No More Carcasses

[RednekF350]

I read Ben's post of 3-10-06 under the Rules section regarding posting of photos posing with carcasses and I could only think of one guy to whom that may pertain.
That would be me.
Ben said he doesn't have a problem with hunters or hunting but finds photos of people posing with carcasses "mildly disturbing".
Well you can't find a hunter without the occassional carcass far behind.
This is Ben's site and I will gladly abide by that request.
I don't think I need to point out how integral deer hunting is to the way of life in the pines.
I find after-the-hunt photos from the old pines clubs in my area fascinating and they speak with the voice of a culture that only a hunter or a true piney would appreciate.
As I said, I will abide.
What do I find mildly disturbing?
Don't ask.

Scott

 

[Teegate]

I think a long while ago I was guilty of that, so it may not only pertain to you.

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Yeah, I think I have some dead geese in there. I'll get rid of them.

Steve

 

[bobpbx]

Speaking of carcasses, found another young deer today that is in the same condition I found about 15 others this year (no exaggeration on the number).
They are all young and their rib cage is exposed from being eaten as well as the hindquarters. No other marks anywhere else. I never saw that even 3-4 years ago, so if its coyote they are really increasing in numbers and/or kills.

Was in Dover Forge. I pulled off 9 ticks when I got home. I naively forgot about them.

 

[Ben Ruset]

While I am not a hunter, nor would I ever be one, I understand that not only is deer hunting a necessary element of Pine Barrens ecology, but an important part of not only Pine Barrens history, but the history of the country.

Here's the thing -- the front page of the site gets a lot of traffic. Photos uploaded into people's personal galleries get shown in the random image block on the front page. If someone came on the site and saw a picture of a deer carcass, they might be disturbed. When I saw your picture posing with the deer that had all sorts of blood coming out of it's mouth, I was a little disturbed. You have to realize that a signifigant amount of traffic comes from .k12 domains, meaning that children are viewing the site. I think that a picture of a dead deer is probably pretty disturbing to our younger visitors.

I have often said that I can provide people free photo hosting if they want or need it. This hosting would be totally separate from the rest of the site and you can put whatever photos that you want up.

I try to make the site as appealing to as many people as I can. I'm sorry that I have to put limitations on what goes on, but I think that - for the most part - people have a lot more freedoms here than they have on other sites. And, it doesn't cost anybody - but myself - anything to use.

Thanks for being understanding about it.

 

[RednekF350]

I think that a picture of a dead deer is probably pretty disturbing to our younger visitor.

I think a class trip to a slaughter house would be pretty disturbing for young children.
At the same time, I think a child needs to learn where the greasy cheeseburger or Chicken Mcnugget tucked into his Happy Meal box really came from.
For that matter, most adults would benefit from that kind of experience by learning every gruesome step that went into bringing their beef or chicken to the table.
There would be a lot more vegetarians in the world.
A child isn't going to learn everything about the "circle of life" from an animated cartoon.
Scott

 

[Tom]

I think a class trip to a slaughter house would be pretty disturbing for young children.
At the same time, I think a child needs to learn where the greasy cheeseburger or Chicken Mcnugget tucked into his Happy Meal box really came from.
For that matter, most adults would benefit from that kind of experience by learning every gruesome step that went into bringing their beef or chicken to the table.
There would be a lot more vegetarians in the world.
A child isn't going to learn everything about the "circle of life" from an animated cartoon.
Scott

Has anyone read Fast Food Nation? It will give you a new perspective on cheese burgers and chicken nuggets. It is a good book and has made me think quite differently about the foods that I eat.

 

[woodjin]

Scott, I agree with you, but I see where Ben is coming from. Children should learn about the cycle of life and be taught about where meat really comes from, but it is important that they learn these things in the right context. A child clicking on the site and seeing a bloody dead deer being displayed is looking at that image with no explaination. It could in fact scare them and give them a predisposition against hunting. Which really wouldn't be fair to the practice of hunting. It is almost like a child looking at pornography before knowing what sex is. It can be damaging to their ability to rationalize things when they grow cognatively and become capable of putting things in the proper perspective. Do you know what I mean?

BTW, I'm not saying that hunting is like pornography, or that it is obscene, I'm not saying that at all, it is just an example.
Jeff

 

[woodjin]

For the record. While not a hunter I am pro hunting and I've eaten venison on a number of occassions. Incidently, are pictures of dead fish, fish caught while fishing also excluded from display on the forum? A dead fish looks very much the same as a living one. Or what about a living fish before it is released? I don't mean to get all specific and confusing about this, I am just wondering if it is limited to large mammals, or is blood in the picture the most crucial concern?

Jeff

 

[Ben Ruset]

This site certainly should not be the vehicle for kids to learn about the circle of life. I'm just talking about good taste - and in my opinion, seeing dead animals of any kind is not in good taste. The whole reason why I noticed the picture of the deer in the first place was that someone had put a comment about it basically saying that it was disgusting, and I get emailed every time someone puts a comment in the gallery.

I understand and appreciate where people may disagree with me as it's purely a subjective opinion, and therefore will repeat again that I can give anyone free picture hosting so they can put as many pictures of bloody dead animals they want online. If you don't want to use my hosting, you can get a Flikr, Webshots, PhotoBucket, etc. account and put your photos there.

The final say of what goes in the main image gallery is mine. There are rules, and if you want to use the image gallery, then all I ask is that you respect them. If you have a problem, come to me and discuss it with me personally. I am open to hear feedback from anyone regarding how the site is run.

 

[RednekF350]

Nuff said.
I have no problem with the rule Ben and I appreciate everything that you do and the costs you incur to provide this website and the photo forums that go with it.
We have beaten this horse to death.
(I'll just be sure I don't post a picture of it)

Scott

 

[Teegate]

We have beaten this horse to death.
(I'll just be sure I don't post a picture of it)

Scott

Good one!

Guy

 

[SkullCherrys]

Speaking of carcasses, found another young deer today that is in the same condition I found about 15 others this year (no exaggeration on the number).
They are all young and their rib cage is exposed from being eaten as well as the hindquarters. No other marks anywhere else. I never saw that even 3-4 years ago, so if its coyote they are really increasing in numbers and/or kills.

Was in Dover Forge. I pulled off 9 ticks when I got home. I naively forgot about them.

I believe the coyote are greatly increasing, in January a few coyote took down a young deer in my neighbor's back yard and they witnessed the whole thing. Also sometime at night you can hear them yipping and howling.

 

[woodjin]

Yeah, they definitely are increasing in numbers, and I say cool.