Why I hunt. How did an animal lover like me became a hunter, a cold blooded killer? Has my heart gone rotten?

After over 13 years of hunting and photographing the sport I decided to post a dedicated gallery to hunting (Click here to see it).  It was always somewhat of a secret having clients who are very “green”.  Being the environmentalist and animal lover that I am I always felt the controversial nature of exposing these images.  I decided to do it and explain how I became and hunter.  Here is the story.

My dog Tobi and I bow hunting for elk in Montana.
My dog Tobi and I bow hunting for elk in Montana.

I grew up in Italy reading books by Jane Goodall, Konrad Lorenz, Gerald Durrell. By age 14 I had read Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” two times.  Animals and nature were my passions and love.  As a kid, I marched on protests to abolish hunting in Italy.  I marched against animal testing.  If there was such a thing as PETA, back in those days, I would have been one of their best allies.  I was raised by parents who didn’t tolerate a crying child but I remember vividly, when at age 4 or 5, my parents bought a live lobster from a fisherman and were about to boil it live in a pot.  I remember the uncontrollable sobbing, even though I knew crying was going to result in my father’s military style whipping.  They ate the lobster but somehow I escaped my father’s punishment for crying.  I still remember how I felt at the idea of this lobster being killed in such a horrible way.

All my allowance went to paying for food for my many animals I raised, in my small room, in our apartment in the heart of Turin.  Half of my room was filled with cages.  I had birds, squirrels, hamsters, fish, turtles, you name it.  I even had a chicken at one point.  Every injured animal I took home, like a mourning dove with a broken wing.  She never was able to fly but she lived with me for many years until my mother complained about her incessant calling while I was at school “cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo “.  She felt lonely while I was gone.  Apparently my mother gave her away to a farm where other animals would keep her company.  I wonder now if that was true.

After realizing that keeping animals in cages was inhumane I never acquired an another pet and started freeing caged animals.  One time I broke into a rabbit farmer pens and opened all the cages and ran.  I am not sure how they knew it was me, I got caught.  Fortunately rabbits were not that smart and just hangout by the cages or I would have had to pay the farmer for all the rabbits lost.

How did an animal lover become a “heartless” animal killer?  Has my heart gone rotten?  Have my feelings changed towards animals and nature?

During hunting season when I post images of me with dead animals, on facebook, I get bombarded by comments of my friends animal lovers.  Especially the ones in Italy, where the culture of hunting is not as prominent as it is in the US.  They will say things like “How could you possibly smile after killing this beautiful creature?”.  My brother in Indonesia who is opposed to hunting once wrote me “What happened to you Paolo?  You used to love animals…”.  I don’t even try to defend myself, in truth, nothing changed in my heart.  The reason I became a hunter is because of my love and respect for animals and nature.  Moving to Montana in 99 introduced me to hunting and I was educated and learned about such a misunderstood sport which has become an important part of lifestyle now.

Tobi and I Chuckar hunting in Idaho.
Tobi and I Chuckar hunting in Idaho.

Let me start by saying that everything I write on this post is pertinent to hunting in the US.  I support hunting in this country, where regulations are strict, very well regulated and the resources are managed correctly (most of the time).  The other very important factor about the US is that people follow these regulations (most of the time).  An that is really the most important part of the equation.  If you make great regulations and people don’t follow them, then you are out of luck.

I am not supportive to hunting in general, like hunting in Italy.  You need the right regulations and the right people to follow them.  No one follows regulations in Italy and that’s the problems with hunting there.

All this said, let’s get to the nitty gritty about why I started hunting when I moved to Montana.

When people criticize me about hunting the first thing I ask is “Do you eat meat?”.  When they say yes I ask  them “Do you know anything about the way the majority of domestic animals are raised?”  Without even mentioning all the crap that is injected in their bodies to grow big and fat quickly, like growth hormones.  And more crap injected so that they don’t get diseases from living in their own feces.  So crammed up in tight spaces with many others that they can’t even move.  Look at feedlots and chicken factory farms.  Fortunately there has been more awareness of cruelty imposed to domestic animals for our consumptions and things are changing to improve conditions.  I love animals but I also love meat.  I am not going to stop eating meat but I can assure you that when I take down an elk with my bow and eat healthy lean meat for a year or two I feel a lot better then when I take a bite off that plastic wrapped piece of beef.  I know the elk I killed lived a good life and I am also very aware that the population of elk and deer and many other animals need to be controlled.  I watched videos of deer and elk dying of starvation from overpopulation in areas that couldn’t be hunted for various reasons.  We have messed up the ecosystem and with the lack of predators is making natural balance impossible.  We need hunters to control the population of many animals and fortunately Fish and Game does a very good job at figuring just out how many.

I then get the hard core animals lovers who tell me.  “I don’t eat meat, I would never do that and let an animal die for me”.  Then I ask them.  “Do you know why the ecosystem is so screwed up that there aren’t enough predators to keep the natural balance intact? The reason is simple.  To grow those sprouts and soy bean for your tofu we have turned wildlife habitat into agricultural land and killed and are killing many animals in the process.”  Let’s not talk about all the chemicals and pesticides that are dumped into the earth. To make that piece of Tofu, all animal lovers are eating, many animals have been killed. Even eating fish is bad as Oceans and Seas are being depleted and raped.  Now, am I starting to sound like the little activist kid that I used to be?  Yes, I am still the same person with the same love for nature and animals.  I am just wiser.  Hunting for me is the most humane, most environmentally friendly, most animal and nature lover way to eat.  I know for a fact that killing an elk has less impact in the natural world than eating anything else I can buy in a grocery store.

Am I just hunting to provide food for myself or do I actually like it?  Do I like to kill?

The first time I killed an animal was with my brother Giuseppe.  I also remember that incident very vividly, I must have been 7.  We were somewhere in a dry part of the country.  Maybe southern Italy.  We had seen a Gecco for the first time.  We were both a little repulsed and fascinated by it.  We watched as it sat immobile on a rock.  For some reason we decided to tap it with a stick on the head just to see what it would do.    We tapped it too hard.  The poor gecko put his paws over his head and started rolling in pain.  It looked like a human.  My brother and I horrified started beating it on the head trying to kill it to take it out of it’s misery.  Was traumatizing and I didn’t kill an other animal until I moved to Montana.

