I used to hunt when I lived in Canada, but here in Hungary hunting is generally an over-regulated status symbol hobby reserved for the elite and the well-to-do. For example, bagging a trophy stag sporting a modest five-kilogram trophy costs anywhere from 1000 to 2000 euros.
I never had much interest in trophies. When I hunted, I did it primarily for the benefits it brought to my dining room table. Sadly, the exorbitant costs and frustrating bureaucratic hassles associated with hunting in Hungary precludes the rationale of hunting for food - at least for me. Trophies aside, you are generally not permitted to keep the meat of any large game you bag unless you are willing to pay a hefty sum for it. The same rules do not apply to small game, but once again, the amount of money you have to pay to hunt here do not make bagging small game a very cost effective venture. If you have a hankering for game, you're better off finding a game farm or butcher that sells venison or pheasant and purchasing the meat there.
Though I no longer hunt myself, I am fortunate enough to know a few people that do. Even better, I am fortunate to know a few hunters who gladly share their bounty with me even though I have never asked them to do so. For instance, just this morning a hunter friend of mine showed up at my house unannounced and generously gave me some pheasants and ducks he had bagged the day before.
I am going to pluck and clean the fowl tomorrow morning after church. As I do so, I'll probably spend a fair bit of time thinking about the good that remains in the world - despite everything.
I never had much interest in trophies. When I hunted, I did it primarily for the benefits it brought to my dining room table. Sadly, the exorbitant costs and frustrating bureaucratic hassles associated with hunting in Hungary precludes the rationale of hunting for food - at least for me. Trophies aside, you are generally not permitted to keep the meat of any large game you bag unless you are willing to pay a hefty sum for it. The same rules do not apply to small game, but once again, the amount of money you have to pay to hunt here do not make bagging small game a very cost effective venture. If you have a hankering for game, you're better off finding a game farm or butcher that sells venison or pheasant and purchasing the meat there.
Though I no longer hunt myself, I am fortunate enough to know a few people that do. Even better, I am fortunate to know a few hunters who gladly share their bounty with me even though I have never asked them to do so. For instance, just this morning a hunter friend of mine showed up at my house unannounced and generously gave me some pheasants and ducks he had bagged the day before.
I am going to pluck and clean the fowl tomorrow morning after church. As I do so, I'll probably spend a fair bit of time thinking about the good that remains in the world - despite everything.
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