Wife's First Alaska Caribou

[kcedar]

Here is my wife's first caribou:

 

[Janet]

Killed for fun? Sport? A magnificent creature like that?

 

Sorry...I just don't see the point in killing for the sake of killing.

 

No offence meant, as I realise what is natural to you is very different for us over here, but I found that very disturbing...

 

How anyone can take pleasure in killing a magnificent beast like that is beyond me...

 

Janet

[barry luxton]

I would like to know if they are taken back and eaten.

[Sportsman]

Is the Caribou or Reindeer any more magnificent or desirable than any of the other animals that die to feed us?

The deer that is hunted and shot has a natural life and a quick and unexpected death, unlike the millions of misery farmed animals that have a short miserable life and a stressful and unpleasant death.

As a family we eat a lot of wild venison from locally shot red deer, in fact I used to shoot them myself until recently and yes, I enjoyed the sport.

My wife and daughter don't like eating farmed meat unless they know the farm it comes from and how the animals are kept and killed, and yet they eat wild venison (along with lots of other game) with no problems because they understand the background.

Which do you think fares better, that Caribou or a calf living in a crate and never seeing sunlight before it is bought out and transported in the back of a lorry all around the country (at the behest of the supermarkets) and then kept in a pen for hours or even days with the scent of blood all around it before finally being killed, butchered and served up to you on a plastic tray covered in cling film.

Sorry, if you eat meat then something died.

[DavyR]

Which do you think fares better, that Caribou or a calf living in a crate.

 

Being pedantic, veal crates have been illegal in the UK since 1990. Personally, I think it's crazy that nobody seems to want to eat veal any more, presumably because they believe that veal production necessarily involves cruelty. It's perfectly possible to raise male calves for veal in humane conditions - veal doesn't have to mean artificially whitened meat.

 

What do people imagine happens to all those unwanted bull calves from dairy breeds?

[Sportsman]

Being pedantic, veal crates have been illegal in the UK since 1990. Personally, I think it's crazy that nobody seems to want to eat veal any more, presumably because they believe that veal production necessarily involves cruelty. It's perfectly possible to raise male calves for veal in humane conditions - veal doesn't have to mean artificially whitened meat.

 

What do people imagine happens to all those unwanted bull calves from dairy breeds?

 

Veal crates have only been illegal in EU countries since 2007 which means that for more than 20 years calves were transported to Europe and kept in conditions that were illegal in the UK

Now, given low demand in this country most bull calves are either shot at birth (the lucky ones) or transported in the back of a truck for up to 48 hours to a European destination where they are intensively reared indoors and slaughtered at 14 weeks. Not exactly gamboling in the sunshine

It may be perfectly possible to raise the calves in humane conditions, it is also perfectly possible to keep chickens and turkeys in humane conditions but it doesn't often happen.

I eat meat and accept that if I want a bacon sarnie a pig led an artificial life and suffered a stressful death.

Some interesting points made here

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/cows/v...es/default.aspx

Edited September 2, 2010 by Sportsman

[DavyR]

Veal crates have only been illegal in EU countries since 2007 and given low demand in this country most bull calves are either shot at birth (the lucky ones) or transported in the back of a truck for up to 48 hours to a European destination where they are intensively reared indoors and slaughtered at 14 weeks. Not exactly gamboling in the sunshine

 

Yes. that was my point, really - if there was a thriving market for "pink veal" in the UK, that sort of thing wouldn't be happening.

 

It doesn't take much to stop people eating perfectly good food - look at the number of people who won't eat rabbit. The young ones because "it would be like eating a pet" and the older ones because "they remember myxomatosis".

 

Oh well, the explosion in the wild rabbit population has been good for the spread of buzzards, I suppose.

[Emma two]

Is the Caribou or Reindeer any more magnificent or desirable than any of the other animals that die to feed us?

The deer that is hunted and shot has a natural life and a quick and unexpected death, unlike the millions of misery farmed animals that have a short miserable life and a stressful and unpleasant death.

As a family we eat a lot of wild venison from locally shot red deer, in fact I used to shoot them myself until recently and yes, I enjoyed the sport.

My wife and daughter don't like eating farmed meat unless they know the farm it comes from and how the animals are kept and killed, and yet they eat wild venison (along with lots of other game) with no problems because they understand the background.

Which do you think fares better, that Caribou or a calf living in a crate and never seeing sunlight before it is bought out and transported in the back of a lorry all around the country (at the behest of the supermarkets) and then kept in a pen for hours or even days with the scent of blood all around it before finally being killed, butchered and served up to you on a plastic tray covered in cling film.

Sorry, if you eat meat then something died.

 

 

I agree, and follow a similar philosophy regarding the relationships we have with other species. I find the Caribou shooting far more morally comfortable than, bacon, fast food chicken, pigskin shoes and bags and choose not to consume any of those. I have acess to venison, (and turn 4 red deer skins into rawhikde a week) eat non farmed fish and poultry whose history I know. I took the last of the pheasants out of the freezer yesterday for dinner, and look forward to replenishment when the shooting starts again.

I see the natural death of a prey species as a far better option than the horror of intensive farming. I don't preach to others about this and if a guest at my house enjoys eatsing pig, cow etc then they shall have them, however it always strikes a cord when those who are honest enought to go out and shoot their own dinner are criticised. We could view 100s of real horror vidios showing how millions of people get their meat, but sadly choose to ignore.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Emma two

[chesters1]

i like sprouts.

 

 

hmmmm how could it be hunted by moslems or jews they demand far more cruelty ,i wonder if they hunt?

there is conditions even mass produced meat can be raised in where its far kinder ,i expect an animal raised in barn conditions doesnt really suffer as such (outright cruel practices not included) the animal goes about its life then rather than the cruel shipment of live animals to a slaughter house they are simply ushered into a room and dispatched on the farm (like it used to be) the animal in its lifetime would used to going into a crush for drenches or injections so i expect it wouldnt get too upset.

even mass production can be done with more kindness to our food.

do animals know what "real life" is? humans quickly get institutionalised i expect a pig in a barn so long as its life wasnt cruel would be happy with its lot ,they cannot read books showing pigs gambolling in woods so know no better.

rather than mass production what gets my goat (titter) is the transportation of animals now that abattoirs are few and far between and more so the ludicrous transportation of live animals abroad ,new zealand has been exporting lambs for ever how many arrive here alive ,they taste fine to me! no nasty after tastes of how they died at all

Edited September 2, 2010 by chesters1

[Zigs]

I eat fish (probably wouldn't be on a fishing forum otherwise !)

 

The only land animal i've eaten since 1984 was a roadkilled pheasant. Didn't want it going to waste.

 

Watched a daytime tv arguement, meat trade v vegetarians, it was so obvious that the representative of the meat trade didn't give a toss about the animals welfare, I just decided there & then, they are not getting any more of my money.