people who lose their temper so easily, all have guns.

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  246. Hunt! by walgurf · · Score: 1

    Hunting is a primal sport and should be treated as such.

    Also note that anyone who opposes hunting damn well better be a vegetarian.

  247. Imagine this by anonymous22 · · Score: 0

    I think TheSync is run by a bunch of fucking liberals.

    --
    Anyone who runs is V.C. Anyone who stands still is well-disciplined V.C.
    Door Gunner, Full Metal Jacket
  248. I prefer Internet sex hunting... by Vo0k · · Score: 1

    http://bash.org.pl/192

    Translation:

    <karp> I was doing this on fotka.pl [amateur photo portal. Girls post their photo sand get rated 1-10 by visitors]
    <karp> I had a script to check fotka.pl every day and look at the notes.
    <karp> If any was rated above 7
    <karp> it was sending an email
    <karp> If the girl wrote back, it was sending another one, nicer.
    <karp> I got laid twice this way.
    <karp> Only the third mail was written "manually",
    <karp> the two first, sent by the script.
    <karp> Efficiency better than 1 in 100.

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  249. Innocent animals? Get a grip, Timmy. by snarkasaurus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Biased much? Try thinking from an alternate viewpoint for just a milisecond. It may hurt, but it may be worth it.

    Hunting is a NORMAL part of human life. Remember evolution? We're carnivorous Timmy. We have carnivore teeth. Animals are attractive because they are food. Only dumbass urban dwelling, Smartcar driving bunny huggers think deer are cute, mostly because they've never seen deer except in the zoo.

    So Timmy, you ignorant city slicker, how cute is it when Bambi and her mummy step out in front of your car at dusk on the highway and freeze in the headlights? You're doing 70 mph in your environmentally friendly Smartcar, and Bambi is coming right in there to share the front seat with your animal loving self plus whoever else is in the car. Wife, kids, girlfriend... Happens every single friggin' day on the highways around New York City. Because why? Because no hunting therefore too many deer, that's why.

    Or how cute is it when you see Bambi and her mother and brothers, sisters, cousins, second cousins twice removed and a whole passle of others standing in the middle of a denuded forest where there's nothing green less than seven feet off the ground. The deer are nothing but skin and bone, they have putrescent sores, and they smell like an uncleaned hamster cage. That cute? Happening right now in the Pennsylvania woods around Philly. Because why? No hunting, that's why.

    How about Lyme disease? Cute eh? Explosion of deer ticks EVERYWHERE in the Northeast to match the deer explosion, you can't wear shorts in your own backyard. Because why? Because guys like Timmy insist on gassing off about "innocent animals" and smearing the morals of hunters. You can't hunt or even target shoot in the urban Northeast without being a social pariah.

    Now think about the legions of Canada Geese on ever goddamn lawn in the USA. And goose poo. And West Nile virus. Be brave Timmy, you can think it. Yes! Congratulations Timmy you have got it in one. No hunters = bad things happen.

    Timmy, your religious views are getting people killed in car wrecks, ruining the environment and spreading disease. Actions have consequences, you should maybe think about that a bit.

    And yes, web hunting is unsportsmanlike. Get out and look it in the eye when you shoot it. And eat what you shoot.

  250. Crossbows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The reason most places don't allow you to use a crossbow is because it's to close to a gun. With a compound or recurve bow you have to draw back and work to hold the strings until you are ready to release. However, with a crossbow all you have to do is cock it and it's sitting there ready to shoot until you need it with no work on your side. In Illinois you can apply for a handicap tag that allows you to bow hunt with a crossbow and off of a 4 wheeler.

  251. Murder by Internet Proxy? by FreeUser · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree, this is integral "Your Rights Online." I protest this grave infringement against my inherent right as a human to operate a deadly weapon using some Flash game on my desktop.

    How long before a real-life hunter walks into the frame, and some jackass takes a potshot, killing a human being by clicking their mouse? Will it really matter all that much (aside from lawyer wrangling in the court) whether the murderer-by-click is a snot-nosed prepubescent who figured he'd never get caught and it would be "cool to draw real blood," or a self-righteous anti-hunting zealot who thinks offing a hunter would "serve the cause?" Frankly, to the victim and their family, probably not.

