Do you value all living things equally.I was attacked on another forum for stating that I valued big game animals more than coyotes or gophers,or mice etc.I stated that where I hunt coyotes are considered vermin and are shot like gophers are,basically whenever the opportunity arises.This resulted in personal attacks from a couple of individuals.They argued that all living things should be valued equally.Do you value all living things from big game to coyotes to gophers to mice to flys to mosquitoes equally.If you don't,where do you draw the line?

I value the larger and more intelligent creatures more than the small, dumb critters. I value the rare animals more than the common ones. And I'd rather have a bear or a wolf for a neighbor than most humans.

Coyote are considered vermin here, and I shoot them when the opportunity arises. I wouldn't want to exterminate them, though. I enjoy listening to them howl at night.

All creatures have an equal right to live. That is untill they give me a reason to kill them!!! Seriously I think there is a big diffrence between how I shoot every coyote on sight because they kill moose, deer, rabbits and grouse, and some future serial killer killing a field mouse just to watch it die.

For example when I lived in CA I never killed a rattler when I was out deer, quail or pheasant hunting. I never had to. I don't particularly like snakes, but I see no reason to kill every snake I see. I did kill any on my property, which was a grand total of 4 snakes in 6 years.

Up here in Maine I eat everything that I kill except coyote. What I think is that if there is a reason to kill an animal beyond just wanting to kill it and the biosphere can withstand the loss... FIRE AWAY!!!!!!!!!!

This was brought up some time back. I value coyotes to the highest regard....as target practice. Are they a valuable part of the ecosystem? Yes. Do I kill them? Yes.

I certainly do differentiate animals. I'll kill a stray cat in a heart beat, but not a dog, UNLESS, it is on my property and I catch it chasing deer and I KNOW it doesn't belong to anyone. To date, this has never happened, so I've never killed a dog.

I would shoot at any coyote I could. Target of opportunity! I feel very differently about game animals that can be eaten.

Tell those on the other forum that flamed you that I feel the same way you do. Then tell them I said to kiss my ass.

Sounds like a PETA person or maybe a Buddhist. Just me, but all animals, including people, do not have a right to exist on our planet. I see it as more of a privilege. Hunting is part of game management & only a complete moron thinks it can be handled in a diff. fashion. Rats & mice, crow, get little "respect" from me. Same could be said for criminlas, rapists, terrorists, etc. We are all NOT the same.
Big game, even varmints get my respect in that I like to make clean kills, wounded animals bother me a bit. Guys that don't mind wounding animals bother me a bit.

I tend to treat various species differently, and conditions can also dictate my attitude or temperment towards them. It used to be a real treat to hunt and bag a wild hog when they first started to come into this part of the state. Now, however, they've become such a nuisance that I shoot on sight, and it doesn't matter if it's a shoat or a huge old boar -- and I don't care if it's from a stand, spot-and-stalk or even out of our kitchen window. They've ruined entire crops for many area farmers, and pastures and fields are often so rooted up that tractors and implements are damaged by the jolts caused by the roughness of the terrain. And if you've ever seen what a hog will do to a young fawn, kid goat or lamb...well, let's just say you don't want to know.

I respect the coyote for its wariness. I've hunted and trapped them since I was a teenager. But when I spot them on our property, yes, I do shoot them on sight as well. We have grey fox underfoot, but they pose no threat to the poultry or deer, so I leave them be, taking only a few during December and January when the pelts are prime.

As to snakes, if there's a poisonous one around the house or where our kids roam, it's history. And when a "harmless" chicken snake makes its way for young chicks or ducks, I kill them as well.

I don't tolerate mice or rats trying to move into the outbuildings, either. They can live peacefully in the woods if they want, but they're not welcome where they'll chew into feed bags and make a huge mess.

Feral cats and dogs -- that's a no-brainer. We live in a fairly isolated area and had numerous problems when we raised goats and sheep. Feral dogs are poor killers and basically maim and then eat their quarry alive. I shoot on sight. Feral cats make it rough on the songbird and upland game populations (not to mention the cottontails), so I don't hesitate to pull the trigger on them, either.

So, then, I'd have to say anyone with a shred of logical thinking ability would definitely treat different species differently -- or at least in varying manners as the situations would dictate. That would rule out the dyed-in-the-wool tree huggers, for they don't possess the capability to comprehend the overall picture and to sort fact from fiction. In short, they're extremists -- as in extremely limited in their abilities to think clearly!

quote:

Originally posted by stubblejumper:
Do you value all living things equally.

Hey SJ, No!

Being a VRA(Vegetable Rights Advocate) I'm shocked that some people enjoy killing little broccolis and cauliflowers. Hard to believe ALL the warm cuddly Vegetables people will kill just to fill their guts.

Plenty of meat available, which is just more appropriate food with some biscuits and gravy.

quote:

I was attacked on another forum for stating that I valued big game animals more than coyotes or gophers,or mice etc.

What looser board did you find that bunch of weirdos hanging around???

Yes, I guess I do value most living thing equally. If they give me no reason to cause them harm. Some critters have cronic problems, say skunks or coyotes you kill on sight. I do kill all rattlers also on sight.But I have let porkies walk .. Some of it I know is a factor of growing older, I'm 55.25 years ago I killed everything I could. I help on ranches a lot and I have a soft spot for the domestic animals also and admit I would not make a good rancher I can for each animal too much, rather than looking at the big picture..I have 2 coons in the live trap now!! I'm afraid I will ruin their day very soon! So much for valuing all life!

I think that a life is a life, from a sage rat to an elephant. If your killing it, it deserves as decent a death as possible. It doesn't speak well for the hunting/shooting community that we place some different value on different animals depending on our precieved value of their life.

For most people, hunting is done strictly for sport, pleasure, recreation. Sorry some people can't see that. Peta does and they want to stop us! To them we are the animals.

Just look at the differants in costs for differant animals and tell me some are not valued more then others.

I hardly give it a thought when it comes to killing pests mice, rats ect.

The varmints I give thoughts too are the ones I really have a good time hunting and killing yotes,fox,p dogs.

I value hunting bear more then deer. If I could afford some other hunts I would really value a dall or stone sheep hunt.

Yep some have some more value then others.

Have to agree with "Don Fisher". All animals have a place and purpose and diserve our "respect". Animals that man has moved around and are now causing problems as ferals invading the native animals habitats are a different story.

This is definately NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK. Some people will use the label "vermin" or "varmints" and figure that these animals then deserve to die, any time any place. I don't agree with that. I will shoot coyotes in the winter when their pelts are prime and sell their pelts. I will not shoot coyotes anytime and place and leave them to rot.

Robin down under

"Do you value all living things equally?"

No, some living things taste better dead than others.

I am pretty much in line with duffy4........I do not shoot coyotes and trap beaver unless I can sell the hides and at least put the animal to some use. I will not just shoot them and leave them to rot.

Even with problem beavers, I try to wait until October to trap them so that I can at least salvage the hides.

Occasionally an animal(s), due to destruction of property or stock, leaves you no choice and you have to do them in.

Gophers, P. Dogs and rodents fall into this same category really. We kill them to protect our property from damage.