Hunting season is now in full swing. The store is insanely busy and never slows down. Depending on how you were raised, your education and your views some people just don’t like hunting. Bluntly- we kill things. There I said it- I said the bad words and I am horrible in some people’s eyes and I am perfectly fine with that. Most of my family’s meat does not come from a grocery store, we hunt for it ourselves and that does involve death. This is exactly how meat gets to the grocery store for those who are unaware and trust me some people are.

What those people don’t see is the lengths hunters go through to protect and save animals we do not intend to eat. When I lived with my parents I brought home a baby rabbit (to later be informed that it’s mom had not abandoned it, it was simply old enough to be on it’s own), a bird and a kitten. The rabbit was returned to work the next day, the bird went to a sanctuary and Squeaky the kitten lived for almost 20 years with my parents. I also brought home my fair share of dead things and I think the dead bullfrogs my mom randomly found in the fridge were her favourite.

When my daughter was young she killed a grasshopper in front of a friend and he was shocked when I tried to make her eat it. She was obviously disgusted and I didn’t force her to eat it but just made her think I was going to. It was an important lesson that if she ever killed anything without a VERY valid reason- I was going to make her eat it. She never did it again. I am also very thankful she did not know this lesson when I ran over the snake on the driveway repeatedly so it didn’t get into the house (this was also the same day I drove to Home Depot to order a new snake-proof garage door). I am also certain she was too young to remember the day I found a live snake in the kitchen (this was a few days after I caught her eating a snakeskin as a toddler and wondered where she got it). I was waiting for 5 more minutes for someone to come rescue me or I was going to load the 12 gauge and shoot it. In the kitchen. And if you know me at all- I was not kidding. I could fix the damage but I was not going near that snake. Luckily a neighbor removed it before I had to renovate the kitchen.

This summer when taking the dog for a walk we found an abandoned baby raccoon that wasn’t doing well. We brought it home and cared for it for a couple days until we could find somewhere for it to go. This involved removing porcupine quills from its back, buying baby bottles and making special formula for it to eat, feedings around the clock and taking it to work so it could be fed there. It might also have slept in my bed. I learned that they purr and snuggle like a kitten, cry exactly like a baby when hungry and are really super sweet. He was only about 4 weeks old but he needed to go back to the bush where he belonged. Then I spent about four hours of driving and half a day off work to take him to a rescue center. But I did it and he was doing amazing when he arrived and was expected to be able to return to the wild when he was old enough.

Hunters take a life of the animals we harvest. That’s simply a fact. But we use as much of the animal as we possibly can and whatever we cannot use we take out to the bush (also called hiding the body, which really freaks out non-hunters when they call and you say what you’re doing) and other animals eat what we do not and get a meal that helps them in their own lives.

There are thousands of videos online of hunters helping various animals, even those they are actively hunting. We actually do have hearts and they can be a lot bigger than you think. Hunters provide millions of dollars every year towards the OFAH, volunteer for multiple causes and do more than I can even begin to list. We do everything we can to make an efficient shot. We buy more accurate firearms and ammunition, sight in our scopes and learn new tracking tricks to retrieve animals.

My kids have been brought up in this life. You want something to do? Here’s a bb gun, bb’s and some cans-giv’er. You turned 12? You take your firearms and hunters safety courses. You want to learn to target shoot? Here’s a set up that would make most adults jealous. You’re out of ammo? Here’s more. Because the kids that do those things aren’t getting into trouble. They’re learning valuable skills that I believe are essential. My kids have been taught respect for firearms and animals since the moment they could understand. I am adamant every child should know this.

At the store we are happy to spend more time with a new hunter than anyone else. We want to answer their questions and find products that meet their needs. We even gave away a firearm to a new hunter a few years ago. I will continue to do whatever I can to encourage new hunters and the respect and responsibility that comes with that privilege. I even have a pack of water guns that I hand out to small children but can only be accepted if they promise to never point it anyone and to practice safe handling with their parents.

I honestly don’t know what generation of hunter I am but I can only hope I am far from the last. I’d really like it if my kids wait until they have their own houses to bring home rescues, we have more than enough creatures now. I also know they are very much like their mother and I know all the things I have dragged home and would expect nothing less from them.