    I have no problem with hunting for meat. I like meat, and I love venison (though to be fair, I don't much care for hunting. Sweaty, dirty work and not very entertaining for me, but then, I'm not much of an outdoorsman. That, however, is a question of personal taste) and frankly, the better the herds of deer are culled, the better off the entire eco-system is. But allowing anyone with a computer and an internet link to operate a deadly weapon is criminally stupid. Eventually it will be used to kill a real human being, by some amoral fuck (and the Internet is full of those) who thinks, for whatever reason, it would be real cool to click on that link and ice the guy in the orange vest who happened to walk across the video feed.

    --
    The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
  252. killing innocent animals? by KingNaught · · Score: 1

    "whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine." Unless your a veegan you don't have much right to talk about killing innocent animals. becuase I bet that the deer that gets shot buy some hunter had a lot better life than the cow that you just ate in your Big Mac. I have no problem with hunting animals as long as you eat what you kill. Thats why I don't aggree with catch and realease fishing, you harm/terrifiy the poor fish just for sport.

  253. Typo in your message: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ' tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine...'

    You ment to type:

    "Sitting your ass up in a treestand
    sucking back a six pack and eating sandwiches
    until some stupid deer walks into view..."

  254. And thus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Skynet was thwarted before it even got off the ground.

  255. There goes XboxLive 'DuckHunt' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    geez, just when the kids are getting out of school for the summer...

  256. In a related story... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the Pentagon has announced a new exit strategy for Iraq, replacing "boots on the ground" with internet hunters...hmmm...just might work...

  257. Fuck you /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How fucking biased an article can you allow to be posted? Why not have the article contributor come and drive in my part of the country, where if tehre were no hunting, we'd see all sorts of traffic fatalities due to deer collisions.

    Flaming liberalism does not a tech site make, it makes for idiocy. This site has enough of that in its article replies without need to pander to it in the article postings themselves.

    And yes, when you moderate, just remember, this post is incensed, not idiotic.

  258. It's the torture, not the killing by swb · · Score: 1

    The issue of killing and torturing animals made so common in the popular media during the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer has been grossly oversimplified.

    Almost every child goes through a phase where they "torture" insects at the very least; just last night I watched two small neighbor boys "maim" a dozen carpenter ants. At very young ages they're intellect and emotional intelligence isn't developed enough to project thier own emotions and understand those of other people and to the extent they have them, of animals.

    Watch very young toddlers in a nursery -- you *have* to watch them -- as they have no barrier preventing them from hitting, poking, pulling or harming other children, especially smaller ones. My own son will pull my hair, ears, rip my glasses off my face and make a run at mom's earrings. After a couple of hair/ear pullings, the dog won't even get close.

    It's only when children are older, in their adolescent years, that they have a developed sense of self and an understanding of others feelings that animal torture becomes an issue. And it's not even the killing aspect -- it's the prolonged torture and post-death experience that really demonstrates sociopathy and lack of empathy, not the actual killing itself.

    My dad lived in the Ozarks in the 1940s, when it was quite rural. As a teenager, he used to shoot water moccasins and turtles all the time. The turtles would eat his trout lines, and the snakes were a dangerous pest. He never went on to be a sociopath.

    1. Re:It's the torture, not the killing by glrotate · · Score: 1

      has been grossly oversimplified.

      Understood.

      My dad lived in the Ozarks in the 1940s, when it was quite rural. As a teenager, he used to shoot water moccasins and turtles all the time. The turtles would eat his trout lines, and the snakes were a dangerous pest. He never went on to be a sociopath.

      Eliminating pests is good, no problem there. As for the turtles, I'd say that you should try some other means first, but if they persist in eating your lines, then they become a pest.

      I'd cite the examples of the hunting shows on tnn. The ones that have about 15 minutes of hunting program and 15 minutes of ads for every possible hunting device.

      Grown men whooping, hollering and high-fiving when they kill an animal is a little disturbing to me.

      I notice that when the do the slo-mo replay it isn't of the laborious hours spent tracking or the other often cited "serious" aspects of the hunt. It's the kill shot.

