Bob,
Don't know exactly where the "Holier than thou" thing came from, i was expressing my personal feelings. maybe this will help clarify.
to make this VERY direct and understandable......
I have no problem with Food hunting, Dove, Deer, and Raccoon have all graced tables as a result of my efforts (coon BB-Q is some of the best). I just do not currently find a need or desire to do so.
Trophy Hunting, which to clarify I define as hunting for the sole purpose of getting a "bigger, prettier, more exotic, etc" head or full body to mount on the wall or in one's den/home etc. is something that I as an individual DO find rather distasteful, of course i say the same about Broccoli!! i just don't like it. If someone else wants to do so that's fine, just don't expect me to go along. I don't beleive that the size, quality, or quantity of the animal heads mounted on my wall makes me in any way a better hunter, or a better person.
my criteria for when i'll pick up a gun and shoot an animal, are..
do i need the meat?
Is the animal in distress (maimed hit-by-car dogs/cats etc)
does the hunting and killing of this critter serve a pest control or other public service function (dispatching of rabid dogs etc).
I'm not a plant from PETA, i am against unessesary cruelty to animals (meaning if and when i DO hunt, i make sure that i have a more than reasonable chance of a clean kill) as in torture for tortre's sake is out, but if hooking a monkey to a car battery will cure AIDS "here's the positive lead!!". i also beleive that humans are the top of the food chain. i just don't see that as a reason to be barbaric toward the critters lower down.
lastly Accusing someone of being a Troll or Peta member b/c they differ from your particular outlook on hunting, is NOT condusive to the free exchange of information and Ideas that, it was my understanding that these boards were set up to allow.
agree disagree, doesn't matter, you're free to think what you will and so am i. but DON'T accuse someone of being "anti-hunter"etc, just b/c they are selective in when and what they choose to hunt. it's divisive and we don't need that.