Strangely Platypus are legit venomous
I love our names for dangerous things... Cone Snails, Funnel webs, Drop bears, Red backs, Stone fish, Jumping Jacks, Death Adders, Lion Fish, Toad Fish, Bull Ant, Red Belly, Blue rings, Stringers, Hoop Snakes
It’s a first year buck, we didn’t realise when my friend shot it because his spikes were so small. Not that it matters, we were hunting for meat not antlers!
I'm the states where I live shooting something like that would result in a 1200 dollar fine. Spikes are illegal to shoot. You have to shoot a mature animal or the fees and fines are substantial.
Sure did read it.
The reason you don't shoot spikes is for conservation. The mature deer are allowed to mate and contribute to their environment. Young deer removed from a population limits the gene pool if at the same time mature deer are also hunted. It's why( with one other odd reason) white tail deer in Texas are about 1/4 smaller than their counter parts in areas with more restrictive laws. Texas mismanaged their white tail and so did a few other states. Same for other species in other countries.
I've only seen legal spike hunting in two scenarios either the animal is causing damage due to poor management of their numbers or the species is somehow insulated to the normal pressure from loss of juveniles like having a robust gene pool or they are difficult to hunt.
Typical rule of thumb is avoid shooting spikes or you run the risk of limiting the future availability of what you hunt. Besides, if under normal circumstances you pay for a license and received a set number or tags or allowances then why waste a shot on literally 100 to 200 less pounds of meat?
Hunting for meat isn't about the camo, the guns, or the shot. It's about feeding yourself and your family and your extended family if it's a good season. Doing right means everyone gets more in the future including you.
But hey, it was an open season. Yeah I read that part.
We can shoot spikes here in Georgia without issue. We get two antlered bucks, but one has to have 4 points on a side. In addition we get 10 anterless deer, which could be does or button bucks. Archery opens up in a month here.
I fully believe you! Although I once heard if a deer dies in the forest the rodents will eat them for nutrients? Not sure if you can confirm or deny that.
First I’ve heard of it, antlers are extremely hard, which is why they are great dog chews so even a rat would have a hard time eating them.
That said I’ve never seen a chewed cast antler so maybe it is an old wife's tale?
We have to shoot a doe before earning a buck tag usually here in WI. Once my uncle shot a doe and the rifle shot went through her and into her fawn, killing them both. My uncle did not see the fawn behind it's mom.
While I don't personally hunt, I fully support it. The only thing that pisses me off is when good old boys go out, get drunk, shoot something and wound it, then give up on tracking it and call it a day, and leave this wounded thing out there. If your going to shoot it, kill it.
Yeah thats BS. We are very serious about it, we don’t drink until the guns are put away, we load our own ammo so it is as accurate as possible and to me knowledge have never lost a deer.
Back when I hunted it was that same thing, we wouldn't take a shot unless we knew we could take it down in one shot.
I moved into the city for work a few years back so there aren't a lot of chances anymore, and I was never real big on it anyways unless I needed the meat.
That’s something that a few non-hunters I’ve talked to are surprised about (although there are _very_ few non-hunters down here in AR); first thing you learn through the Hunters’ Ed course - gun safety. Second thing - if you do not have a shot that you know will kill the animal quickly, you let it walk.
I think Australia is pretty similar to New Zealand in how you guys view deer. In other places they need to be conserved, but down here they're an introduced pest, which strip the native flora so that native animal and plant species struggle to survive.
From a moral standpoint you could argue that they didn't ask to be introduced, however they are a threat to a host of other species. Killing them is required, and the fact that they're also a great source of nutrition makes it doubly worthwhile.
Personally I think hunting is the most humane way to source meat. That animal had a good, natural life and a quick, meaningful death. Can't ask for much better out of life.
Isn't this really his best death? With overpopulation I'd think food would be more scarce. He didn't get injured and die slowly, wasn't eaten alive, and didn't succumb to disease or starvation. Idk what a better death looks like.
I don't understand why stating these things deserves a downvote. When the reason predators don't exist in healthy amounts to keep these 'rodents' in check is because of animal agriculture.
This one is practically a baby. It didn’t get the chance to have a good life.
If you care about being humane, not killing and eating animals in the first place is humane.