  259. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by FinalCut · · Score: 1

    we could have. But we also like the taste of venison, duck, quail, goose, rabbit, etc.

    the food was just a nice side effect of the time we spent together.

    However, it seems you just prefer to ignore purpose of my reply and instead focus on an activity you are obviously opposed to.

  260. Innocent animals? by JohnnyBolla · · Score: 1

    What are they innocent of, exactly?
    Is there a presumption of guilt for beef cattle, ro si this just some stupid hippy snipe at omnivores?

    --
    Carpe Deez
  261. Animals: guilty as charged! by Nephroth · · Score: 1

    Guilty of being delicious, that is.

    I'm all for the ethical treatment of everyone, but let's not get all sentimental about animals. They eat eachother, some animals even eat their own kind. There isn't anything unnatural about eating a healthy proportion of meat in one's diet and it's far healthier to get that meat from unprocessed foods like those one would get from hunting.

    On the flip side, eat your goddamn vegetables! You'll feel and look better for it and you'll probably live longer too. Beyond that, vegetables are quite delicious themselves.

    --
    Our greatest enemy is neither a single man, nor is it a nation, it is, as it has always been, our own greed.
  262. GAH!!! Canada Geese!!!! by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    I hate those goddamn things - flying bags of poop! Every morning, the parking lot at my office (in fort washington) is a damn minefield, except you can't see the field for the mines. Every morning, I have the opportunity to run over legions of the goddamn things, but I have to steer my car in a seemingly random path around the parking lot to find a space because it's illegal to even harass them, let alone kill the goddamn things. I can't understand how the hell those things could possibly be considered endangered or threatened.

    I know what you mean about deer... no vegetation near ground, skinny starving deer.. they're not even good to eat because what meat they do have has no fat ... it's like eating a shoe - even when cooked rare. They're destroying all of the national and state parks around here - valley forge, peace valley, evansburg... all stripped of low-lying vegetation (habitat for god knows how many species), everything covered in deer scat..

    Something needs to be done, of course, as long as we don't harm the poor defenseless deer...

    *sigh*

    1. Re:GAH!!! Canada Geese!!!! by snarkasaurus · · Score: 1

      Same here in Ontario, with the difference that this bunny hugging madness is GOVERNMENT POLICY. Two levels of government in fact, federal AND provincial. Result, there's a mating pair of geese parked on the school lawn at the end of my street. Not only are the bastards without fear of humans, they aren't even afraid of dogs! Leash law, y'know. No chasing the nice geese.

      Part of the problem is pure ignorance of course. Urban dwellers don't know why there is no undergrowth in the local park, and they don't know why that's a bad thing either. Nobody is making any effort to tell them is the rest of the problem.

      Just another major problem dumped on us courtesy of the Looney Left. Watermellon politics, green on the outside, red on the inside. Who but a Red would rather see thousands of starving miserable animals instead of hundreds of happy fat ones?

      Tell you what though, you let people know that geese carry West Nile Virus, and then point at that 5 tons of goose shite on the parking lot festering away in the sun, they get the message REAL quick.

  263. MOD PARENT AS TROLL/ FLAMEBAIT by alexhohio · · Score: 0

    Hunters consider hunting by robot and mouse click 'a digrace to the sport,' whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine." Why the mention of "innocent animals." This is a tech site, not some strange animal "rights" site...

    --
    Almost every Harvard student was High School Valedictorian- After a year of college, half are in the bottom of the class
  264. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by northcat · · Score: 1

    So if you had antlers, fangs and claws, you would take on a guy standing in a distance holding a high-powered rifle? If you ever do so, please make a video of it and send it to a TV channel. I'll have a good laugh.

  265. Suburbs by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1
    Okay, how about you go and try to convince a bunch of suburbanites that having cougars living in the woods near their neighbourhood is okay. Let me know how it goes.

    That's the great thing about the US -- virtually every single bit of forest left is near either agricultural land or suburbs. Farmers don't want predators eating their livestock, and suburbanites don't want predators eating their pets and children.

