I have always been an animal lover and have been asked this question time and time again. I was not always so clear on the answer.
I gave my mom grey hair before her time because she never knew what would be in my pockets or at the dinner table with me. Snakes, turtles, frogs, lizards, you name it, I had it. I felt God put me on this earth to give sweet little girl kisses to every living creature no matter how slimy or gross they seemed to other people! I spent the majority of my time as a child exploring the endless woods and the creek that ran behind our street. While the other kids were playing baseball and skateboarding, I was catching critters, swimming in the creek and observing wildlife.
When I got my first rifle, I was about 9 years old. I could not wait to go squirrel hunting like my friend, Brett. Once I got out there though, I could not bring myself to kill an animal. After all, I was the little girl who rescued June bugs out of dog water bowls and saved bugs from the sure fate of death from a scared classmate. How could I now intentionally take a life? I really questioned my reasons for wanting to be a hunter. All I knew is that I loved animals but also wanted to hunt them. I was not against hunting by any means, but since I could not give a name to my desire, I decided hunting was not right for me.
As I got older, the longing to hunt was too much to ignore; I thought about it all the time; it consumed me. I had always been a fisherman but I wanted to take the next step in my outdoor adventures. My parents were never into hunting so I did not know how to get into the sport. Then in 1999, fate intervened. I met my husband who was an avid outdoorsman, when I was a senior in high school. He showed me the world I had always dreamed about being a part of. His passion and dedication to hunting and fishing was infectious and our life together was centered around that from the beginning. I was thrilled to find a man like Troy and he was happy to find a girl that could keep up with him and actually wanted to.
Now at over 9 years together, every season is taken up with one of our passions. We stalk deer in the fall; in the late winter through spring we chase hogs with dogs; come summer, it’s all-night cat fishing and all-day bow fishing for big Alligator Gar. I could not imagine my life without hunting and fishing. Heck! I would not even wanna try!
What about my conflict of caring for animals so much and having the drive to hunt them? I became clearer on how I felt about this when I started caring for injured and orphaned wildlife. I have rehabilitated many animals from deer to squirrels then released them back into the wild as healthy adults. While caring for them, they become like my child and we can‘t help to form a beautiful bond. People have ask how I can release my babies in the National Forest where people hunt. Obviously I would love them to live forever but if one were to be harvested, I would be proud they died with honor and provided food for someone. If I could feel this way about animals I hand raised, then the drive to hunt was coming from a pure place in my heart, not out of malice or being blood thirsty.
Only a true hunter would understand that we love the animals we chase. We respect them as worthy opponents to hunt fairly and we use what we harvest. I believe God provides animals for man to have domination over and that is a huge responsibility. All God’s creatures have a purpose. Some animals are for companionship, like dogs and cats; while some are for use in work like mules and horses, and others provide fuel for our bodies. No matter how big or small, animals should be treated fairly and with respect. I don’t believe in shooting a bird for target practice or swerving to run over an opossum for fun because no living thing should lose its life senselessly.
The question “How can you claim to love animals and be a hunter” is a logical thing to ask and there is a logical answer. Being a soft-hearted animal lover and a dedicated hunter is possible, but it took me years to be at peace with that. I do know that I truly love animals. I will always take in helpless wildlife that needs a caregiver and will continue to hunt and fish all I can.
So, has being a total animal freak affected my hunting life at all? Well, once you have kissed 3 little velvet squirrel noses goodnight, you will never put a sight on one again!