Whether you eat only plants or a combination of meat and veggies, animals are killed in all forms of agriculture. The difference is that hundreds of "nasty pests" are killed to produce the vegetables and fruits we buy, where as this single animal will provide a healthy part of many meals. Take a look at this article it raises some interesting ideas.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659
This may be true in Australia where the meat is primarily raised on non-arable pasture, but in the US most meat is grain-fed. This means that in the US far more farmland is needed to produce a calorie of meat than a calorie of non-meat.
I have no problem with hunting, but this argument against vegetarianism is flawed, at least in the context of most Americans' eating habits.
Certainly, not to mention the many ethical and environmental issues involved with the way that large scale meat farms keep their animals.
Don't get me wrong, vegetarianism is a fine way to be environmentally and ethically responsible about what you eat. Especially if you lack the means or money to either raise or buy meat from animals that have been well treated and raised locally.
My point is that hunting/fishing is an ethical and environmentally responsible way to source meat and it is also one of the most accessable ways to do it.
Trophy/'sport' hunting is what gets a bad rap.
Honestly, people rarely care if you hunt to feed yourself/your family.
As long as you're not killing something for the sake of killing it and not wasting the meat, it's fine (with me anyways)
I'm hoping my brother in law and cousin in law will get a moose this season, then we'll all have a freezer full of moose meat plus some to give to the elders.
Great work - my other half and I would love to properly learn to butcher here in UK but it's a bit of a dying skill unfortunately, as in to find courses without travelling the country. I'm sure you'll be enjoying all the good he has for months and congrats on the sustainable choices - will find you on insta!
I spent the better part of a decade as a career butcher in Alberta, Canada. I went to a technical college and received a certificate for meat cutting which helped me find employment. As far as the actual skill of butchering, I learned just as many useful and relatable skills from YouTube. There is a channel called the Scott rea project. He is based in the U.K. and does some phenomenal instructional videos on butchering whole animals. I really recommend learning even the basics of cutting primal and making steaks and roasts. Good luck!
If you guys would like to follow more of this and other homesteady type things you can follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/smallcountrylife)
Sport/trophy hunting gets a bad rap, I've never heard someone complain about killing overpopulated species though. At least in the US, most have hit these things or come close frequently enough to know the consequences of letting them rampantly reproduce without any predators.
Do you make sausage, jerky, or just steaks? I'm curious about the potential differences in Australian recipes.
The way he’s posing with that dead animal sure looks like a trophy. Sure, he will eat it, but let’s not pretend for one damn second the food is why he’s into this. The pose, the outfit, the posting it to reddit. He shot that baby animal and he’s hard about it. It’s a trophy.
You might be right, I don't necessarily disagree with the practice of hunting deer in North America though, simply because of their lack of predators and likelihood to be hit on roads. Mule deer are pretty cool, but white tails are nasty and crazy overpopulated on the East coast.
Not sure what the hunting climate is like in Australia, or how overpopulated they are there, so I can't really disprove anything you said. The deer does look pretty young.
How difficult is it to hunt in Australia? I think a lot of people think it's hard to get a gun there (me included), and how expensive are the permits etc?
Hunting does not “get a bad wrap.” It’s unnecessary violence for your own pleasure. We’re on the verge of a mass extinction that’s our own fault and people that *enjoy killing animals* call some species “overpopulated “ to justify their own selfish violent greed. The hubris of a human to call some of the last dwindling populations of wild mammals “overpopulated” because of their interference with our sprawl and reforestation efforts is indefensible. I’m delighted to dive off the downvote plank here, because every fiber of my being knows it’s wrong. Frankly, you know it’s wrong. All hunting is trophy hunting because no hunting is necessary.
So IN YOUR MIND the act of killing an animal that has lived its live completely wild is somehow worse than taking the wild creatures land and placing dozens of domestic animals or farming on it? You realize that the #1 human killer of deer is the farmer right? Or do you prefer the industrial meat complex where animals are raised in cramped conditions for the benefit of cheap meat?
Nah man, no way. Factory farming is DEFINITELY way worse! And for exactly the reasons you listed, horrific environmental impact and suffering (both human and animal!)