    1. Re:Suburbs by Vo0k · · Score: 1

      With enough herbivores left, there wouldn't be problems with predators meaning danger to humans. Actually -regulating- the populations of herbivores and predators by hunters would perfectly solve that problem. But then, you'd shot 4 deers a year, not 15. Too bad, so much good meat wasted by these bastard predators, let's kill them.

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  266. Pro vs. Anti Hunting again... by Tin+Britches · · Score: 1

    Innocence is a characteristic only assignable
    to humans. It's a concept that springs forth
    from morality, which animals aren't subject to.
    Animals do things, like kill people, but they
    cannot bear guilt.

    There are people that slaughter animals with
    no regard to the waste of it all. They hunt
    only for the antlers, for instance. There are
    those, like me, that hunt then consume the
    flesh. Still others hunt for trophies and make
    every effort to insure the meat doesn't go
    to waste.

    Internet hunting from a practical standpoint
    is dangerous. Latency alone insures that what
    you see on the screen is not realtime. You can't
    know what the real picture is when you click the
    trigger. If an animal in a herd is the target,
    you will very likely wound a different animal
    when you click. It's as risky as so called
    "sound" shots. A person that has been through
    firearms training, and had the lessons stick,
    will recognize the danger.

  267. Lazy hunters vs. disabled hunters by mattOzan · · Score: 1
    Most news and commentary on this story seems to be willfully missing the point (well, if you believe that humans at base want to help each other rather than make tons of money...)

    The stated application for this system is for disabled hunters, such as Dale Hagberg, a 38-year-old quadriplegic who "worked a computer mouse with his mouth and tongue on Saturday, April 9, to shoot at an antelope on a game reserve near Boeme, Texas, while lying in bed in Ligonier, a town in northeastern Indiana."

    Everyone keeps heaping scorn and ridicule on "lazy hunters who can't drag their ass of the sofa to go hunting in the woods." But what about paralyzed people who couldn't drag their asses anywhere if they tried? As both this Washington Post article and the referenced L.A. Times article note, the hunt on April 9th did have the traditional elements of a "normal" hunt--Hagberg had to wait for the antelope to come into the clear, just as an "abled" hunter would do in a blind. He came away "empty-handed" as his computer wasn't fast enough to maneuver the rifle in time to get a good shot off (damn lag!)

    "Lockwood, the site's creator, points to the failure of Hagberg's hunt as proof that it is truly a 'hunt,' complete with hours of idle waiting for prey and ample opportunity for it to escape. 'It's not about killing something,' he said. 'It's about experiencing the thrill of the hunt, the boredom, everything that goes with it.'"

    Restricted to disabled hunters, I see nothing wrong with this website that is not also a problem with "traditional" hunting (PETA concerns, etc.) But to be solvent, I'm sure they would have to throw open the doors to Joe Lazy-Ass as well, which is less compelling.

    But I would argue that, just like in Sony Betamax vs. Universal, the problem is not with the technology, but with the way the consumer utilizes it. Hagberg shows a "legitimate use" of this technology, and to ban it outright through special legistation reeks of misunderstanding and shortsightedness. I mean, Joe Lazy-Ass is also out in the woods flushing game with dynamite and using AK-47s to mow down yearlings, and we don't ban all hunting to stop him there. We should allow the proper hunting technology to the proper people, and not throw out baby with bathwater.

    1. Re:Lazy hunters vs. disabled hunters by nagora · · Score: 1
      Dale Hagberg, a 38-year-old quadriplegic who "worked a computer mouse with his mouth and tongue on Saturday, April 9, to shoot at an antelope on a game reserve near Boeme, Texas, while lying in bed in Ligonier, a town in northeastern Indiana."

      Now that's what I call a pathetic bastard.

      TWW

      --
      "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
  268. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by LittleLebowskiUrbanA · · Score: 1

    Who cares? How did that animal die that gave its life for those shoes you're wearing? Or your belt? Or your food? Personally I'd rather an animal died from one shot by a high powered rifle then stabbed to death like your fantasy.

  269. It's About bloody time, that will show those Deer by Mhtsos · · Score: 1

    Campers the lot of them. The only time they ever peek out of the bushes is to distract you while the rest of the team bombs the site and it' "wildlife wins" soon after thet.

