Alberta boy shoots bear for his 9th birthday [Split from Gear Grinders]

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I think trophy hunting is pretty sad. But let's have some perspective here. It has come to be regarded as immoral only recently, and only by a fraction of the people on earth today. Go back 100 years and I doubt you'd find more than a handful of people in the world who had a problem with hunting for pleasure. Presumably you don't believe 98 per cent of the people who have walked the planet were psychotic, do you?

You're conflating the action with the person. Not all psychotic actions are carried about by psychos.

[Fuzz]

Baiting just seams to be a really bad idea. So those other 6 bears, they now have a taste for human food and are possible problem bears. Good job.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by habernac

Who lets a 9 year old shoot anything?

I grew up in this "lifestyle". I was shooting at 9, but only targets and only a .22.

I don't think there are many 9 year olds capable of understanding what it means to take the life of an animal. It is not something to be taken lightly. I hope that the kid was the one who had to dress the animal, but I'm guessing not.

Baiting sucks.

[Ben_in_Canada]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

That's not the thing. Bear baiting is legal in some places in Alberta but illegal almost everywhere else in North America. And I'm fairly sure the spirit of the laws that allow you to shoot bears on your property (protection) and allows you to bait bears, does not mean baiting them on to your property. As much as these dummies think it's controlling the population, it's patently not. The guy is feeding bears "honey, cookies and grain with a lot of deep fryer grease" on his own property after they haven't eaten for six months. That's ######ed. The kid is thrilled that there are seven other bears hanging around waiting to get shot too. All of those bears are good as dead. That's not predator control. He's creating problem bears on his own land. And he's creating thrill seeker kids. It's one thing to provide your kid with thrilling experiences that can be replicated and built upon to create a meaningful and fulfilling life. It's another entirely to get off on pot shooting big animals. The reward to effort ratio is dangerous. How do you top a sure thing? What are you going to do when the kid turns 10? The kid literally says "seven more to go!". This is why people become addicts and psychopaths. The problem is not hunting at all. I respect ethical hunters. It's the method and the motivation here that is pathetic.

Thank you, this is an excellent response, far better than "hoping a lot of bad stuff happens to the guy".

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I think trophy hunting is pretty sad. But let's have some perspective here. It has come to be regarded as immoral only recently, and only by a fraction of the people on earth today. Go back 100 years and I doubt you'd find more than a handful of people in the world who had a problem with hunting for pleasure. Presumably you don't believe 98 per cent of the people who have walked the planet were psychotic, do you?

Go back two hundred years and most people thought slavery was fine along with child prostitution and capital punishment for well almost everything.

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Minimum age for hunting in Alberta is 12 but apparently if it's on private land, it's legal for this 9-year-old with adult supervision.

As a hunter myself, I find the whole thing distasteful.

My family has taken bears before, though very rarely and would never bait. We use the animal. I don't mind bear meat if it's prepared properly but it isn't to everyone's liking.

Just my personal opinion but I would like to see the loophole closed and not allow anyone under the age of 12 to hunt regardless of where it is. I would also prefer to see bear baiting banned outright.

I agree with everything you have said here. I agree that maybe the age of 12 is something to stick with regardless of private land or not.

I think they need to make baiting illegal in Alberta. I get controlling populations and such arguments, but if they are a problem, there should be plenty to track down and hunt.

I can't believe the behaviour of the kids in that video. They are not being taught to respect what they are hunting after hearing what they were saying.

[Erick Estrada]

It all boils down to evolution and the fact we have come far but still have a long way to go as the urge to kill other living things is still strong in the human species.

[TSXCman]

As an Albertan and a hunter, here are some of my thoughts:

This doesn't seem that crazy to me... neither does it warrant the IMMEDIATE response of comparing it to Cecil the Lion and wishing death upon the father. There are a lot of rural Albertans that probably did this as young teenagers (9yo is pretty young for big game hunting).

Baiting is real, I don't do it or like it, but if you have a problem then contact Fish and Wildlife and see if they have reason to change to laws. There are a ton of bear hunters that do what this kid just did. The guides are doing it professionally, with their pre-set number of bait barrels and bear tags.

I think hunting is just a major part of the fathers life and he is just going a bit too far in his attempt to get his son involved early. I'm pretty sure my oldest brother went pheasant hunting when he was super young. Neither him or my dad are monsters because of it either.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

I think hunting is just a major part of the fathers life and he is just going a bit too far in his attempt to get his son involved early. I'm pretty sure my oldest brother went pheasant hunting when he was super young. Neither him or my dad are monsters because of it either.

Then fine, go HUNTING. Baiting is pure crap. Did you bait the Pheasants?

I have no issues with hunting. None at all. But baiting is not hunting, it's an ambush.