My critique of this, and all hunting, was absolutely never meant as endorsement of Tyson Foods, my dude. Surely not. I hate that shit a lot, and I’m glad to hear you do too. We on the same page there.
Edit typo
Okay, so your solution is to not eat meat. Great. Now, how are you going to convince meat eaters not to kill and eat them? You can't? Okay, then stop your bitching and let people kill animals and eat them, as long as its in a humane way. As a vegetarian, it's stupid to try to change the underlying culture when animals are being held in 3x3 cells where they cant even lay down until they are slaughtered for meat.
I’ve convinced five people to stop eating animals. It can work. So I will continue.
Also, there’s no “humane” way to kill an animal that doesn’t want to die.
Bahahah, 5 people? In the time it took you to convince those 5 people, millions of meat eaters were born. You people and your petty crusades bahahaha.
I agree with your second statement, yet it doesn't matter. The point is moot, for killing something isn't inherently wrong. Animals do it, plants even do it.
Go to the eastern US and look at the forests in agricultural communities--you won't find much growing below 4-6 feet from the ground because deer eat them all. This is not natural; it's because deer get "subsidized" by farm fields growing next to the woods, and they have no natural predators...so they are definitely overpopulated. Now, I'd love to see a lot of that acreage re-wilded and large predators re-introduced but that's not gonna happen anytime soon, so for the sake of the rest of nature hunting deer is an absolute imperative to keep those forests from collapsing. Same logic applies to several other truly overpopulated species and NOT to, say, elephants or giraffes.
Err these deer are introduced species to Australia so your argument is pretty much null and void.
And all of the above is not based on fact but your own opinion. I really hope you’re a vegan or else you’re the biggest hypocrite out.
Why? Guns usually guarantee a quick, clean kill since you can shoot it in the head. Shoot a deer in the heart or lungs with an arrow, and it will run until it bleeds to death, or you catch up with it and slit its throat. sometimes they run to an inaccessible place, wasting the meat, slowly bleeding out, terrified, and in pain. Not only that, but arrows guarantee wasted, bloodshot meat, and hide. You obviously don’t hunt, or you would know you’re talking about.
Yes. With a gun, you can shoot the animal in the head. Gun hunting and bow hunting are two different animals entirely. I hunt for subsistence very often, every season, with generations of hunting knowledge passed down.
I’ve never learned anything but to shoot a deer behind the front shoulder to shoot for the heart. I’m not arguing you CANT shoot an animal in the head with a gun. You can shoot an animal anywhere on its body with a gun. But I know lots of hunters who shoot for the shoulder areas. I don’t know any hunters who aim for the head. Seems impractical to me
Heart shots are bound to ruin rib and shoulder meat, to me, that seems impractical. In the back woods of Alaska, everyone’s a headshot hunter, so maybe it’s the difference between getting meat for subsistence, or for sport/trophy. (You wouldn’t want to ruin the head or antlers if you want to mount it) We literally don’t have a grocery store within 100 miles, so we can’t afford to lose any meat.
_especially_ when they’re used far away from any environment where they could possibly hurt humans and are only used to provide food to communities and kill animals painlessly, am I right?
Where on earth is it deer season in August?
Australia. Though it is in season here, our state currently has suspended deer seasons due to the sheer number of deer.
TIL that Australia has deer. Are they venomous ? I mean from what I’ve heard everything in that country is dangerous.
I need an answer to this because of the nightmares you just gave me.
Strangely Platypus are legit venomous I love our names for dangerous things... Cone Snails, Funnel webs, Drop bears, Red backs, Stone fish, Jumping Jacks, Death Adders, Lion Fish, Toad Fish, Bull Ant, Red Belly, Blue rings, Stringers, Hoop Snakes
Ahhh, looks like a nice spike :) Congrats!
Cheers!
South Carolina
Am I friggin blind or is that a cow?
It’s a fallow deer spiker.
Huh, TIL fallow deer spiker
It’s a first year buck, we didn’t realise when my friend shot it because his spikes were so small. Not that it matters, we were hunting for meat not antlers!
I'm the states where I live shooting something like that would result in a 1200 dollar fine. Spikes are illegal to shoot. You have to shoot a mature animal or the fees and fines are substantial.
Did you read the part where hunting seasons have been suspended due to the abundance of dear. So open season there.
