Is it wrong to kill an animal when you don't need to?

Is it wrong to kill an animal when you don't need to?

Great question! I have a lot of possums out on my property that I don't want here, and also feral cats, that I do want here, that I feed. I use to shoot the possums because they eat the cat food, plus are just nasty animals and sometimes my cats will fight with the possums, but most of the time they get along. I don't think I've shot any possums out here this year, I just stopped shooting them, and quit leaving the cat food out in the plates overnight. The possums still come around, but with no food out, the cats don't fight with them anymore, so so I found a way not to have to shoot them.

Not sure "need to" "needs" defining?

But here is the dictionary definition:

noun
1.
a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation:
There is no need for you to go there.

2.
a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary:
to fulfil the needs of the assignment.

3.
urgent want, as of something requisite:
He has no need of your charity.

4.
necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case:
There is no need to worry.

5.
a situation or time of difficulty; exigency:
to help a friend in need; to be a friend in need.

6.
a condition marked by the lack of something requisite:
the need for leadership.

7.
destitution; extreme poverty:
The family's need is acute.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

I have never went deer hunting because I could not in good conscience (mine, not anyone else's) shoot a deer. If I was starving I certainly could. People I love and respect hunt and that is fine with me. I'm am not ok with anyone killing elephants or lions but I am not sure what God thinks about it. My gut feeling is that if it is simply for sport then He is not a big fan.

But I can catch fish no problem and it's something my wife likes to do so we have fun. We eat em or throw em back- but we don't just leave them on land to die and rot.

Obviously there are perverse killings or mistreatment of animals such as throwing rocks at a cat or putting a magnifying glass on a bug. If I had ever got caught doing that my dad would have tanned my hide (I never stoned a cat but I have been known to put salt on a slug).

Killing for the mere sake of killing seems perverse- but then there's mosquitos and flies.

I don't think armadillos are animals. They are evil aliens who landed here on asteroid. So, fire away.:)

by Nasher on 2016/8/19 11:14:49

Not sure "need to" "needs" defining?

But here is the dictionary definition:

noun
1.
a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation.

How about this for "a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation"?

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

~ Genesis 1:28

From my understanding, if "sport" hunting of deer (in which most everyone who kills a deer keeps and eats - or sells - the meat) were not done in my native state, it would result in an over-population of them and they would encroach on mankind (eating and decimating his crops, gardens, etc.) and also potentially suffer starvation and the like.

There was also an issue of "CWD" (chronic wasting disease) that was affecting the deer.

The DNR website in my home-state says:

Wildlife biologists...have developed population models for deer. The model depends on information gathered primarily from the hunters themselves...

...They can then estimate the numbers that may be harvested to keep populations at healthy levels that are socially acceptable to both hunters and nonhunters alike. For more information...

So, yes, I think ones definition of "need" is important.

But I agree: killing for the fun of killing (and having no use for the animal and no noble motive behind it) does definitely seem perverse...

Ok, I'll use the word need like this:

Need in terms of if you don't then you'll die or your health will be affected.

i.e. I need to breath air (oxygen).

I think if that is your definition of "need" then I would say it is not wrong to kill a deer, for example, if you are going to eat the meat or give it away, even if you won't starve if you don't kill the deer. The same would be true for sport fishing etc.

Jesus ate fish and probably lamb but he would not have starved to death if he did not eat it. He could have been a vegan.

That's a loaded question.

Jesus ate fish and probably lamb but he would not have starved to death if he did not eat it. He could have been a vegan.

Very insightful. Thanks.

Ok, I'll use the word need like this:

Need in terms of if you don't then you'll die or your health will be affected.

i.e. I need to breath air (oxygen).

So let me ask this question of you. Do you eat animals that others have killed, like frozen chicken from Wal-Mart or a burger from Wendy's?

I look at it this way. I need protein in my diet. Animals provide a pretty good source of this protein. So I kill and eat animals. Deer provides an extremely healthy, red meat. A very good part of my red meat comes via my rifle and is processed by my wife and I. I am blessed to live in a state that has managed deer herds well and we have a very good harvest each year. I can legally kill three in the area in which I live, and I try very hard to do just that.

But then we have choices based on taste. I love fresh fish, and when I am at the creek I like to have a meal or two that I catch myself. It is extremely good tasting food and fish is good for me. I guess I don't need to catch and eat those fish, but I sure like to.

When Moses came off the ark, God told him this, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

Under the law, God refined this permission by specifying that some moving things were clean animals, and some were not. The children of Israel could only eat clean animals.

Under the covenant of grace, we are not bound by those dietary laws. So once again, the bass, the deer, and the crawfish are given to me for meat. I guess I can choose what part of that buffet I am hungry for and eat. It is necessary in the sense that I need a good balanced diet to live.

I also believe that we need to manage the populations of some animals, and that killing some of them is the way that has to be done. I have a friend in the panhandle of OK that has a prairie dog problem. They are so overpopulated that they create a huge problem for cattle farmers. When I am out there, we have been known to go prairie dog shooting for the sake of thinning out the population so that they do not overpopulate. I personally don't have a moral issue with that. However, we are serving a purpose in our actions rather than just killing for the sake of killing. And it increases our accuracy in other forms of hunting in the process, which helps us in our harvest of food for the family.

Just my thoughts.

Good thoughts Travis. My son in law shoots squirrels n his backyard that chew on his deck and try to get into the attic of his house. They are pretty scrawny grey squirrels and they don't eat them, but essentially do it to protect their property. I don't have a problem with that at all.

Tim, I would add snakes to this list...and roaches, and white flies, and rats and ....

Julius: Maybe so. Perhaps he will clarify.

But in that case, I would say that it would not be wise stewardship of the resources God has given us. Sin? Not sure that I could say yes or no. Poor stewardship? Definitely.

It is hard to judge motive. I had a person I did not know give me a deer that blessed me with food. He killed it for the head and antlers. He was a horn hunter so to speak, wanted the mount displayed on his wall for bragging rights. But he donated the meat to me. He was killing for sport I guess, but he made sure the meat was eaten by someone who would benefit. I even see a big difference between that and a guy who kills an animal for the sole purpose of mounting it as a display piece. Killing for the sake of killing, to me, says something negative about the man's character. But there is no clear scripture on this except our calling to be a good steward of what God has given us.

They are a problem in southern missouri as well.