  270. Source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    800 million? For one thing, you're way off. Check out http://www.cia.gov/ and they
    state India has over a billion people now. And while we're at it,
    most of those folks are vegetarian because they have no
    choice. I'll probably be modded down because of political correctness,
    since everyone's afraid to criticize someone else's culture
    unless it's American, but India simply has bred too much. They need to controlt their population.
    If they suddenly went atheist and started eating meat, you would have widespread famine. Vegetarianism simply takes less land per capita than
    grazing, which takes less land per capita than hunting/gathering.

  271. MeatEater by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...whereas tracking and killing innocent animals on foot is just fine"

    I am not a hunter, but, I know quite a few that are and I intend to take my children hunting with some of them in a couple of years.

    Most people (yes, there are a few wackos) that hunt have a respect for animals and life in general that metrosexuals, such as yourself, could only dream of possessing. Kids that are trained properly and hunt KNOW what a gun can do and are much less likely to find a pistol and play with it resulting in one of their friends having their brains blown all over the place. They also learn to respect animals and you won't find many hunter kids out torturing animals and loading squirrels full of BBs. In rural areas, you'll find one wacko kid that likes to put M-80s in a cat's butt. Everyone knows who this kid is and he will be ostracized. In urban areas, you'll find whole gangs of wacko kids that enjoy this sort of thing. After being caught killing a cat and being charged more seriously than most human murderers, these urban sickos become animal rights activists and join PETA and try to force everyone to eat lettuce. Hunting is to be enjoyed for the sport, but only as a backdrop to filling one's stomach.

    In fact, the hunter is far more respectful of animals than those of you living in Asphaltville buying beef off the shelf. Yet, this is a product of our civilization's growth. Everyone certainly cannot be supported by individual hunting. Therefore, those horrendous places where chickens and cows are raised (rather than on a nice farm) are an evil necessity.

    I am a carnivore. My genetics dictate such and my tastebuds and health require it. Isn't it funny that you who so fully support the genetic theory of homosexuality reject your carnivourous nature? In fact, this almost feels like a hate crime.

    (Humans are actually a cross between herbivores and carnivores...both are required. Bad things happen if you only eat one or the other. Show me a 90 year old that has ate nothing but veggies all of her life, or, show me a 90 year old that has ate nothing but bacon.)

  272. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by Minstrel+Boy · · Score: 1
    So where are all the "low-powered" rifles, that we have to keep qualifying the ones for shooting deer as "high-powered"? I guess the low-powered ones just "fire" bullets instead of "blasting" them. Sheesh.

    KeS

    (Browning A-Bolt II Stainless Stalker in .30-06 for me, thanks.)

  273. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by LittleLebowskiUrbanA · · Score: 1

    True. It's a term I use so I don't confuse the idiots on /. with talk of calibers. Me, I prefer my 22-250 Model 70 or my beloved 6.5 Swedish Mauser.

  274. Re:It's About bloody time, that will show those De by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  275. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by m50d · · Score: 1

    The question we're discussing is whether or not it's a sport.

    --
    I am trolling
  276. Re:Haha, "sport" hahaha by m50d · · Score: 1

    No, they fire them slower. Sure there's a spectrum, but there are definitely guns which are more powerful than others.

    --
    I am trolling
  277. Re:Hunting 1723 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must be one of those liberal metrosexuals who lives in an asphalt forest devoid of any intelligent life (besides rats) and rides the bus everywhere.

    I have to drive 25 miles to work (dumb rural guy wasting valuable resources--many rural people make up for this by not using the home or work A/C until the temp hits 95F--I am not one of them), at least 20 miles to get to a grocery store, at least 20 miles to get take out food, and 40 miles to get to a mall or other such "real" store. All told, we put about 300 miles a week on Betty. (We don't actually call her Betty, but my Mom always called her cars Betty--come on Betty!! Start!! Start damn it!!! You Bitch!!! Come on back in the house kids, we aren't going.) Only time I ever heard Mom cuss.

