I can understand why people would be disturbed by this, on the one hand ...but on the other, I also recall my own childhood. My brother and I spent a large portion of our childhood tramping around the forest unsupervised with bows and arrows and machetes and we were never injured. *shrug*

I agree that no one should hunt (or swim or boat) alone due to the inherent dangers of getting hurt. The risk in allowing kids to hunt is when they have not been properly educated in gun safety. I have been around guns since I was a child. I have three grown children who were all taught that guns are not toys and who were all taught how to handle guns safely. Two enjoy shooting and one doesn't but they all know how to handle a furearm safely. It is a matter of education, not emotion, for both children and adults.

Yes.

Because when done right, hunting is about safety, leaving no trace, paying attention to the world around you, making a clean kill (one shot, to the heart or lung, so the animal dies quickly, rather than taking out a leg and watching gleefully while the animal suffers), keeping down herd populations, and feeding yourself and your family.

Mature-rated video games are about gratuitous killing, "capping" a cop, committing crimes, getting laid, building a 'stable' of prostitutes, and glorifying murder.

What are the hunting laws like in Canada, though?

I'm in the upper midwest, I know several families who take their children on hunting vacations in Canada on a yearly basis.

You obviously haven't played any video games. While this may describe one or two games, 99% are not like this at all.

Sounds to me like you're the one glorifying murder of animals for pleasure, not me.

I stand corrected. Looks like the laws up here in Canada are just as crazy.

This is directly from the government web site:

By law, a potential customer must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a firearm or legally maintain possession of one. Citizens of Canada under the age of 18 but over the age of 12 may procure a Minor’s Licence which does not allow them to purchase a firearm but allows them to borrow a firearm unsupervised and purchase ammunition. Children under the age of 12 that are found to need a firearm to hunt or trap may also be awarded the Minor's Licence. This is generally reserved for children in remote locations, primarily aboriginal communities that engage in sustenance hunting.

Yea, my understanding was that it's easier for a minor to hunt in Canada than in some of the midwestern states, which is why these families do take their kids up there. It seems like they start going around 8, and are pretty competent hunters by 12.

At least they do eat what they hunt--or give it to others to eat. Wood grouse is a pretty good meal . . . I'll take venison too as a beef replacement, but my husband doesn't like it.

I have no problem with people hunting for food. I just find it strange that people are more tolerate of real guns than video games.

I honestly don't know what video games you're talking about, Paul, that are rated Mature AND are hunting games. All the 'animal hunt' video games that I'm familiar with (and I'll admit that I know precious little about video games), are simply about the hunt, and show little or no blood at all.

The ones that I thought you were referring to, do indeed, glorify killing - games like Vice City, etc. And those are far more violent than any hunt.

And I am not glorifying the killing of any animals. Speaking with knowledge and authority on a subject does not glorify it.

And yes, I have less problem putting a gun in the hand of most 12-year-olds than I have putting an M-rated video game in their hands. One is a tool that comes with extensive training, including safety and first-aid, and possibly includes some outdoor/survival training. The other comes with a lack of adult involvement, and bonus points if you shoot a cop.

Like I said, you're picking the one title out of hundreds of games of that genre and making a wide over generalization.

Killing anything for sport is wrong in my opinion, and teaching people that young makes it even more dangerous.

and you're not doing the same with hunting?

Sorry, hunting (and fishing, for that matter) teaches respect for life, among other things.

Those games that glorify killing (which is not a generalization, but identifying a particular segment of a larger genre) do only that. They teach nothing but disrespect toward authority and contempt for life.

Didn't taste like chicken? No kidding. Pheasant and Quail are far better tasting, a true delicacy. Have you seen the Dos Equis commercial? In effect, "he never says anything tastes like chicken, even chicken."
- Many video games simply are very violent in nature. I personally regard the killing of people as abhorrent and refuse to do it. I dislike the blood and death. I have seen enough real misery and destruction. Give me asteroids or space invaders anytime.
- Shooting an animal is also violent.
Easting a cheeseburger, fish, other animals, how to describe it... Nonviolent? No - non-hunters who eat animals are ignorant of the death involved and so they miss the opportunity to respect the animal and the process of death involved. Ignorance of death in this situation really is bliss. But enjoy that burger or the steak..
- Many teenagers are not mature enough as a group to hunt by themselves, drink alcohol, to drive, or to have sex, unfortunately for society the same goes for many adults.