Animal trophies

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
4,453
There was a time in the distant past when hunters returning from their safaris or great hunting expeditions in the East returned home with their animal trophies.

Soon after their trophy rooms, perhaps in their mansions, maybe even in their castles, are filled with their conquests.

These days if the animal rights activists on the march around the globe, nobody likes to mention this aspect of hunting anymore.
Personally, I have not come across any private collection of such trophies, except in the museums.

I have read books written by great hunters of the days of yore when animals were greatly admired for their qualities and to ensure that these animals lived on to "tell their tales", their heads are hung on the walls of those few trophy rooms that exist.

I guess there are probably a few of such rooms left but animal lovers probably would like to see the demise of such a pastime.

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well trophy rooms are alive and well, people are still hunting ther exotic species in far away places and bringing back the trophies. i have many friends that have large rooms with many trophies to people of more modest means that have a den in the basement where they show their trophies. as far as animal rights activists, they can do their thing and i will do mine. the single most glaring statistic that comes to mind is this--- do you know that one hunting organization spends more money on programs that directly effect wildlife than all of the "animal rights groups" combined. these groups have a far different agenda than they publically admit-- or the press lets on to. as a wise man once told me "dont listen to what they are shouting- watche what they are doing". in this case spending all this ' animal rights money on lobbying the government to restrict your rights, not spending the money on direct animal programs.

wating for the flames to start,
alex
 
>"the single most glaring statistic that comes to mind is this--- do you know that one hunting organization spends more money on programs that directly effect wildlife than all of the 'animal rights groups' combined."

============================

First, I AM on the side of the hunters. I don't hunt but I can't understand the anti-hunting lobby <i>at all</i>.

With that said, however, the above quote makes me cringe. Hyperbole like that, which simply CANNOT be proven, does not help. From a standpoint of critical thinking, there are more holes in that sentence than in a 900-pound block of Swiss cheese.
 
I'm not a hunter or an animal rights activist. If I was a hunter I would no doubt have a trophy room. My only disgust is when someone 'hunts' on a game farm. You want a trophy tiger? For $2000 you can shoot an ex-zoo tiger released 25 yards in front of you. How about a nice zebra? This is not hunting; it's trophy 'head' & 'rug' collecting! I know this is not the norm & I know of no hunters that condone this practice, but when this type of so-called hunting hits the press, negative opinions are formed.
As long as my hunting did not include the above practices, I would take great pride in mounting my hard earned trophies on my wall; reliving the experience of each & every hunt's successes & remembering the ones that got away.
 
The first conservationists were hunters, and hunters and fishermen still contribute vast amounts of time and money to preserving habitat. Prohibiting "ranch" hunts must be done carefully, because some of these ranches are large enough that the animals experience truly free range. There is an old joke in Texas that ranches are measured in "R.I.'s".....Rhode Islands! For example, the King Ranch in southern Texas and the Y.O. Ranch in the Texas Hill Country have long histories of exotic game hunts, and those ranches are HUGE. Wild exotic game is also more environmentally friendly than cattle ranching. Shooting animals in small enclosures is, IMHO, disgusting.
 
While I am a hunter, I don't really agree with the idea of trophy hunting. There are times when trophy hunting is done for a greater good, like thinning overpopulated herds or to benefit villagers in a third-world country (both monetarily and to eliminate pest animals). This I have no problem with. However, I tend to question the mentality that would take a life just to have "bragging rights."

That being said, I do like seeing mounted animals. They bring a sense of the outdoors to the indoors, and I think they are a fine monument to the life that was once in them. And they are usually mounted in a way that exibits the beauty and freedom the animal enjoyed while alive. My brother has several ducks and deer on his walls, and I love to run my hands over them and examine them in every beautiful detail.

We just helped him butcher another deer. When he killed it he stood over it as it died and thanked God for the deer. Then he told the deer that it was beautiful and that its life was not taken in vain. Not that the deer understood or cared, but these types of rituals do something for the hunter. It keeps him aware of the true cost of putting venison on the table.
 
Hey Guys...

Hmmm.. Well where do you start with a topic like this..

First off,, I'm not a trophy hunter..I'm a meat hunter...I won't kill it unless I'm going to eat it.(Exception to that rule is Crows and Vermin)

I have absolutely nothing against hanging a mount,and may just do it myself one day, if I happen to kill something that is worthy.

