"Come to think of it, we are all killers or accomplices," Gennady Soloviev says as he works an ermine pelt. He has just come in from checking his traps along the Taiga River with his hunting dog in the middle of the Siberian winter.
Meanwhile, I am sitting on my couch in South Texas watching Werner Herzog's documentary, "Happy People", marinating in a little frustration after another unkind comment on one of my hunting posts on social media. Unfortunately, hate for hunters is pretty common online, and it's something I'm still adjusting to on my social media pages.
But Gennady's next words recapture my attention as he continues in his sage way about hunters and survival in Siberia.
"Even those people who are kind-hearted and tend to pity everything. Why? It's very simple. A farmer keeps a pig… but he knows in advance what he keeps it for. In order to kill it and to eat it or sell its meat. And even the person who is sorry about all this buys the pork from him. And the trapper is the same as that pig farmer… only he is-how would you say it-more honest. Actually, it's not even about honesty. This man knowingly raises-I used to raise cattle, and I could never bring myself to slaughter them. Because there is, say, a bull. You raise him for two years. It comes to you expecting you to show affection or give it some treat… and instead he gets a bullet in the head. In the Taiga, the Wild animal knows that no good can come from me, from a man. He tries to escape. Here, it's about who outsmarts whom."
For all farmers, ranchers, hunters, and trappers, an essential part of what we do involves taking a life. There is no way around it, and most of the people that I know do not particularly enjoy that part of what they do (myself included!). But, as Gennady says, I think it's important that we are honest about what we do. That we acknowledge that in order for that beef steak, chicken breast, venison roast, pork rib, or any other cut of meat to appear on our plates, a life has to end.
I have no beef with farmers, hunters, trappers, or even vegetarians and vegans. In the same way that we as hunters are honest about what we do to get that meat onto our table, I know many vegetarians and vegans who are also honest about why it doesn't get to theirs. For whatever their reasons for not eating meat or animal products, I have always respected that they are willing to stick to their morals and are ready to defend their choices. We don't have to be on the same ends of the dietary spectrum to understand each other when it comes to standing up for ourselves and our beliefs.
No, Gennady's words make me think of the people I know that are quick to attack me and other hunters for hunting, yet eat meat regularly. And this is where I think of the initial part of the quote that began this entire blog post: "we are all killers or accomplices."
Sometimes, I want to ask those people where they think their meat comes from. Unless it's tofu or some kind of meat substitute, it comes from animals. And those animals are no longer living.
Unfortunately, as an adult-onset hunter, I can understand where the "accomplices" are coming from. It wasn't until my husband started taking me hunting that I truly understood the process of how meat goes from a living creature to the steak on my plate. The transformation from animal to meat can be a pretty shocking experience for someone who hasn't grown up around it, and maybe this is where we have failed in educating the accomplices.
These are some cuts of venison that we processed at home! It certainly doesn't look like this when you start!
As a society, we have become so detached from the source of our food that some people don't even know that meat comes from animals. (I have legitimately talked to people that did not know where meat came from!) They don't know how a cow becomes a hamburger, or even how a potato becomes a French fry. Maybe, the "killers", if you will, need to change tactics. Maybe we need to focus less on arguing with the accomplices and more on educating them.
This is where our online presence is so important, hunters and farmers. This is why it's important to stress the lifestyle and the why more than the "grip and grins" (even though we love those moments!). This is why it's important to stay calm and civil when arguments inevitably break out in the comments. We are ambassadors to our own way of life and we aren't going to bring others into the fold if we can't show that it's so much more than just the killing part.
And it is! There's the time spent close to nature, the incredible food that comes from hard work, the fulfillment of providing for your family, and the stronger connection to our past. The "killing" part, while important, is just one part of a whole life that so many of us love living.
Maybe if they saw all the good behind what we do, they wouldn't mind being our accomplices so much.
No matter which one you are, if this post finds you, I hope you'll think a little bit about where the food you consume comes from. If you're against killing, I hope you'll do some research about hunting and fishing before condemning someone online, and that you'll also consider the companies you support when purchasing meat. If you're a vegetarian, I hope you'll see a hunter as someone who is also strong in their convictions and maybe agree to disagree with us. And if you're one of the "killers", a hunter/trapper/farmer/rancher, I hope you'll consider changing tactics when you approach an "accomplice". We don't always know what we don't know, and sometimes we just need someone to reach out with a little kindness.
I'm happy for Gennady and his fellow trappers in Siberia that they have the support of their "accomplices" and that they fully understand who they are in their community. I hope that someday, hunters and trappers in America can live their lifestyle with a little more understanding from the "accomplices", too.
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