A few words about ethics from our urban writer
By Sheila Ascroft
I DON ’ T HUNT . I don ’ t fish either and most of my rides are non-motorized . So , why am I writing for Fish , Hunt and Ride magazine ? I ’ ve been giving this a lot of thought . Although there is an undeniable ego boost when writing for a good magazine , it seemed contrary to my “ values ” – at first . ( I ’ m urban . My exposure to “ blood sports ” has never gone beyond catching panfish with grandpa as a child . I ’ ve never held a gun or a rifle , let alone shot one . I ’ ve hiked , camped and canoed in the wilderness , with no goal beyond serenity .)
However , I ’ ve come to realize that it is important to illuminate , share and encourage the right way of hunting and fishing , a way that betters our environment . Education matters – and it ’ s more effective when it ’ s couched in interesting articles and action photos .
Some friends are dismayed that I ’ m writing for a “ Bambi basher ” magazine . These same people are also meat eaters and fish eaters , and yet they see no ethical contradiction . Every time they have bacon and eggs for breakfast or chow into a juicy hamburger , they are supporting a massive industry that , ( inhumanely ? certainly routinely ) produces and then slaughters cows , pigs , sheep and chickens daily . Yet , these same people castigate people with rifles and fishing rods .
Why is there this perceived difference between a cow and a deer ? Both are edible , offering high quality protein . We could depend on massproduction deer and moose factories , but we ’ ve been indoctrinated since childhood by the Bambifactor thanks to Walt Disney movies . We snub eating venison because it conjures up the image of a doe leaping gracefully through a field . Somehow , decades after the movie first hit the screens , it is still wrong to eat Bambi or Peter Cottontail . Eating beef poses no such ethical dilemma for many people . They ignore the reality of cows crowded into a “ feedlot ” to be fattened up for our dinner plate , and hide our eyes from the mass killing and butchering on the way to it .
The holier-than-thou meat and / or fish eater who denounces hunting and fishing as somehow unnecessary bothers me the most . At least vegetarians and vegans actually live their ethics . People should live according to their ethics . Even though have no need to consume meat and fish to live healthily – we do , and unconsciously shape our ethics to our actions .
So why write stories about the challenges of tracking and killing a goose or buck for food ? I write because people learn from each another . Magazine writers can promote a safe and respectful approach to nature . Hunters and anglers are the backbone of organizations like Ducks Unlimited , the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and ZEC (“ Zone d ’ Exploitation Contrôlée ”) Pontiac in Quebec , that work to protect and improve our land and waters . Magazines like Fish , Hunt and Ride have the potential to make us all better stewards of nature .
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