I think for the most part what makes me a hunter is something primal inside.. I hunt to put food on the table. I believe that if you value animal life over human life something has gone terribly wrong with your DNA and Gene pool......

If all the supermarkets ran out of food tomorrow, I would be inconvenienced. Short term I could sustain myself in the area I live.

But anyway,, as far as wall hanging goes,, I believe it to be alive and well still..

ttyle

Eric...
 
if you go to all the "animal rights " groups and look at their financial statements you will see how much of the money they collect goers to the animals, and how much goes to lobbying and paying for expensive dinners for politicos. then you can go to safari club international and get the same info, you will see that sci spends more money on animals directly than all the "animal rights groups" combined. this does not even take into account rocky mountain elk, duchk unlimited, the local hunters groups, the local chapters of sci. dont listen to what they say, watch what they are doing.

alex
 
>"if you go to all the 'animal rights ' groups and look at their financial statements you will see how much of the money they collect goers to the animals, and how much goes to lobbying and paying for expensive dinners for politicos. then you can go to safari club international and get the same info, you will see that sci spends more money on animals directly than all the 'animal rights groups' combined."

=================================

So I assume you've done this then? I sure would like to see those numbers, including your comprehensive list of "all" animal rights groups with their financial statements stating where their funds are allocated. Please post the complete results of your meticulous research so we can use them to discredit the anti-hunting lobby.
 
I would not be surprised at all if what Alco says is true. From what I have seen, animal rights groups are by nature more political than hunting groups. In my area (S. Oregon) have seen hundreds of examples of wildlife enhancements done by hunting and fishing groups, from habitat restoration to herd planting to conservation. The only animal-oriented activities I am aware of on the part of animal rights groups (and this is from reading, listening to, and watching the liberal press) are the release of non-native pet oppossums (which have since spread throughout the western states and become a nuisance), lobbying, and various forms of protest - including destruction of personal property and even the the beating and killing of several hunters.
 
Hey coyot..

coyot carves with his knife

" are the release of non-native pet oppossums (which have since spread throughout the western states and become a nuisance)"

WTF are you talking about ???

Don't have them stop the release of these beautiful creatures..

Native or Non native,, they are Great Hunting!!!

I even suppose you can eat them...:)

ttyler

Eric...
 
>"I would not be surprised at all if what Alco says is true."

=========================

Nor would I. My point isn't that what he's saying is <i>untrue</i>. It's just that platitudes like that are simply unprovable and accomplish very little in making a strong argument for our side. You can preach to the choir all day long, but what does that accomplish? Fight hard, fight smart.
 
MNBlade-- Very true, point well taken.

Normark-- Yeah, I guess they do have some purpose. Like decorating the roadside... :D Hmm, moving target practice also comes to mind. I trapped a few back in my younger days when I wanted to become a great Alaskan trapper. They had nice pelts, and I've even seen a beautiful fur coat made from oppossum fur. Looked like silver fox!

But I hate to see species introduced where they don't belong. From pets released in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco we now have overgrown rats throughout the Western states, whereas they had never lived west of the Rockies before. :mad:
 
There's a (mostly) pro-hunting editorial in today's <i>New York Times</i>. It doesn't really state anything that folks here don't already know, but interesting to see this in the <i>Times</i> nonetheless. If you're even a casual pro-hunting activist, this is a pretty good clip-and-save. Check it out <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/02/opinion/02MON1.html">here</a>.


<b>Bambi's Mother in the Cross Hairs</b>

Very few people like the idea of shooting Bambi's mother. But there may be no better way to slow the rapid expansion of deer populations that are devastating ecosystems in many areas of the country.

At least 20 million white-tailed deer are ranging the nation at the moment, a huge jump from only 500,000 in 1900, according to a recent report by Andrew C. Revkin in The Times. They plunder farm crops and alter the ecology of forests by eating the low-lying vegetation and destroying the seedlings needed for new growth. In the process, they displace many smaller animals from their habitat. Deer also plunder suburban gardens, help spread Lyme and livestock diseases, and cause an astonishing number of highway accidents. Each year more than a million deer are hit by vehicles, and while the deer are the biggest losers, the accidents kill more than 100 people and cost more than $1 billion for repairs.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to control a fast-growing population of animals that have few natural predators in most of the range they inhabit. The option preferred by many animal welfare groups — birth control darts or oral contraceptives — may work in self-contained environments like islands but are less effective when deer can roam freely. Sharpshooters have culled the deer in some localities, but they are often unwelcome in crowded neighborhoods. Capturing and moving the deer can be expensive and very stressful for the animals, who often die shortly after release. High fences and repellents can keep the deer out of specific properties but are impractical over large areas. Poisons and germs are too indiscriminate. Large predators like wolves might help stabilize the deer population, but most citizens would not regard importing such beasts as a good tradeoff.