My friend Chuck took me duck hunting for the first time.  I really didn’t want to do it but I decided to tag along because I wanted to experience it.  After multiple failures at trying to jump some ducks sitting in some slews, I started feeling an urge to kill one.  Was a very strange feeling and realized that deep inside me there was still the hunter instinct that kept the human race alive.  I finally killed a duck.  I didn’t feel good at killing it but I felt the satisfaction of harvesting an animal I was going to eat, I felt the satisfaction of holding that duck in my hands.  That same year I killed my first deer and I had the same feeling.  My heart went with both animals but somehow I had fulfilled an ancient instinct that was hidden deep inside of me.  The difference between the gecko and the duck and deer is that the killing had very different purposes.  The first incident was to kill the later two were to provide.  I became a hunter.

Now, let’s be honest.  Is really not all about harvesting and providing or I could get a deer or an elk with a rifle and make the process as quick as I could.  Instead I choose to bow hunt for them. Killing an elk with a bow is probably one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Took me 6 years of hard work to get my first elk with a bow.  Most bow hunters will never get an elk in their lifetime.  I spend the majority of September deep in the woods of Montana to get my elk and I spend a good part of November to get a deer.  Why?

Bow hunting for elk in Montana.
Bow hunting for elk in Montana.

The reason is simple.  My love for nature and animals.  There is nothing as intimate and as close to nature and its animals than bow hunting.  You have to become part of nature to get close enough to a wild animal with a bow to be able to release an arrow.  I have ran into Grizzlies, I have been surrounded by wolf, I have been so close to elk that I put my hand over one.  I have been so close to a massive bull elk staring at me face to face that I could smell its breath.  I watched mama deer nurse her fawn.  I watched buck deer and bull elk fight for their ladies.  The things I have seen, while quietly moving through the woods, could fill the pages of books.  When I release that arrow and make the kill the fun has ended. I always feel sadness when I see the animal laying on the ground.  A piece of my heart always goes with my kill.  I am thankful for the gift the animal has given me and I feel the appreciation of having healthy meat in my freezer.  I bird hunt with my dogs and bird hunting is about the relationship with my dogs.  Is such an incredible bond with my little partners that only bird hunters and dog lovers can understand.  For me being a hunter is not about killing, is about experiencing nature at its best while trying to be conscious and respectful of the environment and its animals.

Comments 62

  • Perfect description from someone who deeply love nature and understand the ethical way of hunting a modern day Aldo Leopold
    Who started this awareness among the forest service and the Bone & Crocket and the hunting world of the late 1800 in America

    • Thank you Lodovico! Looking so forward to meeting you and drinking a good glass of wine. Sounds like you know a few things about wine ;)

  • Wonderful hunting imagery and a great story. Hunting has been a traditional activity in my family, but I grew up in southern California, a long ways away from my grandfather and uncles who hunted. It wasn’t until I was 30 and living in Wyoming that I went on my first hunt. Now I’ve been living in southern California again for three years and the one thing I miss every fall is the opportunity to just go scouting or to build a blind on some obscure mudflat that is holding waterfowl…

    Cheers,
    Chris Gaggia

  • I got a little misty eyed. I’m a huge animal lover too and I have many of your same views. Thank you for this article. It has helped put things into perspective for me…I plan to start bow hunting next fall and I’m trying to prepare myself emotionally for what may come….I have a feeling I will cry when I get my first deer….but you are right….its healthier for the population as a whole.

  • you lost me at “Hunter”…You can’t be a nature and animal lover and hunt…it’s that simple…now if you need a blog post to convince yourself or feel less guilty about it it’s another thing.

    • You should read the rest instead of getting lost at “Hunter”. You could learn something.

    • Sebas your closed minded. People like you are too close-minded to look at facts and understand the truth of the world. You blindly have a closed eye to the realities of the world

  • You horrible hypocrite. I hope someday someone blows your brains out and leaves you to die. Typical you only started when you went to that shit on a rock known as America. They are nothing but a bunch of gun toting hooligans over there hiding behind some old amendment about how it’s alright to kill what you want when you want. Don’t come back to Europe. We don’t want or need people like you over here. Stay in America with the rest of the murdering scumbags.

    • Hi Joanne,
      Sorry it took so long to approve your post. Of course I want to share the comments of people like you who want to blow my brains out. This is the typical aggressive comment I get from people who are animal lovers but don’t have any substance to share. Give me facts and intelligent reasons why I shouldn’t hunt or you are wasting everyones time with your anger. I gave my opinion of why I hunt, instead of telling me I should be dead give me back a constructive comment of why I shouldn’t hunt.
      Take care
      Paolo

    • What do you know of it? That is a completely unfair representation of us scumbags. She makes excellent points in this article. And you’re too close-minded and just willing to spit venom at her. Listen to the way you talk in response to her article which is very open minded and enlightened. This is why for some the conversation can’t even happen. Because you are so vicious in your response sitting behind your keyboard that you’re close minded and we could talk about facts all day and you wouldn’t care. Listen to your attack on her and all us Americans. That’s hate speech that’s the type of thing that spawns probably all that you are against. How is your attitude healthy to anyone’s cause

  • Hi Paolo,

    I just found your blog today, and I just wanted to thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings on this subject. The ethical treatment of animals is so nuanced and complex, and it’s nice to read a perspective that isn’t oversimplifying the issue to a few simple feelings and sound bites.

    Although there are plenty of animal “lovers” (like Joanne here) who share the same qualities of ignorance and arrogance that many hunters are often associated with, I hope you’ll find that there are quite a few of us scattered throughout the states that share your mindset of compassion through participating in nature… rather than separating yourself from the harsh reality of it.

    Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing more posts from you!

    • Thank you for the nice words Harrison. Nice to see intelligent comments from some of “us” who believe hunting is an acceptable way of life.