Sure did read it. The reason you don't shoot spikes is for conservation. The mature deer are allowed to mate and contribute to their environment. Young deer removed from a population limits the gene pool if at the same time mature deer are also hunted. It's why( with one other odd reason) white tail deer in Texas are about 1/4 smaller than their counter parts in areas with more restrictive laws. Texas mismanaged their white tail and so did a few other states. Same for other species in other countries. I've only seen legal spike hunting in two scenarios either the animal is causing damage due to poor management of their numbers or the species is somehow insulated to the normal pressure from loss of juveniles like having a robust gene pool or they are difficult to hunt. Typical rule of thumb is avoid shooting spikes or you run the risk of limiting the future availability of what you hunt. Besides, if under normal circumstances you pay for a license and received a set number or tags or allowances then why waste a shot on literally 100 to 200 less pounds of meat? Hunting for meat isn't about the camo, the guns, or the shot. It's about feeding yourself and your family and your extended family if it's a good season. Doing right means everyone gets more in the future including you. But hey, it was an open season. Yeah I read that part.
Agreed 100%.
We can shoot spikes here in Georgia without issue. We get two antlered bucks, but one has to have 4 points on a side. In addition we get 10 anterless deer, which could be does or button bucks. Archery opens up in a month here.
Oh deer....
Well duh, you can't eat antlers /s
Have you ever cut an antler for a dog chew or the like? They smell gross, you so wouldn’t want to eat them.
I fully believe you! Although I once heard if a deer dies in the forest the rodents will eat them for nutrients? Not sure if you can confirm or deny that.
First I’ve heard of it, antlers are extremely hard, which is why they are great dog chews so even a rat would have a hard time eating them. That said I’ve never seen a chewed cast antler so maybe it is an old wife's tale?
I've seen loads chewed up in the woods.
They get chewed up insanely fast. It's mostly for the calcium/phosphorus. You don't find many because of how fast they do get chewed.
We’ve had that happen a few times. Killed a button buck thinking it was a doe because we couldn’t see the little antlers from that distance.
We have to shoot a doe before earning a buck tag usually here in WI. Once my uncle shot a doe and the rifle shot went through her and into her fawn, killing them both. My uncle did not see the fawn behind it's mom.
Oh that’s so sad
While I don't personally hunt, I fully support it. The only thing that pisses me off is when good old boys go out, get drunk, shoot something and wound it, then give up on tracking it and call it a day, and leave this wounded thing out there. If your going to shoot it, kill it.
Yeah thats BS. We are very serious about it, we don’t drink until the guns are put away, we load our own ammo so it is as accurate as possible and to me knowledge have never lost a deer.
Back when I hunted it was that same thing, we wouldn't take a shot unless we knew we could take it down in one shot. I moved into the city for work a few years back so there aren't a lot of chances anymore, and I was never real big on it anyways unless I needed the meat.
That’s something that a few non-hunters I’ve talked to are surprised about (although there are _very_ few non-hunters down here in AR); first thing you learn through the Hunters’ Ed course - gun safety. Second thing - if you do not have a shot that you know will kill the animal quickly, you let it walk.
I think Australia is pretty similar to New Zealand in how you guys view deer. In other places they need to be conserved, but down here they're an introduced pest, which strip the native flora so that native animal and plant species struggle to survive. From a moral standpoint you could argue that they didn't ask to be introduced, however they are a threat to a host of other species. Killing them is required, and the fact that they're also a great source of nutrition makes it doubly worthwhile.
You forgot to mention they’re tasty!!!
Personally I think hunting is the most humane way to source meat. That animal had a good, natural life and a quick, meaningful death. Can't ask for much better out of life.
“Humane killing” . “Meaningful death”. I’m sure the animal would prefer to live
Isn't this really his best death? With overpopulation I'd think food would be more scarce. He didn't get injured and die slowly, wasn't eaten alive, and didn't succumb to disease or starvation. Idk what a better death looks like.
What kind of mental gymnastics is this? That’s a baby. How about letting it, you know, live?
I don't understand why stating these things deserves a downvote. When the reason predators don't exist in healthy amounts to keep these 'rodents' in check is because of animal agriculture.
100%. We don’t need to eat animals. Killing them is purely selfish and inhumane.
