The short answer is probably yes, at least at some level. An
Inuit Indian once said that people who are not keeping and eating everything
they catch, kill or harvest are playing with their food, to take what you need
and leave the rest behind, and that we should take only what presents itself to
us. The Inuit believed that if we catch an unneeded fish, pass up a small buck
or harvest asparagus or ginseng for cash, we’re breaking the laws of nature. He
believed that when you have what you need don’t disturb the plants and animals
any further. Plus, trust that the plants and animals will always make the best
decisions for themselves and nature will control their population. This Inuit
was a true sustenance survivalist and I commend him for his skills and
accomplishments. However, although I agree with most of their practices and
beliefs I am not sure that modern society can live the same way. Human population
density does not allow us to continue like that. The ego of the modern
sportsman and government regulations are other issues preventing it. We like to
play with our food and our government encourages it.
Sportsmen’s relationship with nature is always changing. Modern
sportsmen and outdoors enthusiasts are not involved because they need to, but
rather because they want to. The urge to fulfill a primal instinct still exists
and has forced the government to step in, making laws preventing us from
destroying everything in the water, woods and air, and at the same time
encouraging us to play. Take a look at the last 40 years as an example. Size
and bag limits, speed and noise restrictions and emissions requirements. People
who participate purely for entertainment and with almost complete disregard for
nature are not as common now. However, people who just want to play with their
food are.
Recently I overheard a conversation between two hunters who
were wishing that darting animals for sport, hunting by remote control and
paint balling deer was legal. Wow! Talk about playing with your food. They
didn’t want the meat and were hunting only for the thrill of the kill and the
ego blast. One of them thought it would be a great idea to dart an animal, take
pictures and let it go. My head almost exploded! Come on outdoorsmen, think
about what you’re doing to the animal physically and mentally and control your
ego blast. To me this shows a complete lack of respect for, and understanding
of, their quarry. My belief is that these two are definitely playing too many
video games, have lost touch with reality and have no place in the woods. They
believe that they would be practicing good conservation measures; after all it
wasn’t going to kill the animal.
We need to be patient with each other. As Spock once said “the
needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”. We need to think about what each
individual contributes to conservation activities and understand that we’re all
in this together. If we are tolerant and stick together good things will
happen.
Take a look at the money that outdoorsman and outdoor
enthusiasts give for licenses, fees and donations. The money flows to all sorts
of projects, yes, some of it does get wasted but for the most part the money
really does an incredible amount of good. Just look around where you are
locally and you’ll see it. There are stream remediation, fish restocking, habitat
improvement and soil and water cleanup projects. These projects need to be
funded in order for them to happen and it takes involvement from everyone.
For the good of nature we need to accept and cooperate with
the rules and regulations and most importantly each other. I have to tolerate
the trophy hunters - playing with their food, sorting through the herd, killing
the genetically superior animals; and they have to tolerate me sitting on my
favorite fishing hole, playing with my food, sorting slot limit fish for hours.
So go ahead play with your food, just remember to take what
you need and leave the rest behind. If
we could only sort through jet skiers like that my life would be much better.
(:
Sjn
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