Almost feel bad about shooting....

[trg42wraglefragle]

http://www.tastefullyoffensive.com/2014/05/baby-prairie-dog-plays-with-cat.html

Videos like this almost make me feel bad about some of the hunting I do.
It's funny that things that are often seen as pests can make some really cool pets.

Does anyone else ever see things that make them almost feel bad?

At the end of the day though I can always still pull the trigger as I know they are pests, they often taste good, and shooting live game is just so much more fun/challenging/rewarding than paper punching.

 

[g.willikers]

Yeah, you're not alone in that.
Long ago, I decided to leave critters be, unless they were a threat or a real nuisance.
A good friend who had a small farm once complained about the varmints eating some of his crop.
I asked him if he wanted to thin them out.
He thought about it for awhile and then decided there was enough for everybody.
I think he secretly enjoyed watching them enjoy life.
Of course, if food ever became scarce, all bets are off and it's every critter for itself.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Cute video.

I feel the same way about squirrels. I usually will leave them alone until they start getting in to the feed barrels. I have friends who love to eat them and they are welcome to come try and take a few of them. (I will even eat them if you make a decent squirrel dumpling stew!)

But for me, paper targets are just fine.

 

[Mike1234]

I've never understood the desire to kill anything unless it's to fill dinner plates, control predation or to mitigate crop or property damage.

 

[MtnCreek]

The PD's cute, but that sorry cat would not make it long at my house.

 

[North East Redneck]

I presently have a large groundhog making his home in a banking out behind the house. The holes he lives in are a concern as there are some large trees growing on the top of the banking. After inspecting the area, I have decided not to pull the trigger on him or his "family" members. My Golden gets any of the young that dare venture into his fenced domain anyway. I guess for now its live and let live. If the population expands greatly or I find significant damage starting to happen to the banking, I would have no problem eliminating the cause of the damage.

 

[Mike1234]

Do prairie dogs and moles benefit the soil... loosening and aeration? I know a lot of folks shoot squirrels just because they're there. What many don't realize is that squirrels benefit propagation of trees because they bury acorns and forget where they left them. They're an integral part of the eco system. Why kill them if they're doing only good?

 

[dakota.potts]

My girlfriend has a pet prairie dog. I'm not too particularly fond of it, but I don't hate it either. There goes any chance of me ever trying prairie dog hunting. Not that I'm particularly for critter killing. But now the thought's not even one I can entertain.

 

[Mike38]

Ranchers in the western states despise prairie dogs. Livestock step in the dog hole, break a leg, die, the rancher looses money.

Here in the Midwest, ground hogs burrow under barns and other out building ruining the foundation. Costs farmers big money if it’s left unchecked.

Sometimes “thinning the heard” of these nuisance animals is a good thing.

 

[Jay24bal]

I am generally of the mindset that as long as they are ruining anything or threatening anyone I will let them be.

Last year, we had a family of groundhogs take up residence under one of our decks. I noticed some damage to the deck as well as several holes around the deck after nearly snapping my ankle in one. At first, I tried some chemical controls, but they did not work. After that, a 22lr was the answer.

 

[jimbob86]

The way the little bugger is shredding that cardboard box makes me wonder if he won't wreck the furniture in short order ..... and how does one train a rodent not to mess on the floor?

Cute is great on video..... you don't see any of the downsides.

 

[Mike1234]

^^^ I'm sure they keep it in a cage most of the time just like any other pet rodent.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

Pets are great but just because you can turn an animal into a semi-domestic pet doesn't mean that it's wild counter-parts are not pests, either in a general sense or in cases of over-population.

Watching one "play" in somebody's house doesn't change a thing. If it did, watching them "play" in the wild, on countless nature documentaries and/or in real life should have changed your mind a long time ago.

I prefer to watch the behavior of predators. It reminds me what the real world is like and keeps me from anthropomorphising animals.

 

[Mike1234]

I don't think anyone is trying to personify animals. From what I've read some folks are just against killing them for no good reason. If you have a true justification then kill all you need to. No one is questioning that. However, if other types of practicable mitigation can be done instead then do those things. What some of us do question is killing them when there's no purpose for it.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Yes.

And I've quit hunting.

And have given serious thoughts to becoming a vegetarian.

 

[TailGator]

For the first several seconds of the video, all I could think of was, "My money is on the cat." I was surprised it ended well.

 

[spacemanspiff]

I was surprised when a past roommate of mine expressed regret that I was taking out the squirrels with my pellet gun. When the main reason I started was after he told me that the squirrels get into the next door neighbors attic and the neighbor would be grateful if they were killed.

Ironically, that same roommate shot one of the neighbors friendly cats that came onto the property.

Doesnt mind killing someones pet that was NOT a nuisance, yet felt bad that I was dropping the tree rodent population?

I wish I still had that pellet gun. Was fun to plink with.

 

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Lots of critters we kill are cute - all of them in fact, in a way. Deer are cute. Yotes are dogs and I love dogs. Some people keep deer as pets. All these cute mammals deserve the highest possible hunting ethics, INCLUDING feral pigs, who are extremely intelligent mammals. And yes, they're cute too.

 

[raimius]

I don't hunt. I don't have any moral/ethical issues with hunting as long as it has a purpose and is done humanely.

If rodents are damaging property or creating harm, I'd want them gone.
If you need food and like venison, taking a couple deer seems sensible.
If the coyotes are killing your chickens, shoot them.
If there are animals not causing trouble or you don't want them for food, I'd leave them alone.

 

[uncle poop]

I can't stand to even think to shoot an animal of any kind. I can see where the op would feel bad for killing something that most people make a pet. I for one though cannot stand cats.... badum toosh!

On a serious note I really can't see a reason to shoot an animal, where it is consider a pest or a danger. There are humane ways to capture animals and then you can move them or have them moved to safer areas. If you are a hunter looking to put food on your plate that is one thing. But to shoot something so you have a story and a trophy is just a waste in my opinion.