  • Argh I appreciate this post but still feel a bit conflicted. Let me say that I am a creature of emotion and all of my objections to hunting are purely sentimental.
    One thing that really bothers me is the custom of taking pictures with the kill; what is the point of this? It seems as if one is gloating over the death of the unfortunate animal.
    Another thing I’ve observed is that sometimes those who choose not to hunt are perceived as being “weak” or out of touch with nature. For example, my entire family (from my 84-year-old grandfather to my 9-year-old cousin) hunts. Once, my little cousin couldn’t shoot a doe because he had a change of heart (the boy is 6). Much to my chagrin, he was teased mercilessly and called a “baby”. I want him to know it’s not a weakness to spare a doe’s life, but a moment of mercy. Another time, when I was pregnant, I saw my grandpa shooting at squirrels in his yard because they “ate his dog’s food”. When I went to confront him, my husband physically stopped me and told me I was “just being sensitive” because I was a pregnant woman.
    I honestly wish I could reach a place where I don’t feel physically ill at the thought of animals dying. Just the sight of a chicken truck is enough to send me into a tearful frenzy. At Red Lobster I can’t even look at the lobster tank or I’ll lose my appetite. I recently moved from the city to the country and am constantly confronted with cows standing around in fields oblivious to the slaughter awaiting them. I forsee myself bookmarking this and reading it multiple times to comfort myself when hunting season comes. I respect your views on hunting for food but hunting for sport seems deplorable to me (I.e. Giving that poor lizard a concussion then beating it to death, etc.) I really can’t judge though because I flushed perfectly healthy goldfish in my younger years and still feel guilt about it to this day. Thanks for your post.

  • I love animals, just thinking about factory farms makes me no longer want to live in this awful, cruel world yet I still support them because I have a husband and two children to cook for. My husband would never be vegetarian so there isn’t even a point for me to try to persuade him to stop eating meat. He also hunts, he took our 7 year old son hunting last weekend and they shot and killed a buck. This was the first deer my husband has ever shot with my son. What disturbed me the most out of all of it is my sweet animal loving son was so happy and excited my husband shot and killed that deer. There is a picture of him with a huge smile holding the dead deers antlers up right after the kill. My son has had hamsters his entire life, and believe me they were all spoiled, lived in enclosures way bigger than a typical hamster cage. Hes so gentle with animals, hugs and cuddles them gently, he used to take naps with our dwarf rabbit as a 5 year old. I don’t understand why he is so happy about killing a deer or turkey? How could he love hunting so much yet come home to all of our wonderful pets he loves and cuddles. My husband tells me I am too sensetive but I’ve always been a huge animal lover. Humans are responsible for killing off 40% of wildlife just in the past 40 years. The bottom line is there are too many people in this world, I’ve always believed that. I never even wanted children, my pregnancy was unexpected but I could never even think about terminating my pregnancy. I just do not understand this joy my son has along with my husband and most other hunters get after killing an animal. I asked my son why did he like it so much and he answered “he likes to eat meat.”

    I really wish I would have never been placed on this cruel world in the first place because my heart stays broken from it all.

    I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make this about me, I just needed an outlet because everyone in my family is happy to kill animals for food. I was just wondering why do you think these hunters are so happy after they make a kill? Because you explain how a piece of your heart goes with every animal you kill but that is not the case where I live.

    • When I was a kid I was an avid fisherman and the thing that made me most proud was catching fish that my whole family ate. My pride had to do with feeding my family. Our ancestors survived by killing animals and I think this is an instinct we still have buried deep inside of us. I am sure your son is an animal lover but he still has this instinct and bringing home an animal that the whole family will eat makes him proud. But believe me, that deer had a much better life than any animal that was raised to be sold at a grocery store.

  • Hello and thank you for this blog. I was redirected here as part of some research I am doing about bow-hunting, big game.

    I’ve been away from hunting for about 25 years. Back when I did hunt, it was mostly small game, using various types of guns, to learn how to survive in the wild, to be able to eat and not only for the hunt. I now feel that using guns is just cheating – so I bought a bow, and I’m learning how to use it.

    Meanwhile I’m trying to think of everything that might happen in the wild, and finding a solution for it before it does. One of those instances is the chance of running into the wrong animal. I see at one point in your blog, you mention you’ve run into Grizzlies, and another time where you were surrounded by wolves.

    I have seen many mountain lions, (Northern Arizona,) and once I was face to face with one, where I somehow managed to scare him away with lots of screaming, gravel-throwing and mostly just standing my ground. I didn’t have a gun then, and I remember I was so scared that I forgot to breathe. I truly found out what it meant to “scream from the bottom of my lungs.” Bear Spray works only when the wind is at your back, as, incidentally, I’ve learned by spraying a wild dog (and myself in the process), putting us both into a world of hurt for at least, a good 8+ minutes.

    So I must ask; What in the world did you do in those situations, and, what would you do to prevent it from happening again? I’m looking for some real solutions, not trade secrets.

    From this bow-hunter (and photographer) to bow-hunter and photographer, thank you, and best wishes in the wild.

    Ciao

    • Last year I had 5 grizzly encounters,including one with a sow and cubs in the middle of the night. She was at 15 yards snapping her jaws at me and bobbing her head. She didn’t charge in the end but for sure caught my attention. I then had another sow and cubs almost run over my tent while I was sleeping in the middle of the night. Later I found out that the same sow had taken down the tent of some other hunters and ripped a bunch of stuff to pieces to probably look for food. Finally the elk I shot was taken by a grizzly and I found myself face to face with him. Again it didn’t charge but I gave him the elk. (You can read all these stories on my Instagram account @marchesiphoto) I carry bear spray and as a last resort a 44 magnum if the bear spray doesn’t work. But honestly I wouldn’t consider that prevention. In truth, anytime you hunt in Grizzly country you take a chance and there is not much you can do. Especially hunting alone like I do. So the only solution is not to hunt in Grizzly country and that’s what I did this year. I didn’t want to push my luck two years in a row. As far as other predators like mountain lions, black bears or wolf they don’t normally pose a treat. With noise you can usually scare them off.

