This past weekend I took a Hunter Education course because in Ontario it is mandatory to be educated on what you need to know if you want to hunt anything in our province. What I learned really floored me. I realized just how much care and respect hunters have for not only the wildlife but also their habitat. We were educated in ways we need to help preserve the numbers of the species that exist where we live. We must care about our natural surroundings in ways that your average person would not. How to take care of the deer when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Celsius for instance. If water and food aren’t provided many deer will die. Most people wouldn’t even think of such things but as a hunter you are educated on all the things you can do in order to help preserve the wildlife and the forests.
Hunters play a very significant role in providing data back to the Ministry of Natural Resources to ensure the numbers of deer, moose, bear and so many other animals are at healthy levels. We provide information on the habitats, the predators that lurk around and where they are found. It’s just incredible how much respect hunters have for animals.
I mention this because there is a misconception about hunters being mean, murdering psychopaths bent on harming animals and there could be nothing further from the truth. In fact when I speak to hunters they speak of animals with more respect that anyone else.
Look at it this way, do you eat hamburgers? Where does that beef come from? Was the cow treated humanely? Probably not and if you think so you should look into factory farming processes. When a hunter harvests an animal absolute care and attention is put into it. The most important thing is that the animal doesn’t suffer and that every last bit of that animal must be used so that nothing is wasted.
Game meat, meat from wild animals is some of the tastiest and must nutritious food you could feed your family. No hormones, no antibiotics, the animal ate clean wild organic food and lived a good life. There is nothing healthier than that as this is the completely natural way to provide food for you and your loves ones.
I mention this today because I think it plays well with the overall theme that I am always touching upon. Being self-sufficient, relying on your own abilities, respecting the simple things in life and going back to how things used to be done before.
I passed my test yesterday and can officially start hunting. Next month I will be taking a gun safety course that is required before I can purchase any type of riffle, shotgun or even bow and arrow.
Very excited about this new chapter in my life and wanted to share it with you.
Kevin Araujo