hunting and fishing

i don't have, nor have i ever had, any desire to go hunting -- as in, killing things not because they are a danger to someone or because i might starve if i don't, but killing animals that are just living their lives innocently without trying to hurt me. it's not the animals' fault mankind has this urge to kill things for fun. they're just trying to eat and sleep and procreate.

and you know what? they're pretty darn good at those things, too. which is why hunters spend untold millions of dollars every year trying to outsmart the "dumb" beasts with every manner of add-ons: odor neutralizers, rifle scopes, hidey-tents, camouflage clothing, animal calls, and other expensive, unnecessary and sometimes disgusting miscellanea...each one an attempt to make up for the fact that -- in a masterpiece of divine irony -- God has apparently spared us the outfitting and instinct of the "lower" species.

besides, with all that work and money put into the sport, how is it even any real conquest if you kill the animal? you're pretty much taking away any element of sporting when you tip the scales so far in your direction the fox/rabbit/turkey/mulie has next to zero chance of surviving. i just don't understand how anyone would feel any sense of victory or achievement if they had to buy all this extra junk.

i think real hunting is a gun at most -- along with the intellectual qualities of stealth and skill and observation and patience.

but really, i don't have a moral problem with hunting in general, as long as you do it fairly, legally and with all sportsmanship. i'm not an animal-rights person, and especially if you could use the meat, go and kill something, and don't feel guilty. God gave us all pointy teeth. we're clearly meant to be carnivorous (or omnivorous at least). does anyone really dislike a nice juicy steak? i'm not against the idea of killing...just do it in a fair way, having respect for the other creatures God made.

my stomach always turns, though, at the idea of ME hunting/killing anything breathing. that includes squirrels, rabbits, pheasant, deer, or anything that isn't hurting anyone else.

so by all counts, you'd think i should abhor fishing. it seems far less sportsmanlike than typical hunting. in fishing, you use an invisible string to dangle a deadly razor-sharp hook in the water, which is disguised by a tasty little piece of fish food. this could be likened to putting some nice fresh corn in front of your deer stand at twilight, then shooting the deer when he comes over for a meal. but that's called baiting in the mammal-hunting world. you can't do that, at least that i know of. as in, it's illegal, and as far as i'm concerned, totally unfair and should be anathema to any real sportsman.

so i don't get why it's ok with fish. i guess they are not mammals, which means maybe they're more like shiny bugs, and less like people or pets. anyways, inexplicably, fishing is one of my favorite things to do. i love sitting in a wooden boat in a peaceful lake or river, listening to the water crinkle and the birds flutter and chirp, and having whispered conversations with your fishing buddy/ies.

i know that's inconsistent. but i'd like to point out that even most vegetarians -- ostensibly the most animal-friendly of all of us -- make exceptions to allow fish in their diet. i think i'll be the first to ask...could it be that the vegetarians know something we flesheaters don't? are fish actually large water-bound insects? (if so....gross!)

since i don't have any moral issues with eating animals, i surely don't have them with fish, either. i guess it's the method of capturing them that should bother me. it seems wrong to make a distinction, but it seems completely intuitive at the same time. this is really confusing, so...does anyone have any thoughts?