  • It’s kind of hilarious that your rebuttal to vegetarians/vegans is environmental… do you realize that cultivating a pound of beef requires monumentous amounts of water in comparison to a legume? You also demonstrate your absolute lack of knowledge regarding a meat-free diet… fun fact: vegans don’t eat tofu every meal (everyday, every week or even every month).

    Factory farming has the most horrible impact on the environment, should the land that has been clear cut for farm animals be used to grow crop instead there would be enough food to feed everyone in North America no problem.

    I think It’s pretty simple after reading this.. if you were truly an animal lover you would leave animals off your plate. Animals are not yours for food, for clothing, and most importantly they are not yours for amusement. You have to be some sort of sadist to believe killing something brings you inner peace. If you can’t see it that way then don’t claim to love animals. The end.

    • Once again Abbey. Another animal lover who has no substance or constructive criticism to share. I never said vegetarians eat Tofu every day, I just used Tofu as an example. I also never said that is good to raise farm animals on my blog which you obviously haven’t read.

    • It seems to me you’re putting words in her mouth that she did not say. And just spitting out fun facts that’s really aren’t facts. I understand you don’t understand killing animals or hunting. But I suppose nothing could be said to change your mind from Hunter. And that’s okay. But for all the people that do eat meat. But don’t understand hunting. Which is a a very large portion of the population. Well perhaps this article can enlighten them a little. My girlfriend is opposed to hunting but eats meat all the time. I feel people have a huge disconnect with where their meat come from. And if you’re going to eat meat taking it with a bow and arrow is much more humane in my opinion. And the animal lived a much better drug-free life. And hunters help control the population and keep animals at healthy numbers which is a fact. Hunters and all the revenue they generate. A massive portion goes to protecting animals and their habitats. And helping them to have more healthy happy lives than they would without hunting and it’s regulations. So if you beat me but you can’t understand hunting this is an article that might help you. But if you are completely against harming anything well I’m sure something comes to harm in what you eat. What about the bacteria on your arms you kill every day when you wash your arms and hands I mean at what point do we understand that’s that is the way of the world. There are plenty of bad hunters that don’t do things right but the majority care about the wildlife and respect it. And the revenue generated by then is massively important for animals. And they are needed you can research into this if you’d like there’s numerous articles and studies on it. If you are just against any harm to anything well I don’t know what to tell you. I mean it’s been shown plants can communicate with each other. What about the plants you eat for food? What is consciousness? Who’s to say they can’t feel that you are barbarically harvesting them for your own food. But at all the bugs on them they get killed or the hundreds of thousands of insects that get killed by the combines and gophers and birds if you knew how many animals died is harvesting a field of crops you would be sick. So baby don’t cast judgment on everything. There’s no way of going through life without harming something. You would not be here if not for ancestors harvesting meat. Increasing our brain size and it’s making us be able to have these comments debates in arguments today so you are here because of it

  • I’d be honored to give “substance.” Joanne is absolutely right, you start off immensely hypocritical by saying you love nature and animals, then next you say you go out and kill animals for fun. However that’s fairly standard for a hunter to say, so let’s move forward here. Let’s imagine for a moment that you don’t have a gun, just as the animals you hunt, don’t have guns. Now, a man you don’t know sneaks into your house, shoots your dog, skins him, and walks out with him. However this is completely alright, because regardless of the fact that the dog was a loving animal with a family, who did nothing to deserve this fate, that stranger is just loving nature, so it’s completely fine.

  • Hi Paolo, very interesting description. I like very much your photos. You should come to Mexico someday, there are many places for hunting. Don’t forget bringing your dogs (Braque francais) I have a BF as well.

  • Thank you for your thoughtful article. I had been an on-again off-again vegan for many years for health and philosophical reasons, and am currently an omnivore. I don’t believe all humans are adapted to eat purely vegetable diets — clearly not all mammals are (though I have some hardcore vegan friends who think their dogs should be vegans, which I think is batty). My body does not function well at all without meat (my children who have a different blood type seem to do okay without daily animal products). Legumes and grains tend to cause me significant inflammation. My philosophy about eating animals is very much akin to Native American philosophy — kill only what you eat and use the whole animal, cause as little suffering as possible, and be grateful. My feeling is that factory farms should not be supported in any way. Currently we buy almost all of our animal products from small organic farms which I have vetted for humane practices. It’s very expensive but feels so much better than the alternative which are disgusting and cruel. I am looking into hunting as a way to feed my family. I have the same visceral reaction when I see trophy photos. They’re very sad to me — I think animals should be respected even (and maybe especially) in death.

    • Thanks for sharing an open-minded response. It’s nice to hear perspective from somebody who feels like you do but sure you using reason and being open-minded. I think that will help some hunters be open-minded towards how you feel. I feel like we are way too critical of people who think differently than us. and when you can be open-minded to all sides opinions and how they think and we can have a conversation. But people want to get on and spit venom from their keyboards and have this anonymity that the internet provides. And it’s not constructive. We all don’t know where the other has come from and what life experiences has shaped the way they think. But we’re willing to spit hate and go at the other so forcefully sometimes it’s crazy. People need to find out all the facts about something before being so strongly against it or attacking it so much. It’s healthy to have discussions and I hope both sides of every argument can call mother tone down and not be so hateful or close-minded at times and spit out these fake facts that don’t check out. Anyways I’m getting off subject. Thanks for sharing how you feel and seeming to be really open-minded I totally respect that.

  • Good Evening,

    As a aspiring Biologist, an animal lover and a wildlife and environment supporter i have to say your words give me perspective and sheer another light for hunters for me, at first i really dont like the idea of hunting so i decided to study the subjet and realize there are several type of hunting, the ones than hunt for food and as a reacreation or tradition wich i came to admire in given cases like yours and trophy hunters wich i despise still and hold no better than poachers, giving you the perspective from a foreigner (i’m Colombian, a country in wich hunting isn’t really commun or at least not as a tradition o cultural reference) is really difficult to understand the hunt as a nature friendly practice, probably for the “macho kill everything than moves” kind of atmosphere surrounding it can be hard to perceive any hint of sensibility, but your blog and others from anothers hunters make me look at hunting as a potential part of conservation movements and also a call to face the cruel reality of industrial farming and for instance our own lifestyles and what can we do to change it for good.