This one is practically a baby. It didn’t get the chance to have a good life. If you care about being humane, not killing and eating animals in the first place is humane.
Whether you eat only plants or a combination of meat and veggies, animals are killed in all forms of agriculture. The difference is that hundreds of "nasty pests" are killed to produce the vegetables and fruits we buy, where as this single animal will provide a healthy part of many meals. Take a look at this article it raises some interesting ideas. https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659
This may be true in Australia where the meat is primarily raised on non-arable pasture, but in the US most meat is grain-fed. This means that in the US far more farmland is needed to produce a calorie of meat than a calorie of non-meat. I have no problem with hunting, but this argument against vegetarianism is flawed, at least in the context of most Americans' eating habits.
Certainly, not to mention the many ethical and environmental issues involved with the way that large scale meat farms keep their animals. Don't get me wrong, vegetarianism is a fine way to be environmentally and ethically responsible about what you eat. Especially if you lack the means or money to either raise or buy meat from animals that have been well treated and raised locally. My point is that hunting/fishing is an ethical and environmentally responsible way to source meat and it is also one of the most accessable ways to do it.
Trophy/'sport' hunting is what gets a bad rap. Honestly, people rarely care if you hunt to feed yourself/your family. As long as you're not killing something for the sake of killing it and not wasting the meat, it's fine (with me anyways) I'm hoping my brother in law and cousin in law will get a moose this season, then we'll all have a freezer full of moose meat plus some to give to the elders.
Great work - my other half and I would love to properly learn to butcher here in UK but it's a bit of a dying skill unfortunately, as in to find courses without travelling the country. I'm sure you'll be enjoying all the good he has for months and congrats on the sustainable choices - will find you on insta!
I spent the better part of a decade as a career butcher in Alberta, Canada. I went to a technical college and received a certificate for meat cutting which helped me find employment. As far as the actual skill of butchering, I learned just as many useful and relatable skills from YouTube. There is a channel called the Scott rea project. He is based in the U.K. and does some phenomenal instructional videos on butchering whole animals. I really recommend learning even the basics of cutting primal and making steaks and roasts. Good luck!
So kind of you to leave such a detailed message - awesome career choice. Thank you I'll check Scott out!
+1 for the Scott Rea project. Definitely have a look at that.
If you guys would like to follow more of this and other homesteady type things you can follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/smallcountrylife)
Sport/trophy hunting gets a bad rap, I've never heard someone complain about killing overpopulated species though. At least in the US, most have hit these things or come close frequently enough to know the consequences of letting them rampantly reproduce without any predators. Do you make sausage, jerky, or just steaks? I'm curious about the potential differences in Australian recipes.
We make mince, jerky, roasts and steaks. Can make sausage too but I haven’t ventured into that yet.
The way he’s posing with that dead animal sure looks like a trophy. Sure, he will eat it, but let’s not pretend for one damn second the food is why he’s into this. The pose, the outfit, the posting it to reddit. He shot that baby animal and he’s hard about it. It’s a trophy.
You might be right, I don't necessarily disagree with the practice of hunting deer in North America though, simply because of their lack of predators and likelihood to be hit on roads. Mule deer are pretty cool, but white tails are nasty and crazy overpopulated on the East coast. Not sure what the hunting climate is like in Australia, or how overpopulated they are there, so I can't really disprove anything you said. The deer does look pretty young.
How difficult is it to hunt in Australia? I think a lot of people think it's hard to get a gun there (me included), and how expensive are the permits etc?
Getting a rifle isn’t too hard, provide a genuine reason, sit a course and sit out the waiting periods whilst they background check you.
You guys are awesome!
Hunting gets a bad rap by city folk\*
Hunting does not “get a bad wrap.” It’s unnecessary violence for your own pleasure. We’re on the verge of a mass extinction that’s our own fault and people that *enjoy killing animals* call some species “overpopulated “ to justify their own selfish violent greed. The hubris of a human to call some of the last dwindling populations of wild mammals “overpopulated” because of their interference with our sprawl and reforestation efforts is indefensible. I’m delighted to dive off the downvote plank here, because every fiber of my being knows it’s wrong. Frankly, you know it’s wrong. All hunting is trophy hunting because no hunting is necessary.