Hunting seems like the best option in rural areas. It is certainly the most cost-effective method of deer control, since the hunters provide their labor free. Ideally, hunters should be encouraged to kill does rather than bucks, despite the resistance from those hoping for an antlered trophy. New Jersey has slowly cut its deer population to some 150,000 to 170,000 animals, wildlife officials say, largely by changing its hunting rules to allow more deer to be shot and to promote the shooting of does.

New York is home to more than a million deer, probably double the number a decade and a half ago. Although the state offers incentives to shoot females, deer have reached nuisance densities in many parts of the lower Hudson Valley and western New York. State experts estimate that in those areas, 40 percent of the adult does would have to be killed each year to keep deer numbers from continuing to explode.

In rural or forested areas, if the damage becomes too great, hunting of does will need to be expanded. But in suburban communities where hunting may be too dangerous, the answers are less obvious, and people who regard deer as very large vermin are pitted against those who admire these graceful wild creatures and feel humans should simply adjust. Concern over more traffic accidents and Lyme disease is pitted against the specter of hired marksmen piling up the bodies of surplus does. Neither alternative is desirable, but as the deer population continues to explode, suburban residents may have to opt for one or the other.
 
I guess I can say I am fortunate. As soon as my kids grew and moved out, I was able to grap a room for my gun/throphy/reloading room. Like most good Southern boys, I'm an avid whitetail hunter and have several sets of antlers hanging up (head mounts cost too much). But those are not the real throphies I prize. I have displays of everything from a fox skull to turtle shells and arrowheads found on my property. All of these things are just reminders of the time spent in the woods and are my real throphies. To add to the memories are photo's of gatherings and friends that have spent time with me in the woods.
I would say the biggest problem hunters face is the misunderstanding of what the throphies represent. To most true hunters they are not a reminder of what they have killed but more of an avenue to memories of a time well spent.
 
I've a lifetime of hunting under my belt (literally). My first hunt was in 1949- bagged a small buck for the table. I've got no trophies hung, no pictures of hunts, and damn little memorabilia (save an oversized gut) to remind me from where my meat comes.

I pass up "trophy" animals. My thinking is that this improves the gene pool. Perhaps it does not. Either way, I'm not into trophies- but have little quarrel with those who are. There is one thing that puzzles me a bit: Are all animal rights folks vegitarians?

Now, don't get me wrong here. I am probably among those who believe in humane animal treatment. I do not eat veal (a personal boycott) because I became aware of how they are raised, and decided (on my own) that this treatment of animals was inhumane. Along those lines, I make one-shot kills whenever possible, because I think it the right thing to do. But I would be the last person to join any kind of group whose purpose was to influence others to my way of thinking.

No diety died and put me in charge. But I do observe this: It seems some folks just need others to tell them how to think and act. These folks cast around for others like them and form groups. They then elect a leader, develop an agenda, get funding, and try to hunt down and bully all those who think differently into their way of thinking. Converts become trophies......... Is this a circular argument?
-carl
 
Terrill says it the way I'd say it. I have bear skin rugs, and head mounts, fox, whitail antlers, moose antlers, mule deer antlers a caribou mount and a pronghorn. Each one reminds me of a time be it on a frozen tundra of north Quebec, the highlands of central Ontario, the plains of Wyoming or the muskeg of home. But these are only a few "trophies". My wife, and boys and some close friends are parts of my hunt experience. I have more "trophies" in found sticks chewed by a beaver that the kids found, or a shed snakeskin, quartz and fools gold, leaves pressed between pages from every type of ecosystem imagenable. All picked up while hunting. I hunt hard sometimes and not so hard others. For "trophies" who have gotten old and large by being the wisest and quickest in the bush. Even in Wyoming I hunted with my .44mag lever action stalking pronghorns on foot inch by inch, playing their game. And teaching my kids that they can be a part of this and hoping they have these memories and the chance to pass this on to thier families but if not.. they can look at all these trophies too and have the same memories and at least tell the stories to their kids
 
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