    P.D. : i disagree with the idea of hunter been the solution for deer, elk and alike population control i suport than any ecosistem needs their natural predators like wolves and mountain lions re introduce wherever possible, any hunter and conservation initive should go hand in hand with the preservation of natural predator preservation. here is an interesting report about this “http://www.defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/social_and_ecological_benefits_of_restored_wolf_populations.pdf”

  • You lost me at hunter as well, but I read the whole thing out of courtesy. It’s obvious you’re not doing it out of a sense of duty, but because you like it. You like posing with your trophies. So shove up that hypocrisy.

  • You try to justify your murder of animals with this crap and bullshit story..killing animals should be banned and people like you should be jailed..

  • I don’t know how anyone can find this relatable and even remotely sensible. I thought it was a piteous account to justify killing making it seem natural, exotic and what not. The author could have just said he enjoyed killing. In one line. Why make such a rigmarole out of it, justifying killing for his readers as well as himself. Well, he is not convincing at all. It’s also terribly sad in a frightening way.

  • I appreciate your style of hunting. I rather have a hunter like you who doesn’t go out out kill the predators we need such as wolves, mountain lions and bears. That’s what tends to sicken me, hunting the animals that are endangered.

  • So it is not only for eating purposes. In your own words to be close to nature. Do you know by using a bow you can prolong the sufferings? Many hunters feel remorse after killing. However I wonder if the trophy hunters feel the same. If you really, I mean really want to be close to nature. Use a camera instead of a bow or gun. Learn to appreciate the creatures alive.
     

    • Thank you for your polite criticism. Eating game and not supporting the raising of domestic animals for human consumption is part of my lifestyle. So as much as I would like to use a camera (and maybe one day it will happen) I still want meat in my freezer. As far as using a bow I am very conflicted about it. I agree with you that a bow can be a less effective way to kill an animal if you don’t make a good shot. However if you practice as much I do and make a perfect shot many animals don’t even know they are hit. I have watched a doe I shot walk away while eating grass and die while eating. The big issue is when you make a bad shot and wound and animal and that’s what I struggle with. Making a bad shot can happen with a rifle and a bow but the bow is more likely to make you loose an animal. Unfortunately I don’t like fire arms and I believe in fair chase.

  • Just when you start thinking about the ultimate pray – human, remember that the biggest, most thrilling and important kill is yourself.

  • I am a hunter and I beleve every thing you say. I think hunting is a good thing. Last year I had the chance to shoot a doe bit she had 2 baby fawns with her so I gave her mercy.I am 12 years old

  • Factory farming is majority sadly and I didn’t know this but dogs don’t require meat, cats do. We somehow in our domestication messed things up. Not batty at all. I agree with you in the proudness with trophy hunting. Quite odd.
    About your body not doing well without meat? We weren’t designed initially with our lengthy intestines as carnivorous animals have short for adequate digestion. This is why some people have issues with the sludge potentially causing disease. Our canines aren’t meant for tearing animals flesh. This is why we marinade and cook and need everything just so. We have slowly acclimated our bodies on some level to tolerate this. Someone once said that we aren’t living longer but dying longer. We just put band aids on our issues and let doctors who became doctors not requiring extensive .nutrition classes to get their degrees because we need the meat and dairy industry to lobby with the government to keep them all wealthy. The doctors need us to be ill. We will find out so much as the years go on that we just weren’t ready for. All humans are adapted for vegan diet. Just not mentally. No one is strong enough to admit it’s anything but some flaky trend.

  • Great article Paolo and good to see so many positive and sensible responses to it. Well done you.
    I have loved the great outdoors since childhood and I can honestly say that I care very deeply about our wonderful planet. Sadly, a lot of folks just revert to their standard angry dogma instead of really engaging and thinking about our potential places in the food chain. Most of these people live in cities and they are angry because the world isn’t exactly the way they want it to be.
    1. Would vegan evangelicals really seek abolish the culture and lifestyles Siberian reindeer herders, the African Maasai people, all jungle- dwelling humans and the Inuit of the Arctic North? Would they force these peoples to move to towns and become vegan?
    2. Do they realize/accept that – certainly here in the UK – farmers have to ‘control/deter’ and yes that mainly means kill, pigeons, rabbits and deer in order to produce their vegetables, legumes, corn and other vegan food stuffs??? Yes there is blood on your food too…..
    3. In Scotland for example, the ever increasing deer population is now the single biggest threat to regeneration of trees, wild bird and insect habitats and biodiversity in general.
    4. A very ‘high profile’ vegetarian landowner in the UK was ordered to have their deer numbers ‘controlled’ by an animal welfare organization because of the suffering caused by winter starvation.
    Because I spend so much time watching, learning and understanding the natural environment I can see the reality and effect of my place in it. My freezer is full of respectfully harvested, sustainable wild meat. Here in the UK the deer have no ‘natural’ predators apart from me and people like me. This is because our ancestors removed wolves, bear and lynx. Deer have co-evolved alongside these apex predators and they still need them as much as the predator needed its prey.
    I love hunting and I make no apologies for that. Whether some people like it or not, I love and value ecosystems too, and yes that means animals (even the ones I choose to eat).

  • Hi Paolo, sorry im late to the party. But i just read this and loved it!

    As a fellow meat eater and animal/nature lover, thank you posting this. I myself have never hunted and came across this blog as I have been researching it more. Hunting is something I have always wanted to do but didnt grow up around, so I dont really know how to start the process. Reading articles like this helps me gain a knowledge base before I go out my first time.

    Also, these people posting terribly hateful (and pretty violent) responses to you are ignorant. Most of them probably live in cities, never go out and experience the wonder of nature, and their liberal arts professors told them you are evil so thats what they believe. Based on their responses they have clearly never done the research regarding conservation efforts. They clearly dont know how ecosystems work. How food chains or any natural order works. If they did, they would know that hunting responsibly is the best thing humans can do for wildlife conservation. They would know that if nobody hunted than the lack of natural habitats and predators would lead to unsustainable populations of prey animals, further decimating ecosystems and killing off populations of birds, insects, etc. They would know that predators are necessary. Humans are predators.