[Russic]

Aside from my obvious issues with trophy hunting and bear baiting, my main issue in this case is posting it to youtube. He's active online and in the hunting community, so clearly he knew this was going to ruffle some feathers. Throwing your 9 year old son into the fray when he's too young to understand what the internet can do to you just seems cruel. People have been ruined for far less.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

I think hunting is just a major part of the fathers life and he is just going a bit too far in his attempt to get his son involved early. I'm pretty sure my oldest brother went pheasant hunting when he was super young. Neither him or my dad are monsters because of it either.

I think what the dad doesn't realize is that he's putting his eggs in one basket with his kid. His whole life (business and recreation) revolves around killing animals. There isn't going to be much he can do to change if his kid decides he doesn't want to watch things die some day. I was thirteen when I stopped going hunting with my crazy ass family. Now I'm the sibling what don't appreciate where his supper fixins come from. This kid could very easily, in fact, probably will grow up and realize he's got no respect for thrill killing. It might even piss him off that his own dad did this.

Also, wtf kind of birthday invite went out to these families? "Come join 5 kids, three high caliber rifles, 8 bears, one adult with a video camera in our tree house this Saturday. Bring camo. All guns provided."

[CaptainCrunch]

Personally I think that hunting is stupid and unnecessary.

Its not like you need to go out and shoot for meat anymore, its available for a few bucks a pound. Trophy hunting is ridiculously dumb.

Baiting might be a agreed upon tactic but its the ultimate in lazy.

Look, if you want to satisfy you're primal urges with hunting strip down to a loin cloth, grab a knife or a stick or a club and hunt that way. there would be a way bigger Orgasm provided by hunting that way.

Or the better way, is to make it more challenging for the hunters, by deploying hunter hunters on the grounds to thin out what is looking like a over inflated herd of lazy bait hunters.

We can even do baiting for humans by laying out a package of pizza, cheap imported beer and tobacco.

[boosterjuice]

This article is just trying to stir up controversy in the wake of the Cecil media exposure.

9 is definitely too young.

I see absolutely no issues with baiting though. It is allowed in areas where bear populations are high.

Hunters will always use creative ways to kill (I used to hunt 15 years ago). Whether it's mimicking the sound of dying rabbit in order to kill a coyote, rattling antlers together to mimic the sounds of a battle, or putting doe piss on yourself to attract bucks, hunters will always have an advantage over the animal.

[CaptainCrunch]

It doesn't have to stir up controversy that's already there, considering that the kids come across as grade A sadists.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by boosterjuice

This article is just trying to stir up controversy in the wake of the Cecil media exposure.

9 is definitely too young.

I see absolutely no issues with baiting though. It is allowed in areas where bear populations are high.

Hunters will always use creative ways to kill (I used to hunt 15 years ago). Whether it's mimicking the sound of dying rabbit in order to kill a coyote, rattling antlers together to mimic the sounds of a battle, or putting doe piss on yourself to attract bucks, hunters will always have an advantage over the animal.

Yup especially when you have a high powered rifle with basically a sniper scope and a accuracy range of several hundred yards.

I'm just wondering where the challenge is?

Honest question.

I went hunting once, and to me, it was stupid that humans need that big of an advantage to kill a fricken deer, and are that lazy in terms of hunting.

"Hey Marty I don't like the look of that there Rabbit, hand me that heat seeking missile"

When its a zero skill game, its just basically a slaughter and nothing else.

[northcrunk]

Reasons to go hunting:

1-Food to keep you alive

2-Your a wimp and need to feel better about yourself.

[TSXCman]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Reasons to go hunting:

1-Food to keep you alive

2-Your a wimp and need to feel better about yourself.

3-It's a part of your heritage

[TSXCman]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Then fine, go HUNTING. Baiting is pure crap. Did you bait the Pheasants?

I have no issues with hunting. None at all. But baiting is not hunting, it's an ambush.

Baiting/Trapping is pretty old school. Our country was practically built due to the fur trade.

I can't say what the reason is off the top of my head for allowing bear baiting and it is not a priority in my life right now. For anyone who wants to whine about things that are different from your own life, take up some of your own time and research why it is allowed. Is it population control? Is it a form of pest control? Is it a legal thing for purely psychotic people to do (overblown much)? Is it something that is just dated and may need to be removed from our current allowance to do?

You find out and then take the right form of action.

Way too many people crying about stuff that 1000s of generations have done before you. Get busy or get educated about it.

[2Stonedbirds]

Top rated comment in the comment section:

"Hope when he turns 11 he puts a bullet in his father's head"

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

3-It's a part of your heritage

"My daddy did it, even my daddy's daddy did it, even my boy is gonna do it"

Brainwashed by your elders to hunt kill, doesn't make it right.