    I know I get going to much...always do, I can't help it. Everyone around here is to concerned about corn, rain, and whether the powers going to stay on to have semi-intelligent (or psychotic depending who you talk to) discussions with. Anyway, on that gas thing...I drive a big Dodge Intrepid. It only gets 20 MPG (24 in the warm months). I like this big, gas sucking car. It has plenty of room for the family; it is comfortable to drive 300 miles a week in or 300 miles a day. I love everything about the car. But, most importantly, it is BIG. Did I mention that? And the windshield is sloped at an extreme deer diverting angle. I am confident that our family will survive meeting a deer with this vehicle. Your little wind-up hybrid cars are death traps in rural/interstate driving. They have a place...should be great for short city hops (if your battery doesn't die while stuck in traffic blasting Hip Hop at distortion levels.) I see this guy driving a Prius every once in awhile. For some reason, he always gets on the LONG interstate entrance ramp right in front of me. I do all sorts of crazy shit to pass this dumbass while still on the ramp. I then watch in my mirror as he nearly gets pummeled by a semi traveling 40 MPH faster than him everytime he merges. And please, a baby doe would likely kill ya, perhaps even some of the possum around here would result in the nead for breaking out the jaws of life.

    Fortuneately, the wife and I work a block apart so two cars are not required most of the time.

    I'd say the biggest cause of accidents around here are:
    1) Deer
    2) Drinking (usually leads to one car accidents with telephone polls or trees around here.) Most of these happen around 4 A.M. I make a point of not driving anywhere between midnight and 8 A.M. on Saturday and Sunday. I also do not walk anywhere near telephone poles nor trees during these hours.
    3) Dumbasses that don't understand what a STOP sign is.

    Where I live, I have four fears while driving:

    1) Deer

    2) The driver in the oncoming lanes reaction to seeing a deer.

    3) Wondering, while driving down a highway, whether or not the dumbass, 300 feet from the highway on a side road and traveling at 80 MPH, is going to stop before he gets to the highway. Some of this can be blamed on rural dumbasses, but, in reality this situation is the worst when meterosexuals from Chicago come down for some summer fun.

    4) During deer season, I worry if any dumb city slickers are around trying to hunt deer with a Desert Eagle pistol or M82 Barrett sniper rifle. Makes me wish for an armored car.

    5) At night, I fear that the local dumbass town marshall (damn, some myths are true) may be speeding around without ANY lights on trying to sneakily pursue someone (we have seen a couple of awesome wrecks as a result of this obnoxious behaviour--luckily, both involved the cop and his pursuee.)

    6) If a stoplight loses power, immediately pull off the side of the road (a safe distance from the intersection) and get your camera out. Guaranteed drama will quickly occur. The tiny town I live in rarely loses power, but, I think Baghdad has a better record for maintaining power than the city I work in. I nearly crapped myself when I checked the uptime o

  278. Re:Priorities -- what can you say for it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you a "good" parent?

    Please, enlighten us instead of spewing diarrhea from your mouth like a typical liberal.

    Let me answer for you:

    Ways a "Good" Parent Bonds with their Kids
    1) Meeting with the family shrink weekly.
    2) Smoking pot together in your new watercraft purchased with funds you won after suing the grocery store where your son slipped and busted his ass while attempting to evade store security due to the stolen PayDay candy bar in his pocket.
    3) Discussing the merits of fisting over abstinance while watching Boy Meets Boy at the dinner table.
    4) Take the kids to the Swinger's Club with the wife every other weekend.
    5) Bonding by your show of support for your son while waiting to meet with the principal to inform him that you will be suing the school if Ms. Dawson continues to make your son stand in the corner with a dunce cap when he yells "Bitch!" and shoots a spit wad in her ear.
    6) Excellent bonding occurs when you buy your screaming kids Ben and Jerry's ice cream along with your other $300 worth of "grocery" purchases using food stamps at your local Village Pantry/7-11.
    7) Bond with your 13 year old daughter while assisting her with the murder of her first child. She will love this! HUGE bond! My Mom and Dad are COOL. THEY took me for my first baby murder! Poor, Sue Ellen, her parents are conservative. She had to get a liberal Judge to allow PP (Baby Killers-R-Us) to drive her across state lines for her murder without her parents knowledge. She was soooo afraid of being grounded for a year and getting slapped. I am so happy that I can be a little slut without consequences! I love you Mom and Dad! Say, can you put me on the pill Mommy so that I don't get preggers when me and Slick, Dick, and Shifty go out Thursday night?