    But nonetheless, I appreciate you being so calm and collected in your responses to them. Unlike them, you did not insult them, threaten them, or demean them. So allow me: you are all hypocrites. You are all uneducated in the topic at hand yet argue it anyway. Thats called ignorance. You all go off of kneejerk reaction rather than thoughtful response. Continue being blind sheep and let those like Paolo, and everyone else who puts in the effort for conservation, continue doing important work to protect the longevity of wildlife around the world. Enjoy your flax seed and chia. It tastes like shit.

    Anyway, thanks again Paolo. Best regards and keep up the good work,

    Craig

  • Just stop, if you really did love animals you wouldn’t be happy for a creature’s death. They had a life too, how would you like it if you were the animal and a human killed you? Why are you hunting even hunting endangered ones, I mean you’re hurting the environment more than helping it. Lastly you could have just said, “I like seeing animals die and lives be taken.” PERIOD.

  • Thank you someone finally says that

  • Hello, I’m amazed by how you are making hunters look like the saviors for all animals. It’s pretty scary to be honest the way you describe your first killings…let me get that straight for you, you’re not living in the prehistoric era. Hunting might have been necessary for human survival in prehistoric times. But nowadays you just look like a psycho. Quick kills are rare, and many animals suffer prolonged, painful deaths when hunters injure but fail to kill them (seems it took you 7 years…). Btw you’re not saving them, that’s another bullshit hunters often say in defense of their cruel pastime, hunting has nothing to do with “conservation” or “population control.”Mother nature is the one doing that. Natural predators help maintain this balance by killing only the sickest and weakest individuals. Unless you guys always try to hunt the fittest and largest (some dimension issues you want to share with us?) look, starvation and disease are tragic, but they are nature’s way of ensuring that healthy, strong animals survive and maintain the strength of their herd or group. So please stop messing around, eat your veggies and fruit and get your compassionate and kind lifestyle -the one you had as a child-

  • Thank you for this post! I think your hunting mindset is very respectful as well as respectable, and it also definitely opened my eyes to the world of hunting. I really wish that all hunters could be the same. It’s truly tragic when people hunt with not purpose other than being able to kill. That being said, I was wondering if using a bow inflicts more pain/slow down how quickly they die. Not making any opinions, I’m simply curious. Thanks :) Again – awesome post.

    • Thank you for your comment. I am taking a year off from bow hunting for that exact issue. Last year an arrow deflected off the rib of an elk and I ended up having to take two more shots to finish it off. Was traumatic, to say the least. I also have shot deer that went back to eating and died while eating. They didn’t even know what had happened to them. A rifle is a more certain way to kill an animal but I struggle with it. It doesn’t seem you give the animal a chance.

  • Hello, I am 14 years old and I loved animals all my life, I have recently did a lot of research about hunting and probably I am going to go for the first time hunting in my life this year, I think hunting just looks like a better choice than meat in grocery stores , the way it is produced etc, your article really inspired me, showing that a true animal lover can become a hunter and still respect beautiful wild life. I do not know if I will like hunting , I have respected hunters already for a long time I never thought they were evil or anything, and for some reason my instincts really want me to go hunting , but I will go in a few months so I am very excited, I do not know if I will be the one who will shoot the animal but at least I will learn more about hunting from a hunter and observe how the hunt works. I have always loved nature but hopefully when I will be older I can hunt my own food so I do not have that crap you have in stores because how it is made and what is in it disgusts me , but I still like meat a lot so hunting seems like something for me, looking forward to it.

    Regards from Carlo

    • Thank you for your message Carlo. Good luck on your first hunt. Just go and see how it feels, don’t pull the trigger if it doesn’t feel right. If you end up pulling the trigger be thankful for the gift that deer has given you. Let me know how it goes.

      • Thank you, I will write again when I will get back from the hunt which won’t be soon(but I am still excited) but still I will see if I like it! P. S. great article
        Regards

  • I’m currently arguing with my husband about him going bow hunting and i appreciate your outlook in this article.

    Is bow hunting just more fun for you because of the challenge it presents? Or do you do it as an animal lover because it cause the animal less pain and suffering? The idea of bow hunting to me seems extra cruel for the simple fact that it is much more difficult to get a kill shot (from what I’ve read). All i can picture is the poor animal getting shot and running off somewhere with an arrow poking out of it and suffering even more than necessary. I’ve seen the arrows that are used at Cabelas. They are spinning blenders on a stick, having one of those jammed into your body would cause unimaginable pain.

    My husband has never hunted a day in his life and i am extremely uninformed about the whole process. I’m not against hunting for people who grew up with this lifestyle and use the animal for meat. However, it is never a life i wanted to be a part of. I am a wuss and can’t even kill spiders because i end up feeling guilty.. I am trying to see it from my husbands perspective. I just can’t stop imagining him gleefully standing over an injured animal ready to put an arrow through it’s skull. The image haunts me (again remember i am a wuss). It makes me see my husband as less of a man. It makes me see him as someone who takes joy in butchering an animal, not the kind hearted man i fell in love with.

    I grew up with a dad whose entire family were avid hunters, but even as a child, he never could stomach it because it was too inhumane in his eyes to be the person who took the light out of that animals eyes. He said the noises they make before they die are absolutely horrible. The fact that wild animals are living happy and free lives outdoors is exactly what makes them so precious. Taking that away from them just seems wrong in my eyes. We buy our meat from a farmer who raises cattle organically. They are well taken care of and humanely killed. This isn’t a necessity for my husband so I am trying to understand why this is something he needs to do. And especially why it needs to be done with a bow!. I’m sorry for how long winded this is, i just need to understand from someone else’s perspective i guess.

