There's deer right here.
I've always tempered my killing with respect for the game I've persued.
I see the animal not only as a target but also a living creature
with more freedom than I will ever have.
How many?
About 15.
I take that life, if I can with regret as well as joy
And with the sure knowledge that Nature's way of fang and claw or exposure and starvation
are a far crueler fate than I can bestow.
There's predator.
There's prey.
We're the dominant species on the planet.
I realised recently at the supermarket
that when it comes to picking meat
the only thing I think about is the price.
How can I help you today?
We don't know where our meats from
how it's killed raised or butchered.
But recently there's been a movement encouraging people to kill their own meat.
So we're on our way to the NSW hinterlands
to find out what ethical hunting is all about.
Hi, I'm Lovell.
And I'm Barra
and we run a hunting and lifestyle retreat company called The Alpha Human.
For $1,300 they promise to teach you how to hunt
not for sport but for meat
the idea is that by bringing ourselves closer to the process
it'll change the way we consume meat
This is going to divide a lot of people, this one I think.
I grew up on a small farm we had goats, chickens, pigs ducks, geese.
Every year we'd take the animals to the abattoir
and come back and it'd fill the freezer
and hunting was just an extension of that.
My step-father was into hunting and I learnt how to shoot with him.
It was really an excuse to get into the bush.
Lovell hunts with a rifle and Luke hunts with a bow.
Welcome.
You've already gotten started.
Yeah, we've kicked off already, the guys are putting some arrows down range.
We'll get you involved and get you shooting some arrows.
Welcome to bow hunting for beginners retreat weekend 2017
I know you guys are here for different reasons.
We hope to expose you guys to hunting as best as possible this weekend.
I think it’s going to be a challenge. I’m not to sure if it’s going to be emotional
or I’ll be sweet with it. I’ll see how I go.
Stick your arm out nice and straight, see if you've got the strength to pull it back.
- Yeah that's it. - Oh my god.
What the hell?
I’m a yoga teacher. One of the principles there is non-violence.
But I actually see factory farming as more of a violent act towards the animal than hunting.
We're gonna have to wind that down for you.
Jesus. Where'd that go?
People think it's okay to go to the butcher and do it. But it's not okay for you, my neighbour to do it
or you my friend, to do it.
A thousand triggers get pulled every day in Australia, whether it be at an abbatoir, or hobby farm.
Alright mate, I've got your gear here. Gear up in the car and we'll head off.
Okay!
Well there's no turning back now. It's time to hunt some deer.
Which is an over populated, invasive species on the verge of a major culling in New South Wales.
Why do we have to whisper?
They'll be able to hear us.
What's our plan, which side are we going to go?
Down into the gully, and we're going to sit there and sort of become part of the bush.
So it's like hide and seek, except we're hiding.
Pretty much, yeah.
The ethical hunter is someone dedicated to a discipline, I think it lives sort of deep within you.
There's two. One there, one there.
Why are you doing it? Are you going out to kill 30 or 40 deer in a weekend, and leave the carcasses?
That's a shooter, not a hunter. And we're not shooters.
What's the difference between ethical hunting and hunting?
You're not going out on a blind killing spree, or a shooting spree.
You're out there for a purpose, you're not taking more than you need.
You're contributing to the balance of the land.
Do you think the animal knows the difference?
I don't think the animal knows the difference.
It's just life or death for them.
Once we tracked the deer, the only thing left to do was wait.
Just be really quiet, yeah. Be really quiet.
And wait we did, for three hours.
They're in that bush, looking towards us now.
Finally, Luke spotted something.
He can see two deer, and he's going to go try and stalk it.
Oh, I can see it too.
Luke wasn't able to get a clear shot at it, and hunting was turning out to be a lot more difficult than I'd thought.
When deer come out, they pick up movement really easily.
So if a deer makes eye contact with you, or looks at you, do not move.
While we were waiting, we got word from the other hunting group that Lovell had a deer in his sights.
It was getting dark though, so we have to act fast.
We're trying to cut them off on the other end.
They ran past us, we've been waiting in the one spot for three hours.
And then they came out in a different section of the gully.
I think he's over there.
And that was the exit there. So he's come through the other shoulder, and out through here.
By the time we got there, we could see him bedded down in the field. He was gonza, he was dead.
It was pretty confronting hey?
It seems kind of like a game before something dies.
Yep.
Killing an animal is not easy whatsoever it's the hardest thing to do.
But it's reality of hunting.
It's the way it's always been
and it's the way it is if you want to eat meat.
We're going to push it straight up.
The dripping of blood.
That's just coming of the exit or the entry.
What we're going to do from here is
we're going to make some incisions around the hide.
This isn't easy.
That's the exit wound.
I'm still feeling a little bit sick in my stomach.
But I guess once the warmth leaves the deer's body
you do start to feel like it's a piece of meat.
I mean yeah
After seeing it up close
I still wasn't sure about some of the ethics surrounding our hunt.
So I decided to get some other perspectives
Is there a difference between ethically hunting and hunting?
It's a huge space and it's quite grey, and a lot of nuance in there.
Generally speaking, the RSPCA as some pretty big concerns about hunting.
You've got a moving animal at a great distance..
Even if you're a really skilled marksman it's really difficult to get a clean shot.
Abattoir's generally have certain standards and policies and procedures in place.
But in terms of going out in the field there really aren't any.
When we confront the processes behind how meat is produced it becomes uncomfortable.
And one of the reasons for that is what we call the meat paradox.
You buy it in cellophane packages. It's clean, it's tidy.
You don't have to think about that too much.
We never see heads of animals, feet or the noses or the eyes.
Is there such a thing as a respectful way to kill an animal?
The most respectful way to do it is to cause it the least amount of distress and harm and suffering.
If you're talking about getting closer to the supply chain of your food
and understanding where your food's coming from and things like that
there's a lot of other ways to go about that.
Pretty sure hunting I wouldn't want to eat meat as often.
I'd be more likely to eat it less often than more often.
Look everyone is entitled to an opinion.
And I am a big believer of that.
I don't try to force anything down anyone's throat.
And if people are interested in hunting and they want to learn they come to me.
They come to us.
Venison back strap.
Harvested by you guys.
It's an uncomfortable feeling eating something that you just saw alive.
but I've sat at thousands of tables just like this one
and not given it a thought.
Maybe their method isn't the most ethical way
to come to that realisation.
But I've leant it's important we do somehow.
To not only become accountable for the cost
but aware of the price.