    Your kids scream and throw tantrums until you give them what they want off the store shelf.

    Your kids cut through peoples flower gardens on the way home from school.

    Your kids throw rocks at the neighbors new car (lawsuits, lottery, dope, welfare). The neighbor doesn't have to worry about his car, right?!?!? First new car he has ever owned, he's 45, worked his ass off, and paid cash for it.

    Your kids see a nice new stereo system at his friends house and break-in later that night and steal it.

  279. Faint comfort by MichaelPenne · · Score: 1

    in the San Bernadino hills during hunting season, when folks lose goats, dogs, horses, and the locals are afraid to go out in the woods during the season.

    While golf is much more a local danger and doctors, well the population they practice on is much more likely to die from any causes even if they get perfect care (being generally sick) than the average person.

    But see I like internet hunting as it would make it easier to keep the guns in one place, which could be well marked. Put out a big bait pile and blast away, I say, we've got more than enough deer, and they do make a mess of a perfectly nice bumper.

  280. Hunter VS. Hunted by qwasty · · Score: 1

    Hunting isn't just about taking out your high-powered rifle and wasting an animal. You have to be out in the environment. You have to be where the animal is in order to kill it. While the technology for finding and killing animals has become more advanced, there is a connection between the hunter and the prey .

    I'm not anti-hunting, but I have noticed that most people (not just hunters) aren't very empathetic to the plight of their "prey". I doubt very much that the prey feels any sort of "connection" the way the hunter does. In fact, I think it would mostly be sensations of horror, mind-numbing fear, and infinite pain unto death.

    The hunter probably feels his "connection" because, in a somewhat fair contest, he needs to understand the environment, the habits of his prey, and even the individual personality of the unique animal he's trying to kill. The disconnection from reality occurs when you consider the fact that it's not really fair, since the hunter's life isn't at stake, and the prey would rather that you had no "connection" or understanding of it's personality.

    Now, if the hunter were only hunting for a photograph, and the prey received royalties from the deal, then I suspect the prey would feel a lot better about the hunter's deep understanding and "connection".

    Of course, that's ridiculous, most animals just want to be left alone, or at least not frightened, injured, or killed.

    Hmm, I've said everything I wanted to say, but one more thought needs to be recorded here. All this talk about "connections" with victims I've heard in other places too: from assassins, murderers, spies, thieves, snipers, and rapists.

    Don't take that too harshly, since I don't think hunting is quite the same as those things are, but please, whenever a hunter talks about some kind of compassionate "connection" with his prey, please ground him into reality for me, and explain that his prey is going to die, and the hunter is the one going to do the killing. Nothing more, and nothing less.

  281. WTF? by fbg111 · · Score: 1

    Perhaps I speak for others as well when I ask, just WTF is Internet Hunting?

    Yes I know I can look it up, but that's not my point...

    --
    Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
  282. I take it you're a vegetarian by Infonaut · · Score: 1
    All this talk about "connections" with victims I've heard in other places too: from assassins, murderers, spies, thieves, snipers, and rapists.

    I understand what you're saying, but I also think that one of the fundamental differences of opinion between hunters and people who don't believe in killing animals is that hunters feel that killing is natural, while animal rights advocates feel that killing isn't natural. This is a complicated debate, but I'm curious about how you feel about the issue of killing animals for food.

    Several of my friends are vegetarians, but they all have slightly different reasons for it. For example, one of them feels that if he couldn't bring himself to kill a creature, he shouldn't eat one that someone else killed for him. Another thinks that humans were never supposed to be meat eaters. A third believes that humans have essentially elevated ourselves out of the day to day struggle of life and death that other animals inhabit, so for us to intrude is wrong.

    Personally I feel that if a hunter eats the animal he kills, he is not acting in an immoral fashion. To me, life is precious, but not all life has the same value. If I tread on a flower, or kill a fly, it's not the same as if I had snared a rabbit or shot a deer, and it's not even remotely close to killing another human being. Whether the hunter's life is at stake or not is immaterial in my view, because other predators frequently take in food they do not need (cats, for example).