    • Thank you for the interesting comment. There is so much to say to this… The reason why I bow hunt is that it’s a much more intimate way of hunting. You really need to be one with nature to be successful, especially for elk. It’s extremely hard to get within 40 yards of an elk (I don’t believe in shooting an animal that is further than 40 yards. Even though many bowhunters will take longer shots and, unfortunately, wound many animals in the process). If you make a good shot, a bow it’s a very humane way to kill an animal. I have watched deer go back to eating after being shot and dying while eating. With a rifle, it doesn’t seem like a fair chase to me. They don’t have a chance. All this said, this year I am not bow hunting. As you mentioned, making a clean kill with a bow is much more challenging. I spend months practicing before the season, shooting hundreds of arrows. Yet, last year I a made a bad kill. I took a perfect shot but the arrow deflected on the elk’s rib cage and made a 90 degree turn and came out of the rear. I had to shoot the animal 2 more times to kill it and it suffered for several hours. Was absolutely heartbreaking. So this year I put my bow down and will be fishing for the season instead. As much as I hate saying it, if you want to put meat in the freezer a rifle is probably a better way to do it. Now to go back to your husband. I think that it’s important that he takes bow hunting seriously and spends a lot of time practicing shooting the bow. Daily practice, shooting hundreds of arrows until he can place all arrows at the distance he is planning to hunt within an 8-inch grouping. I see so many new hunters who can’t shoot a bow but still go out hunting. It’s really disheartening.
      On your comment of organic cattle versus a wild animal, I will always say killing a wild animal it’s much more environmentally friendly. We don’t have enough predators to keep the population of game animals in balance. One way or another they have to be controlled and thinned down. The damage that free-range, grass-fed cattle do to wildlands it’s hard to understand until you see it. Cow graze grass all the way to the dirt (unlike wild animals that will move to a different area before eating all the grass). Overgrazing from cows it’s very common and turns meadows into barren land and it’s extremely harmful, especially in drier climates. Also, cattle will do considerable damage to riparian habitat when they go to drink water. They destroy the river banks creating siltation that in result kill fish population like trout. No matter how they are raised all cows are harmful to wild habitat.
      I appreciate the questions you raised. They are good points and worth thinking about. Thank you.

  • First off I would like to thank you for your commitment to the finer parts of hunting. I have never hunted before, but the stories people have from hunting are mesmerizing and at times its really tempting to try and start hunting myself. I would certainly go out in nature more with those kinds of motivations!
    That being said, I have a few problems with your approach to non-hunters. As a vegetarian, I get the argument against industrial farming practices as a justification. The problem is that meat eaters also eat farmed vegetables. I don’t know if you buy your produce at a farmers market or not but its not healthy to only eat meat, so I wouldn’t expect that you would be excluding yourself from consuming farmed vegetables by being a hunter. Its also a weak argument because if regulations allowed most people to live the hunter lifestyle, you could argue that most animals would be over-hunted by pure demand, so there really isn’t much most of us can do about it besides feel shame that we don’t have time or money to be a proper hunter.
    Its true agriculture is probably the biggest environmentally destructive force humans have ever come up with, but the cats out of the bag on that one and we don’t have many options left but to downsize or improve agricultural practices to be more sustainable.

    Thanks for your blog post, its really cool to hear the amazing stories.

  • To me, it reads more as if you care about the environment, but I don’t think a hunter really loves animals in the same way that a person who wants to avoid causing an animal pain loves animals. I get what you are saying, and I respect your decision – because I certainly feel that hunting is often kinder in the long run (if we want to call it kind) than factory farming. The truth is, humans have overpopulated and we have domesticated animals that ARE obligate carnivores, and we are in a right mess now. But I can’t imagine anyone ending an animal’s life unless said animal was diseased, rabid or in severe pain. I get it – I am trying to be open-minded – but even you described an animal above that suffered for hours from a bad shot (or two or three). If the tables were reversed and a creature stealthier came after you and shot you three times and it required hours for you to pass from the earth in agony…would you say that creature loved you? Or just loved to feast on something with fewer defenses? I am not trying to be bitchy, btw. I just don’t get it. It is obvious you are not sadistic, that much is clear, but you do seem to struggle with sadness yet also seem to keep doing things that cause you sadness and others physical pain and undoubtedly fear and suffering. Even so, at least you are thinking about the subject. To me, it reads like a conflicting state of emotions, because the activities I love and support…never cause me deep anguish, and yours seem to result in emotional pain for you on some level. I also think people can become addicted to adrenaline, and I feel that some people do like the ‘high’ of that adrenaline rush. Anyway, you will do as you will do, and thank you for being open and honest with people. Ignore the vicious comments of people who are obviously angry but telling you to hurt yourself. It is obvious you are not a bad person, but you do seem conflicted and your narrative doesn’t read as one who feels internally consistent with what he is doing…or else you wouldn’t feel pain at all. (Perhaps if hunting was necessary to your survival, but you do have a choice). I guess I do not understand why a person would pursue a past time that is rooted in violence and which caused them – at certain points – “trauma” – which is a word you used. Anyway, take care. Also, please reconsider taking care of the animals and protecting them. Thank you for reading.

  • Firstly i know there is no such thing as right or wrong, they are just human constructs. But how can you live with yourself knowing you enjoy killing? You can pad the article out trying to justify it as much as you want but the fact is, at the end of the day you dont kill unwillingly, you actively enjoy it.

    All this i kill because of ‘My love for nature and animals’ is total bollocks, you can appreciate nature to its fullest and even stalk and observe without the killing bit, as so many others do. There is no difference between you and a serial killer other than you kill within the law. This is not me having a go at you, Im just breaking it down. All this factory farming crap is just another delusion and excuse, humans dont need meat to live. Your primary motivation is enjoyment of killing.

    I actually found this website by trying to figure out how evil people live with themselves. Its true killing is necessary in nature, but being human and enjoying doing it is something else. Lets hope you dont graduation to enjoying torture, you seem to be on the way though, by using a bow and arrow.

    Please man up, drop the excuses be honest with yourself ‘I enjoy violence and killing, so i hunt’ If you cant live with that, stop hunting.

  • You don’t love animals. People don’t kill, purposely using means that do not give a quick kill, things they love. We wouldn’t even use a bow and arrow to execute child rapists, but you pretend to love the things you torture for pleasure. It’s not for food. You don’t need meat for food, you’re in America.

