Would you ?

I have a phobia. I'm afraid of dead things. Completely stupid I know. Even more irrational is that I'm afraid of them in case they move! Thus I cannot kill things. Even flies are a problem. But - I can gut, clean and dress rabbits, chickens and, at a big push, fish. Just as long as someone has already cut the head off - then it's meat not dead thing!

That was an interesting article thatbags. It does worry me too when I see roses grown in Kenya in the shops. Surely using African land and water for this is very frivolous?
I didn't eat meat for 15 years for various reasons. In fact I began again after a major family crisis when I decided there were enough divisions and this was one I could fix. In my non meat eating days, one of my criteria was whether I could kill it myself. If I couldn't then it was wrong to allow someone else to do it for me. I reckoned I could probably kill a fish, haven't put this to the test admittedly, so did eat fish occasionally. No quinoa passed my lips though

Guinea pigs were first bred by humans for food several thousand years ago in the Andes. Still are, I believe. People ate llama meat too. Somewhere I've heard that the Romans brought rabbits here for their meat.

Here is an interesting article from the Guardian in January 2013 about how choosing vegetarian foods, e.g. quinoa and asparagus, from poorer countries does not always have good consequences.

My son wouldn't eat it for a year or two, because Bunny was his and he loved her, but she was a mini lop and he saw the devastation caused by rabbits burrowing into my fruit cage. His liking for rabbits was overcome by his fury at the loss of his favourite raspberries. My goodness I bet those rabbits tasted good - stuffed with currants, gooseberries, strawberries and raspberries!

I couldn't eat rabbit , having had one as a personal friend.

A few years ago when DH was visiting his sister in rural Italy, she pointed out a neighbour's fenced area with lots of guinea pigs. He asked if they were bred for pets but,no, you've guessed - bred for the pot instant stock !!

I agree with your post Eloethan - you have summed up my feelings precisely. I would add that I find JW's attitude not only off-putting, but quite childish. It reminded me of those days of living with teenagers who tried so hard to shock the grownups. Boring.

For a number of reasons, I prefer not to eat meat. If I were starving and there was no other substantial source of protein, I expect I would kill any animal for food - otherwise no.

If people eat meat, they presumably know that it comes from a slaughtered animal and that there is every chance it has had a miserable existence. At least a wild animal has enjoyed freedom.

JW's apparent relish for the task I found a bit off-putting, though - in my opinion anyway - hardly deserving of the vitriol it seems to have unleashed.

We raise chickens for the table twice a year. DH does the dispatching but I help pluck and clean. DH has also killed rabbits as his sister kept them as do many Italians! Rabbits are also easily available in the butchers, in fact we bought one today!!

I have descaled and cleaned many a trout and salmon caught in the local river, no-one has mentioned fish yet. I've also helped skin pheasant, plucking them is a nightmare. I've never killed anything myself but would if I had to. We once kept geese for the pot, fed lots of grain to fatten them from goslings. My DH did the deed in the greenhouse and we froze them. They were delicious.

This reminds me of a story my older sister told me. During the war my parents kept chickens, pigeons and rabbits for food. The first time a chicken needed to be killed my Dad caught it and tried to kill it but he fainted! My sister came in to find Dad on the floor, Mum trying to see to Dad and at the same time stop this chicken escaping. Sister had to run to the next door neighbour and ask her to come quickly and kill the chicken before Dad came round. After that all animals were taken to the local butcher.

In my pre vegetarian days I have cooked and enjoyed rabbit casserole. I bought it in Sainsbury's in London in the early 1980s.

I've eaten and enjoyed lots of rabbit, and I don't have a problem preparing,gutting, plucking, any sort of meat or fish.
I haven't had to kill anything, but if me or my children were starving, then I'd do the necessary.

there is a stall in our market regularly with wild rabbit- I found it rather tough I have to say. They make squirrel pie here to - haven't had that. this is hunting, shooting fishing country though. Usually I stick to what's available in Sainsburys. Could I put an end to something something? Only a large bar of chocolate on a regular basis.

I don't think anyone is objecting to her killing and cooking a rabbit. It was putting pictures of it on Twitter that people objected to, and I think she also made an allusion to using the skin as a puppet or something.

Why not? They are delicious.

I have never killed a rabbit but would if I had to. I have though prepared them and cooked many a delicious rabbit casserole in winter.

We shoot and eat rabbits and pigeons. I can't think what all the fuss is about. The rabbits kept getting into my fruit cage, and the pigeons kept eating all my veg. DBH usually does all the skinning and gutting, but I am perfectly capable. I have to say, now that we aren't as broke we rarely bother.

Maybe it depends on whether you were brought up in the countryside, which I was.

At the same time, we also had a pet rabbit until recently that was allowed the run of the flower gardens.

We ate a lot of rabbit when I was a child just after the war. It was cheaper than chicken and just as nice.

When we kept goats and chickens DH was in charge of slaughtering them for the pot. I did shoot a couple of young goats because I thought that if I wasn't willing to do it I shouldn't be eating the meat and I always helped with the butchering. Many years ago I had a letter printed in the Daily Express about the pig we were raising for meat. They sent a photographer to get a picture of me and DD with the aforementioned pig and he really couldn't cope with our country lanes! He was driving along in his nice little sports car muttering " Oh My God, Oh My God my poor car!!!"

No way could I kill a rabbit, but I could definitely eat one. The meat is lovey and tender. My grandmother regularly used to give us rabbit for dinner, but I don't know where she got them. We kept chickens in the garden and she could catch one and wring it's neck without further thought.
My job was to pluck the feathers. I can still remember sitting there with a chicken held between my knees, plucking like mad and crying my eyes out.

My BiLaw used to go shooting for rabbits and bring them home for my MiL's pot. One day he opened his car boot to retrieve them and as he leant in, one of the rabbits leapt out of the boot, stopped beside the car, looked at my BiLaw and then hopped off. Now, I'm not going to say that the rabbit winked, but in my mind I can imagine it

When we lived in Humberside, husband belonged to a gun club which tried to keep down the pigeons rabbits hares etc for the Birdseye Pea business.
So I've prepared and cooked all 3 several times. And now we have our own poultry which we eat. But I've never actually killed any of them.
That news item - they should come and see what the chasse do here

It doesn't say how she killed it.

There are some real idiots out there, aren't there?

I have shot, cleaned and cooked wild rabbit many times. I no longer shoot but if I'm given one for the pot I'm a happy bunny cook!

They're becoming a serious pest in the countryside again and what's the point of trying to grow vegetables if you're on a hiding to nothing with the rabbit population. Rabbit proof fencing certainly helps but they often burrow underneath and it's expensive.

Robin Page article makes sense