As a youth, I hunted sparrows and starlings with a BB gun on a daily basis. I'm sure the casulties numbered in the thousands. No regret or remorse. In my teens I graduated to rabbits, pheasants ducks and Again, I happily sent hundreds and hundreds to the next life. During my many years as a hunter and trapper, I dispatched animals I'd hunted or trapped without a second thought. Even so, if asked, I would have said I was an animal lover. Now that I've grown old, and I guess gained some perspective, I do feel some remorse. I don't believe I could do now what I did then. I'm just curious, Is this a natural phenomenon or progression or have others had these same feelings?.

I do enjoy watching pheasants now instead of killing them. Beaver,mink, otter, rats no problem sending them to the train station.

My dad got that way. Used to bash feral barn cat kittens in the head so the cats wouldn't over-populate, harvested all kinds of farm animals for meat, but at the end had no heart for the killing of anything. Actually became mostly vegetarian.

I'm 69 and just still a killing machine. Guess I never grew out of it.

Probably, when pondering ones own demise .........the mind starts to question all death

I think there's should be a little remorse for killing most critter's, I have remorse when I kill the older critter's that have evadedlots of danger, such as an ole gobbler that sets high in the ole cotton woods in - 40 wind chill waiting for spring and mating time and here ole Nate dupes him in and puts him to bed, or a 6 year old buck that's just trying to make it another year. How about the beaver that you've been after for three year's , the mamma coyote packin lunch back to the kids getten wacked by ole Nate, the spider that working harder than 50 percent of our population trying to find its next meal, if you don't feel a little remorse there's gotta be somthing wrong.

I think its progression in some things. I appreciate the life cycle of fawns being born more and watching them grow more and frolic around - but still enjoy eating them. I believe it is a learned appreciation for life as we get older as well.

I used to shoot and eat squirrels in my yard and woods. As I've gotten older I enjoyed watching them and haven't killed any in some time. If they seem to be getting too many, I have a friend who still likes to shoot and eat them. So, I call him and ask him to thin them out. Just don't shoot the black squirrels or my wife will get upset, those are her favorites.

Most people would find it odd that a fisherman hunter and trapper goes around saving little critters that have gotten themselves in a bad situation. Ever save a nightcrawler that's on the driveway at the wrong time? Crickets spiders and such. On the other hand I feel bad stomping toads but there seems to be an endless supply of them trying to drown at my place. Personally I hate cats, but thumping kittens is a little extreme. Here we eliminate the cat and there wont be kittens. p.s. all outdoor house cats are an invasive species as far as i'm concerned. I had a bad thump once on a yote and stopped doing it.

My dad got that way. Said it bothered him seeing an animal that had been hit by a car. Never understood that.

I still have no problem dispatching (killing)all the creatures I always have. Be it for food, pelts, nuisance or mercy.
Without reservation. Im 60

I think its part of growing old. I feel the same way. My uncle used to call me "the killer" when I was in my teens and twenties.
Now I watch my son and he reminds me of what I did and he has no remorse at this age at all. But I am guessing when I'm gone and he's my age now, he will start to feel the same way.

Yep...I'm slowly moving in that direction.

I hope that isn’t the case. We may still be needed. lol

When I was a kid tweety birds, frogs and such were targets by and large. Now at 68 and terminal I enjoy them more alive than dead. Still eat meat so I have to remind myself I better fill some tags otherwise I would just sit and watch the deer and elk ,bears whatever.

Progression. I am getting there.

I’ve bought many hundreds of pounds of sunflower seed feeding birds. I’m trying to make up for all the ones I shot with my BB gun.

Reverence for the human life. Not anything else. I still have compassion on animals and I do not like to see suffering.

reverence for life in that

it needs killing for a reason.

be it food and I feel bad if it is for food and any goes to waste.
or
be it because it is the coon dying to save the birds that are being raised for food. all that coon had to do was keep to the creek bottom and not come up to the bird pen area.

I am not as old. I do no killing for fun , but when I am talking out possum , coon , woodchuck I don't feel a thing.

the respect part is everything deserves to not suffer in death. make it as quick and as clean as possible.

That would be me also.

I still kill things that need killing, but not for fun, or for free...