I believe that most people take hunting and fishing for granted, or at least have a disconnected attitude toward those activities. That is a shame, for as the only truly sentient creatures to have roamed this planet (as far as we know), we have a responsibility to manage the resources at our disposal.

Killing game animals, especially bigger ones like deer, salmon, or even predators ought to be a morally/ethically challenging, and sadly for a lot of folks it isn't. If we go about the business of harvesting game in an ethical and responsible manner, we are actually improving the outcome for the remaining game, their habitat, and the environment in general. That is a good thing. Having taught hunter ethics, it is a challenge to get young minds to think in terms of the importance of the actions they are about to undertake, and the consequences. Too often they get wrapped up in the actions and seldom think of the outcomes. The act of hunting and fishing, whether actual harvest occurs or not, pays for most all of the habitat improvements and wildlife monitoring programs directly.

If there was one thing above all others you could undertake to ensure that wildlife continues to prosper and populations continue to increase, it would be to go out and hunt and fish.

In addition to killing my share of wild things and having worked in a slaughterhouse, I've had to put down a fair number of pets, sometimes with just my own two hands. For me, the feeling is similar, just more intense the closer you get to the animal in question. It should always feel a little hard on the heart to do this, that ole yeller effect I suppose. Being able to get past that feeling and still do the deed is a sure sign of maturity in my book. It's not much of a stretch to go from euthanizing a pet for humane reasons to participating in the legal thinning of a herd to keep it healthy and in balance with it's environment. It'd probably be a healthy attitude to have when bringing children into this world as well I reckon.