    I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this, not because I want to bash on you, but because I get the feeling you've put a lot of thought into your opinions about hunting.

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
    1. Re:I take it you're a vegetarian by qwasty · · Score: 1

      I am not vegetarian, but I do find myself usually eating a low meat diet. Sometimes I go months without any meat at all. That's not for any consciously thought-out reason - it's simply because it's cheaper, and I like non-meat things most of the time (I love eggs and cheese though).

      I am also an atheist, which means I do not believe the bible when it tells us that the animals of the earth were put here for us to use. I'm sure a hungry lion would feel the same about me in certain situations.

      I also believe that since there is no God, we can fill a god-like role as much as we dare and as much as we are capable, when we are ready to take the responsibility it entails. To need to kill simply for food seems ridiculous if you think of humanity as a possibly god-like species. This is probably what makes me most like your third vegetarian friend (but once again, I'm not vegetarian).

      I agree that not all life has the same value. I think most animal life is the kind of life that isn't even aware of what's happening around it - in much the same way that plants are completely unconcerned when someone walks by with a scythe. Shrimp, clams, fish, and squid, along with things like chickens, turkeys, and other foul are low enough that I don't feel uncomfortable with (quickly, suprisingly, and painlessly) killing and eating them. I agree with PETA's stance on meat "production" though. They're living things, not cogs and gears. They should not die painfully, and they shouldn't suffer while alive either.

      I suppose I need to clarify. I don't place a value on an animal's life before I consider killing and eating it. I empathize with the animal's own sense of value instead. Specifically, I empathize with the animal's fear of dying, and the pain it will feel when it dies. This seems like a better way to place some kind of basic value on a living thing. We, as fully-aware beings, should not cause fear, anxiety, and suffering - the same feelings we avoid the most. Perhaps I could argue that a living thing's "value" goes up, the more we become aware that it is suffering. I cite the many dramatic and public rescue efforts for trapped and slowly dying house pets as examples.

      OK, maybe the reasons for my ideas about value are not entirely clear. Let me explain: For me, when I empathize with the suffering of someone or something else, I FEEL what I think it is feeling, and I don't like it. Despite this modern age of push-button warfare and conveniently canned meat, I suspect most people are like me, but that they usually prefer to ignore or repress the sensations they feel. I cannot. Incidentally, I see this as a defining difference between humans and animals.

      If you see someone get seriously injured, especially someone you care about, I'm sure you will understand exactly what I'm talking about. You can either look away, or try to ease the person's suffering. What you do, in my opinion, says a lot about what you are.

      Read about some of the research done on monkeys and how they react to seeing their reflections in mirrors. It ought to make you think. They react differently depending on how self-aware they are, and how empathetic they are to others of their kind. If I remember correctly, the results of the experiments correspond well with their intelligence! Who would have thought that the people who assist humanitarian charities might be smarter than those who don't? I think if you did a study on it, you'd find exactly those results.

      OK, so, to sum up, I don't have a problem with hunters hunting for food, or even for sport, though the latter sometimes bothers me, and may bother me more in the future. I do not fault hunters for being what they are, right now, when it frequently makes sense to be a hunter. Killing for sport will someday seem barbaric to me, and by then I hope it will be something that will not appeal to a god-like civilization with more important things to do.

      That's a ways-out for the time being though. We're still going to kill animals for food, and we're still go

    2. Re:I take it you're a vegetarian by Infonaut · · Score: 1
      Very interesting explanation. Thanks for taking the time to spell it out for me. In particular the concept of humans possibly being capable of pushing beyond our current boundaries and taking responsibility for the ecosystems we inhabit is a rather fundamental underpinning of your beliefs, it seems.

      I'm less sanguine about the chances that humans can push beyond our biological programming. To me the frontal lobe is a new and weak component of our brains, constantly being overruled by the reptilian brain stem. Politics and religion provide ample proof that those who appeal to the most basic human instincts almost always win out over those who appeal to more sophisticated arguments.

      That said, perhaps population pressures will make us all realize that it is far more advantageous to eat the grains that are currently feeding all of those cattle. At that point questions of morality will fade away, rendered irrelevant by the pressing survival need to go vegetarian.

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