I spent about 5 years working 2 weeks a month just North of San Francisco. In all tat time, I met only one other hunter. That is a place where hunting is vilified.

Other than the usual banter of the pro animal using contract killings to put meat on their tables or clothe them in leather, I would ask them if they ever saw an animal starve to death. Not a pretty sight. Most hunters I know are also avid conservationists, and it is our activities, license fees, etc., that provide the means to ensure healthy populations of wild animals.

Hunting seasons are regulated either by time or number of animals killed. Since few of our typical prey aniumals here in the US have any risk from natural predators, it is up to the hunting community to keep the populations in check. We do what nature did when predators kept populations in check.

The next question is usually - "Do you enjoy killing". My answer is no, but I do enjoy hunting. We are at the top of the food chain, and God gave us dominion over all of the animals on Earth. That is a large responsibility. Which, at least for some of us, makes hunting a spiritual endeavor. We conserve, we protect, and we take only what we can use or what others can use.

The same people in California who abhor hunting are also the first ones to complain when the deer destroy their landscaping, when wild boars dig up their yards and when mountain lions take up residence in the suburbs.

Most of these people cannot engage in a rational discussion. Offer to take them hunting, and after they say "No", promise them that you'll give them a good 5 minute head start....