Unpopular Opinion
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Agreed as far as sport hunting goes.
I grew up in the boonies where this was commonplace (and expected), and I realized early in life that there was just something "wrong" about trophy hunting and the people who relished in it. Don't get me wrong: I hunted in my youth and still go hunting on occasion, but I eat everything I kill and find taxidermy distasteful.
On the flip side, there is a legitimate population control aspect for hunting seasons. Left unchecked, deer population explodes to become a nuisance to humans (causing car accidents, eating crops, etc) as well as limiting resources for the deer (hence the strict laws / regulations surrounding it). So, it does have its purpose, but it also seems like it appeals mostly to the "psychopath" types you're describing.
I realize this doesn't cover fishing, but I don't have a horse in that race. Fishing is so damn boring that I could never get into it. But I'll agree with you on trophy fishing as it's the same mindset.
Fishing to me is a niche, and it's been a thing for so long that I don't really care about people who go out on weekends and fish. Most fisherman I know are catch and release anyway.
Sport hunting though I agree. "Men" who are really just trying desperately to prove how manly they are by taking a compound bow or rifles with night vision and perfect scopes to go out and kill a deer in a field. It's posturing, and killing something for posturing is stupid as hell to me
Yeah, same here. Most of the people I know who fish are all married and just use it as an excuse to get out and drink beer. I don't really need that excuse since I'm single, and if I want to go out (or stay in) and drink, I just do it lol.
My personal opinion on fishing as a pastime is funny. The idea of sitting by the lake for a few hours with friends and beers sounds like good fun, but as soon as you add that I'll also be waiting for a fish to strike, it suddenly sounds dreadfully boring to me. I just hate waiting on things.
Pro tip from someone who is frequently invited fishing: just be blatant about it lol.
At one point, I started showing up with just a cooler of beer. First time, they were like "where's all your gear?"and I was like "I don't like fishing, and I don't need the pretense". They fished, and I just got drunk in the boat, hung out, and occasionally acted as photographer when one of them got a good catch.
How about you put on some waders, hike to the woods, walk into the river, and fly fish?
Fly fishing is constant action because even casting is fun. Also, you don't ever let the fly just sit there doing nothing for anything more than 30 seconds. So at most you're waiting for 30 seconds. During those 30 seconds, as your fly floats down the river, you might get the amazing chance to see a fish swim up and gobble it down right off the top of the river. Nothing more satisfying then fish taking a dry fly. It's true angling, fooling the quarry, using it's own instincts against it.
And even if you are just not catching any fish, you can always stand there and watch the bugs so you can hone in on what the fish are eating. Because they are in there, and they never stop eating.
I grew up in a small village, and there are far less hunters there now, in a place where deer have no natural predators left. This means the deer population has exploded, which sounds like a good thing until you consider there are too many deer now.
The deer are all dying of disease and hunger now at a much higher rate than with hunting. This is the price of 'hunting bad' mentality, at least in that particular area of America. Humans have destroyed nature, so because of that it's our job to ensure it doesn't deteriorate further, hunting serves its purpose for this, and must be considered.
Yeah, deer do have a real impact on environments. Japan has an interesting relationship with them, too, that I learned about recently https://youtu.be/tYuGeqBVXFk
Ohh, nice. Somewhat related, I recommend Radiolab's episode on the Galápagos and how conservationists used Judas goats to track and eradicate the population that was destroying the island. It's one of my favorites.