www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Priests and Hunting

Dear Nathan,

No problem!

But why do you assume that because you are for hunting that you are also defending your "rural roots" and I am not?

I am also from a rural background and come from a well-established beekeeping family (my Dad had over 700 bee-hives covering a vast expanse of prime dairy farm-land and vegetable fields).

I will reiterate that those who bait animals in order to kill them for sport, and I know all about the outfits up here, are not deserving of the title "Christian." That is my view and I've had MANY Catholic priests and bishops confirm it.

That issue is quite separate from slaughtering animals for meat, wild or domesticated, period.

But as we've seen above, it is entirely inappropriate for priests to engage in activities that involve the spilling of blood and we should leave it at that.

My personal bias against hunting is simply that and I excommunicate no one for engaging in either hunting or fishing!

Alex

In the poorer villages of the Carpathians the priest, being a married man, had to a certain extent do some subsistence hunting. And thankfully all of Alex's prohibitions only apply to priests...I just shot some rabbits last week.

In terms of humane slaughtering, at least with lambs, nothing is faster and more humane than the traditional manual methods my Ethiopian friends have taught me (starting with a reading from the Agpeya).
DD

Alex,
The baiting of wolves while hunting them in a heated blind is horrific. The Canadian outfitters come to our local sports shows and offer trips to hunt the threatened Algonquin Wolf for about $1000 USA and basically guarantee you one.
That isn't hunting. Hunting wolves and other animals over bait is terrible.
You would think I am against hunting at this point, but I am not. I hunt, but I didn't in 2005. I only take for food.
It is like anything else, all it takes it a few unethical people to make it look bad for the rest.