Marylandwhitetail Sept 2011 Marylandwhitetail Sept 2011 | Page 6

Hunting

Spirit:

Reflections on Ethics and Philosophy

by Jeff Kalil (“Gasset”)

Welcome to the HUNTING SPIRIT column!

We’re glad you’re here.

Right off the bat, I should explain that the title of this column is meant to be taken in two ways. First, I’ll be writing about the spiritual aspects of the hunt, so “hunting” functions as an adjective modifying “spirit.” What kind of spirit will these pieces be about? The HUNTING SPIRIT, of course! Second, “hunting” also functions as a verb. In this sense I will be actively searching for my position on an ethical or philosophical aspect of hunting. Once I track it down, I will try to “take possession” by stating clearly what that spiritual aspect means to me and how it informs my hunting. I realize that I can only speak for myself, but I hope to define some common ground— or at least to define an issue in order to open things up for discussion (one real benefit of a web-based publication like the Maryland Whitetail e-magazine is the reader’s ability to offer immediate feedback!). I hope these meanings and goals are clear!

For this inaugural piece, I was asked to consider jealousy among hunters. If you’re spending a part of your day reading this (and I thank you for that!), there is a very good chance that you are passionate about hunting. Wherever people invest a great deal of their energy, time, and money, they also invest their emotions. In turn, wherever emotions are invested, hard feelings can arise.

Are some hunters jealous of other hunters? It seems so. As in many aspects of our lives, jealousy rears its green-eyed head in hunting too. How are some hunters jealous? Primarily they envy two things: opportunity and success.

Some hunters are jealous of the chances they perceive others to have: the land and the quality of animals on it, the number of days spent afield, the expensive equipment or trips that may somehow tilt the odds. Some hunters are also jealous of the harvest of others: essentially the size, quantity, or type of animals their fellow hunters kill. Why? Because the jealous hunter can’t help but see hunting as a competition. This is a far cry from the eons-long tradition of the hunt. For much of human history, the chase was a cooperative endeavor. A group of hunters would achieve their goal collaboratively by working together in a carefully coordinated team. Is there a remedy?

It seems to me that there is a fine line between jealousy and admiration. If we use another’s accomplishments as motivation for our own achievement, we are hunting— even living— skillfully.