View from A Virtual Creek, Post Twenty

Hunting for the Table

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.biggame.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/untamed.png[/author_image] [author_info]Larry Weishuhn is a widely known writer, speaker, raconteur and world hunter. He co-hosts “DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon” on Pursuit Channel, CarbonTV and the show’s YouTube Channel.[/author_info] [/author]

 

 

“Where’s the beef?” questioned a matronly lady in a TV commercial of years ago. These days that may again be a reasonable question.

 

I will admit, my favorite meal is thick-cut beef ribeye! But I also dearly love preparing and eating venison, not to mention procuring it. I too, am partial to freshly caught fish.

 

Texas hunting outfitters have seen a flurry of inquiries over the last few weeks about hunts for larger animals such as nilgai, eland and elk. Nilgai pictured here.

Procuring “wild meat” for my family and me is a passion and a lifestyle. Recently when I read of the possibility that slaughterhouses were shutting down and that meat, from grocery stores, might become scarce, I smiled and walked to my freezer fully-stocked with delicious whitetail, mule deer, Axis deer, pronghorn antelope venison and three trays of fish fillets.

 

Interestingly, the possibility of “grocery store meat” becoming scarce is prompting people, including those new to hunting, to buy hunting and fishing licenses. The State of Michigan in April saw a 10 percent increase in hunting license sales. The same occurred in Virginia. New York’s fishing license sales increased by 30 percent. Hunting license sales there increased a whopping 60 percent. Other states are starting to see similar movements and increases.

 

I recently questioned Greg Simons owner of Wildlife Systems (www.wildlifesystems.com) and past president of the Texas Wildlife Association if he has seen a similar trend in Texas.  “Indeed we have seen a flurry over the last few weeks in inquiries about hunts for larger, good-eating animals such as nilgai, eland and elk.  Part of their interest is spurred by the news regarding the possibility of a red meat shortage, plus the idea they can ‘fill the freezer’ and have a fun and rewarding time as they do it.”

 

Greg continued, “I do think some of this new interest ties to the emerging foodie-group movement that we are seeing in the hunting community.  Americans taking up hunting so they can obtain locally grown, organic food is very much aligned with the locavore culture.  From a deeper, philosophical perspective, we hear people talk about how history repeats itself in our human world, and in this case, people are again taking to the field for reasons more similar to why they went afield a few hundred years ago…to gather food.”

 

Having hunted and eaten nilgai, eland, elk and a wide variety of other native and exotic game species, I can attest that their venison is quite tasty and much healthier than beef, pork, chicken and fish “harvested” in a grocery store.

 

Let us hope this trend of increased hunting and fishing licenses sales continues!

 

 

 

 

 

Regardless of what is going on in the world, there are always small things, of beauty and splendor, for us to enjoy, admire and appreciate!

Watch “DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon” TV show on our YouTube Channel, or on CarbonTV.

If you haven’t heard any of the “DSC’s Untamed Heritage” podcasts, visit blubrry.com/untamedheritage/ to listen to one of our 30 podcast episodes.

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