Too many nasty PM's so I just took the pictures and link off....

D/S

Glad I wasn't eating when I opened this...

Why shoot something that is not a pest and you cannot eat?

Exactly.. POOR ARMADILLO !!!

gelandangan wrote:

Why shoot something that is not a pest and you cannot eat?

2 comments, one they are ediable, not that anyone eats them but in the Depression of the 1930's they were eating as food even if they are not the best. Additionally they are animals that dig tunnel systems. Which for Cattle ranchers can mean alot of lost money when a cow breaks its leg by falling into the hole.

And sometimes people go out shooting for "fun" you know.

Dimitri

Dimitri hit the nail on the head...

There are ranchers around here that have over a million $$$ in registered beef cattle and if a cor or prized bull breaks a leg from stepping in an armadillo hole, they are out a sizable chunk of money....

D/S

I've eaten them before and they are not bad. When I was younger, I used to go out at night with a dog that was trained to find them. I'd shoot them and deliver them to some poor families that lived in a nearby town.
They paid me one dollar each.

As far a cattle hurthing themselves in armadillo holes; that's not a problem. I was raised on a cattle ranch and have been ranching on my own, my whole life, and have never had that problem. Cattle rairly ever take off running (for the fun of it...like a horse). I've seen them step in armadillo or badger holes, many times, and they never seem notice it. They walk around really slow. I'm sure that under a rare occurance, it could happen.

Now horses are different...they run for the fun of it and rairly look where they are going.

About 10 years ago a virus or some form of illness almost killed the entire armadillo population around South Texas. We started seeing hundreds of them laying in the woods...dead. The population is starting to come back. I'm starting to see them run over on the roads now.

I'm like Geland, I don't shoot an animal that I'm not going to eat, or is not dangerous (like a rattlesnake), or a preditor to my chickens or cattle, or destructive to crops or property. Armadillos can be destructive to yards. They will dig up lawn grass looking for grubs.

I like seeing my ranch teaming with wildlife.

Cary

Then again I am always testy

And they can also be a carrier of a strain of leprosy that experts still disagree as to whether can be passed to humans or not.

I'm with gelandangan, and OntheLasGallinas on this one.

Although they are pests and can be eaten, to Dimitri's point in the 30's in Texas they were call Hoover Pig, apparently because folks blamed the depression on Hoover. I ate one in Mexico, wasn't bad, but its not something I will miss eating.

Attention the next paragraph contain a slightly political statement, please do not read if you are offended by statements of this type.






I could never shoot one, but to each his own. I just think publishing a picture like that is not a great idea as I'm sure PETA, or any other anti-hunting group would love to use it in their smear campaigns against hunters.

lesterg3,

your statement is correct and it would be fine with me if one of the moderators wanted to delete this post. In fact, please do and I apologize for those that I may have offended....

D/S

PETA does not need our "help" for anything, they will do it themselves.

Remember the whole KFC video that PETA had as "evidence" of "corporate animal curelty" well that for example was completely staged. PETA paid "actors" in uniforms on a PETA purchased farm to make a point.

Believe you me, they are plenty capable of doing their own dirty work.

Dimitri

I turned them into links instead of embedded images.


-DallanC

This is a hunting forum aint it? How is a video link showing how to field dress a mule deer any less disturbing than the sight of a armadillo who has been shot and very likely died very very fast?
Its a sad fact that shooting critters can and does make a mess at times.
And as said by "D", PETA does not need our help making issues on their own.

Anytime that PETA gets pissed off is good for me.
Lets see--when was the last time that I gave a crap about pissing off PETA???
NEVER!!!!!

Like Crackshot says, this is a hunting forum.

If anybody doesn't like these pictures, and if PETA is reading this, they can kiss my Redneck rear end.

By the way Sniper, how fast was he running when you drilled him.
Tell the truth now.

Eric

I certainly don't think we should worry overmuch about what someone from PETA, etc. thinks about photos of animals harvested, those folks are plain nuts anyway! I do think that photos of animals we've hunted should show a little respect for the animal, and I am not implying that the photos at the start of this thread didn't.