Fair Hunting

I grew up in a rural area where hunting is a common hobby that many people partake in, including my father. I have never had any interest in hunting and I have always felt ambivalent about my father hunting. I am intrigued by the affectionate relationship between the hunter and the deer; where the hunter care for the deer by preserving and improving its habitat as well as securing it’s survival during rough winters, and then the paradox of killing and eating something you are so fond of, as John Berger talks about in his essay ‘Why Look at Animals’.

During the time I spent with the hunters, going out both mornings and evenings, I realized that it was much more a spiritual exercise then a killing sport. We would sit shoulder to shoulder for three hours without moving or making a sound. It was a truly spiritual experience and after all my past failing efforts to meditate I finally had a feeling that I had succeeded. One of the hunters talked extensively about this spiritual aspect and how he felt mentally rejuvenated after having spent a hunting session in nature.   

Although the hunters usually hunt alone during Deer season, the social aspect of the hunting culture in Denmark is extremely important. After a morning hunt it is common to meet for breakfast to exchange experiences and stories. It is also considered common curtesy to text or call each other at the end of a hunt to let others know if one has been successful. 

During my research I had read John Berger’s ‘Why look at animals?’. One of the things he talks of is, how historically the Native Americans view their prey as loving family members. There is a sense of respect and awe in how they regard wildlife, which I recognized in the Danish hunters I talked to. They have a clear admiration and respect for wild animals and ‘fair hunting’ was a reoccurring topic. They believe the animals must stand a fair chance and as such, they disagree with big hunting parties, such as fox hunting, where the animals are chased without much chance of escape. A Danish hunter prefers to sit quietly and wait and only shoot if the animal walks into a clear line of fire, as to avoid stressing the animal with a chase.   

One of the paradoxes John Berger raises is the difficulty of urban people to understand how a person can love an animal and then proceed to eating it. ‘A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork’ The paradox lies in the word ‘and’, where most people would presume that it should have been a ‘but’. I talked to the hunters about the killing and eating aspect and how many people view it as barbaric to kill an innocent deer. Their respond was that they would much rather eat wildlife that had lived a good life in nature and been killed swiftly, than the meat we buy in the supermarket, which is mass-produced in cramped and inhuman conditions, and filled with hormones.

During the time I spent with the hunters, going out both mornings and evenings, I realized that it was much more a spiritual exercise then a killing sport. We would sit shoulder to shoulder for three hours without moving or making a sound. It was a truly spiritual experience and after all my past failing efforts to meditate I finally had a feeling that I had succeeded. One of the hunters talked extensively about this spiritual aspect and how he felt mentally rejuvenated after having spent a hunting session in nature.   

The Church of Denmark is used predominately as a place of ceremonies, with Christmas and Easter often considered traditional customs rather then religious occasions. So in a society almost void of any religious feelings, it was interesting to find this corner of spirituality in a place where I least expected it.

Thorup Strand

In 1800 seven families lived in Thorup Strand and the number has slowly increased with the years. Fishermen were the main settlers in the area and the fishing industry was the primary occupation of the time. Today there are about 25 fishing boats on the beach and they are all part of a co-op to protect the future of their fishing rights and their environmental methods. At first, fishing took place from small open boats; but later they were replaced with larger clinker-built sea boats during the 19th century. The fishing boats are pulled out to sea by a wrinch in the early hours of the morning and get hauled back up onto the beach by a bulldozer at the end of the day.

The fishermen use nets and Danish seines also known as poor mans trawl. The advantages of the Danish seine are that it does not need much power to operate (low fuel consumption per catch), it is much cheaper and less bulky than a trawl, therefore it can be used on much smaller boats. Also the Danish seine doesn’t scrape and destroy the bottom of the ocean floor like the trawl, making it a more sustainable method of fishing.