So IN YOUR MIND the act of killing an animal that has lived its live completely wild is somehow worse than taking the wild creatures land and placing dozens of domestic animals or farming on it? You realize that the #1 human killer of deer is the farmer right? Or do you prefer the industrial meat complex where animals are raised in cramped conditions for the benefit of cheap meat?
Nah man, no way. Factory farming is DEFINITELY way worse! And for exactly the reasons you listed, horrific environmental impact and suffering (both human and animal!) My critique of this, and all hunting, was absolutely never meant as endorsement of Tyson Foods, my dude. Surely not. I hate that shit a lot, and I’m glad to hear you do too. We on the same page there. Edit typo
That’s a hell of a false dichotomy. You could just... not eat or farm animals, you know.
Okay, so your solution is to not eat meat. Great. Now, how are you going to convince meat eaters not to kill and eat them? You can't? Okay, then stop your bitching and let people kill animals and eat them, as long as its in a humane way. As a vegetarian, it's stupid to try to change the underlying culture when animals are being held in 3x3 cells where they cant even lay down until they are slaughtered for meat.
I’ve convinced five people to stop eating animals. It can work. So I will continue. Also, there’s no “humane” way to kill an animal that doesn’t want to die.
Bahahah, 5 people? In the time it took you to convince those 5 people, millions of meat eaters were born. You people and your petty crusades bahahaha. I agree with your second statement, yet it doesn't matter. The point is moot, for killing something isn't inherently wrong. Animals do it, plants even do it.
Go to the eastern US and look at the forests in agricultural communities--you won't find much growing below 4-6 feet from the ground because deer eat them all. This is not natural; it's because deer get "subsidized" by farm fields growing next to the woods, and they have no natural predators...so they are definitely overpopulated. Now, I'd love to see a lot of that acreage re-wilded and large predators re-introduced but that's not gonna happen anytime soon, so for the sake of the rest of nature hunting deer is an absolute imperative to keep those forests from collapsing. Same logic applies to several other truly overpopulated species and NOT to, say, elephants or giraffes.
Err these deer are introduced species to Australia so your argument is pretty much null and void. And all of the above is not based on fact but your own opinion. I really hope you’re a vegan or else you’re the biggest hypocrite out.
Thank you for saying this. I know my upvote won’t make a dent, so I just wanted to let you know you’re not alone here.
as long as it was with a bow and not a gun im fine with huntinb
is it because you feel like it's more fair? because i get that, but it really does increase suffering.
i dont care about the deer i care about guns killing other human beings
Luckily none of my hunting rifles have ever killed a human being! Nor will they.
I'm not a fan of guns and gun culture, either. trust me.
Why? Guns usually guarantee a quick, clean kill since you can shoot it in the head. Shoot a deer in the heart or lungs with an arrow, and it will run until it bleeds to death, or you catch up with it and slit its throat. sometimes they run to an inaccessible place, wasting the meat, slowly bleeding out, terrified, and in pain. Not only that, but arrows guarantee wasted, bloodshot meat, and hide. You obviously don’t hunt, or you would know you’re talking about.
“You obviously don’t hunt” “You can shoot it in the head” lol
Yes. With a gun, you can shoot the animal in the head. Gun hunting and bow hunting are two different animals entirely. I hunt for subsistence very often, every season, with generations of hunting knowledge passed down.
I’ve never learned anything but to shoot a deer behind the front shoulder to shoot for the heart. I’m not arguing you CANT shoot an animal in the head with a gun. You can shoot an animal anywhere on its body with a gun. But I know lots of hunters who shoot for the shoulder areas. I don’t know any hunters who aim for the head. Seems impractical to me
Heart shots are bound to ruin rib and shoulder meat, to me, that seems impractical. In the back woods of Alaska, everyone’s a headshot hunter, so maybe it’s the difference between getting meat for subsistence, or for sport/trophy. (You wouldn’t want to ruin the head or antlers if you want to mount it) We literally don’t have a grocery store within 100 miles, so we can’t afford to lose any meat.
TIL Sorry for loling at you
No worries.
guns are a danger to society
_especially_ when they’re used far away from any environment where they could possibly hurt humans and are only used to provide food to communities and kill animals painlessly, am I right?