Is hunting more ethical or more humane than factory farming? Does killing your own meal have more “honor” than purchasing it at a grocery store? What is the ethical stance on these two methods of slaughter? And does the method by which an animal is killed effect the morality of their death? In this video, we take a hard look at this ethical quandary. Find more resources in the blog post: http://www.BiteSIzeVegan.com/HuntingVSFactoryFarms

Interesting video, thanks Emily

I think if people had to kill animals themselves in order to eat meat then a lot less people would be omni!

not more ethical because it's still unnecessary animal death and violence. It's good that hunters are not in denial about killing animals, but really makes me question why people would want to kill for fun/sport, even to eat. Not killing animals should be a given, not something to be given a pat on the back for because "at least they didn't live in a factory farm"

Hunting is absolutely more humane than factory farming. Hunters don't kill for sport. They hunt for sport. There is a difference. It's not that easy.

I would love to go hunting. I think everything about it would be fun, except for shooting an animal. I couldn't do that. But spending time in the outdoors, fooling around with guns, camaraderie; all that sounds pretty great.

Please explain the difference ? Also, in what way is it more humane?

Animals live in the wild, not on factory farms. They aren't pumped full of chemicals, antibiotics and corn flakes. No hunter ever wants an animal to suffer.

No hunter that I know relishes killing. They enjoy the hunt, and they enjoy the meat, and the hide and whatever else they use. The killing is the necessary part.

Hunting isn't all that easy.

Why don't you bring a camera and take pictures of them instead if killing them. I know you said you don't shoot them yourself, but you said you would like "fooling around with guns." What are you going to be doing with this gun out there? Let me know what woods you're going to be in so I can be somewhere else. G
Why don't you go to a shooting range if you want to fool around with guns?

Some hunters do enjoy the "thrill of the kill". For example big game hunters in Sub-Saharan Africa...

Or people who enjoy fox hunting or hare coursing...

In none of these cases is the hunted animal eaten...

I think the easiness or difficulty of hunting is irrelevant to the morality of unnecessary violence against animals. Do you believe the death is more just/righteous at the hands of a hunter versus slaughterhouse worker?

I live in Minnesota. Know quite a few hunters. To a person they do NOT consider a hunt successful if they don't get that kill shot. The kill isn't incidental. It's the point.

"Take only memories, leave only footprints" is not a hunter motto, not when they're hunting.

The idealized/romanticized take on hunting doesn't really account for canned hunts or the hostility I get for being a birdwatcher who dares to enter the woods during high holy days (AKA hunting season).

So play paintball.

There's nothing sportsmanlike about killing an innocent creature, and there's nothing necessary about eating one unless you're in some kind of survival situation. There are more ethical ways to enjoy time with your friends in the outdoors. Take up photography, play tag, go hiking or camping. I don't see "it's fun" as a reasonable excuse for taking someone's life.

Choosing between hunting and factory farming is like deciding whether I'd rather die of cancer or a heart attack. They're both horrible.

Yes, unfortunately and sadly, we see a lot of it over here in the news from the US.

Animals living in the wild may have it better than those in factory farms, but that is changing as more and more humans encroach on their living space and take it away from them.

Here are some cruel practices with hunting...

snares and other traps that cause tremendous suffering for a long time before the animal slowly dies

taking down an animal that leaves behind helpless young ones to fend for themselves

shooting an animal but missing the heart or head or whatever would have brought them down immediately. The animal escapes but slowly bleeds to death or becomes more vulnerable to other predators (this happens more commonly than one might think)

Having a group of dogs go after your prey so thay don't stand a chance of escaping. If you want to tell me the prey isn't absolutely terrified of a group of dogs coming after them, well...

Stuffing an animal head or body part on your living room wall so you can brag to your friends and family about your "catch". It may not harm the animal who is dead at that point but it encourages the attitude that animals are trophies or decorations and is not respectful of them at all, which means that it is more likely more of them will be hunted or caught for their fur, skin, feathers etc.

Keeping fish hooked to a chain in the water while catching other fish and making them wait hours before actually killing them. And killing fish often means letting them suffocate to death out of the water.

Hunting is also known to be a commercial endeavor in the fishing world where massive nets catch all kinds of sea creatures in order to sell their "products" to groceries etc. Even wild salmon is becoming more popular in stores so there are large commercial vessels going after them. The more animals that are hunted, the less other wild animal predators have to eat and the more we deplete whole populations.

Wolves are hunted and often their bodies are wasted because that is not what people are after. It's hardly about survival.

yes. way better in my opinion. That's the closest to what nature has.

but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. Specially the way how and why humans do it.

I'll never understand the appeal of playing with dangerous weapons. Is it some kind of power trip, knowing you could kill someone with the flick of a finger? Why would anyone want that kind of power?

There are lots of interesting things firearms. Shooting sports are challenging. Collecting historical items is fun. Restoring and tinkering in firearms is fun. People also use them for protection. They are also used to protect others. They are used for hunting and to feed families.

I'm guessing you've never been shooting and therefore don't have much exposure to guns. forgive me if I am mistaken.

A lot of sports are challenging, and there are plenty of non-lethal antiques and collectibles to restore. That seems like a flimsy excuse to own something more liable to injure or kill an innocent person or animal than to serve any kind of useful purpose. Several studies have shown that guns are very rarely used in self-defence (such as this one from Harvard: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/fi...nse-gun-use-2/), and as far as feeding families, I find grocery stores to be pretty effective.

I've only fired a gun once, and I have no desire to do so again. My father was a police officer, so I've been exposed to guns more than I'd like to be.