    You kill because you like to kill. Because you’re a monster. You should accept that instead of pretending it’s anything else. You like murdering things. It gives you a thrill. You even pretend it’s hard. It’s not. It’s literally a walk in the park.

    This entire article isn’t even about hunting. It’s just a sociopath testing his morality and promoting himself.

    Your urge to kill cute things, despite not being hungry, is not what kept humanity alive. It’s what’s preventing it from evolving above knuckle dragging violence perpetrated by monsters like you. It’s what feeds terrorists, murders and rapists.

  • Liar. You can not love something and then kill it. Period. Narcissism at its best.

  • Hunting animals would not help balance the ecosystem, don’t try act like a god when human is the one who destroy the ecosystem. You yourself are among the overpopulated species. You love nature ? Why not balance the human population then ? =)

    YOU KNOW WHAT ? PLEASE STOP YOUR EXCUSES =/

  • You make it seem that the majority of habitat destruction from agriculture is from tofu buts that’s absolutely false. Lets look at facts. In America, only 27 percent of agriculture is consumed by humans. 67 percent of the crops are used for animal feed and the rest for biofuels. Agriculture used to feed animals which humans eat is a very inefficient transfer of calories. If humans ate mainly plants that would require less land for agriculture which means less habitat destruction. So the majority of habitat destruction is caused by agriculture meant for animals which humans eat. THAT is the biggest factor that throws off the balance of the ecosystems which is causing animals in the wild to suffer. Saying that you are helping the “balance” of nature to prevent the suffering of animals by killing more animals is misguided. You are not acknowledging that meat consumption is one of the main causes of that imbalance. So animals lose on both side. But hey, you feel good about what your doing and you feel one with nature so it’s all good right? I know that not everyone has the willpower or discipline to become vegan but reducing meat and calorie consumption would be good for animals, humans, and the planet. Our ancestors did not eat meat everyday nor did they eat so many calories everyday. Those 2 points are big factors in why obesity, heart disease and cancer are the biggest killers these days.

    https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/8/21/6053187/cropland-map-food-fuel-animal-feed

    • Hi John,
      Thank you for writing this constructive criticism and sharing this interesting link, sorry it took so long to share. It was about time that an anti-hunting person wrote something intelligent instead of just angry words. As of now, I am only killing one deer a year for consumption to eat myself and share with friends and family. I certainly don’t eat meat every day. I also catch/harvest 40 pounds of salmon and 20 pounds of halibut a year (which is also a sore subject as fish populations keep declining) and I hunt/kill maybe 30 wild birds a year. Kudos for you for being vegan but I love food too much to limit myself to such strick diet. However, I do feel good about the meat that I do eat. Knowing that the animal lived a good life and was taken with respect and appreciation. Thanks again for your insightful comment.

  • Thank you Paolo Marchesi for being open to many different ideas over time. I think you have respectfully and thoughtfully responded to people’s sometimes very rude comments. It seems that you have had much love and respect for animals throughout your lifetime. I feel that what you have written is a very honest and sincere account of your experiences. I see from comments you have made that you continue to make adjustments as you go along in your journey.

    It makes me sad that currently people feel it is fine to be so mean to each other with their words, and so critical of other people’s ideas which may be different than their own. I think to solve the issues we are facing on this planet, we will all have to come together and try to find some common ground and compromise and work together. I don’t think simply being vegan will correct all the environmental issues we face.

    I started eating plant based over 2 years ago for health reasons. I have been made fun of many times and looked down on and ridiculed because some people assume that I must be a vegan extremist. What I find to be most concerning is that humans seem to be getting meaner whether they eat meat or not, whether they hunt or not, whether they are vegan or not. Maybe this is not the correct forum to make a point like this, but those are my thoughts today. I am putting them here because I feel you have tried to be fair and open minded in your thinking over time, and I appreciate that.

    • Thank you for the message Denise. Some people feel entitled to be mean and rude if they don’t show their faces. It baffles me. I think the world has better people than that…

  • Hello Paolo,
    I really enjoyed your sincerity and your story. For me it was the same- i was unable even to eat meat when i was a kid, and now i’m a passionate hunter! I completely agree with you on bowhunting- there’s nothing more fair and natural!
    I wish you all the best for the new year!
    Cheers!

  • Thank you for sharing. I think it was very well written and very respectful. I also am getting into hunting but am an animal lover so i have very conflicted feelings but tell myself if i do it to provide for myself and my family with respect and appreciation for the animal then i can maintain that love and my beliefs. Letting nothing go to waste and delivering a quick painless end instead of being eaten alive by another animal or starving to death.

    Im sorry for all the terrible things i see people have written to you. that “i hope you get shot in the head” completely disgusting. i hope they do not stay with you and you can focus on the appreciated comments and support from many open minded individuals.

    Sincerely,
    Paul

  • Death is integral to life and nature. Daily, even the strictest vegan takes the lives of multitudes of organisms under the crush of each footstep. One thing exists and prospers side by side with the destruction of another. Hunting is an intimate relationship, at the very core, with this cycle. Being face to face with the tragic side of it makes one feel sad. The emotional understanding of that fact, and succeeding in the face of it, is part of the attraction of hunting.

    Hunting aside. On a more relatable level, if anyone has ever dealt with an infestation of mice in their home, they will be introduced to the unavoidable requirement to kill living things to maintain the sanitary environment of their home. Anyone having experienced this would easily agree that it is ethical to kill the mice and end the infestation (plus, it will occur again, it never ends). At much larger scales, similar situations happen with wildlife and forest management. This alone creates ethical reasoning to kill living things and thus benefit from the food that is thus provided.~ ‘leave it to nature’ is an abandonment of your ability to maintain balance in the world around you, and also a misunderstanding of yourself as a being of nature; you are not separate from it, you are nature.~

    Hunting may not be something you want to do. But more often than not, someone has to do it. It is best to have people doing it through a strong, ethical tradition.

    Hunting is exhilarating. Hunting is technical. Hunting is emotional. Hunting is deep.
    Know it or not, you want GOOD hunters, and a GOOD hunter should be respected.

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