Butchering animals

[Shani]

On Todds first morning on Doona he went out and was almost caught by a Mda which Ken and Hrrestan (I think) had to save him from.
Afterward the Mda was butchered, and Ken had trouble dealing with the process. I know he is earth bred but the Men of the group had been killing and butchering their own meat for months (or starve) so I don't see how this could have upset him.......

Thoughts?

[granath]

It's been a long time since I read Doona... It doesn't seem logical, though. You never know what you can do until you know the alternative is to die.

[AnnMarie]

Some people just don't have the stomach for such tasks. Some of it is ingrained social taboos, and some people just can't handle the nitty gritty dirty part of life.

[granath]

I'm not saying I'd choose to lead such a lifestyle. I'd never butcher an animal for fun, I don't hunt, know nobody IRL who does, and have never been attracted to the sport. However, I do believe that I'd be able to raise an animal, kill it, butcher it, cook it and eat it... if the alternative was to starve to death.

[AnnMarie]

Originally Posted by granath

I'm not saying I'd choose to lead such a lifestyle. I'd never butcher an animal for fun, I don't hunt, know nobody IRL who does, and have never been attracted to the sport. However, I do believe that I'd be able to raise an animal, kill it, butcher it, cook it and eat it... if the alternative was to starve to death.

I'll tell you, Granath. I come form a hunting family.... generations of one. I have helped butcher the game.... and I think, for some reason, I had less of a problem with that than some of the kids I work with have the first time they're in the meat department when the cutters are just getting started.

[Anareth]

Possibly it's because you've been around it all your life, they subconsciously think that meat comes wrapped in plastic from the supermarket? I think I helped with a deer for the first time when I was eight or so. Now I do whole quarters myself. Needless to say I don't anticipate huge problems with basic butchery in culinary school (well, not from being grossed out. Cutting my hand off with the band saw is another matter.) On the other hand there were people in my college bio class who couldn't even reach into the water to grab a crawdad to dissect. How they survived when we got to the fetal pig, I don't know. There were people like that in high school who didn't deal well with the cat dissection. They'd just never had any experience with animals as things to be cut up before. Probably also had not seen animals kill each other, either (another hazard of farm life.)

I haven't read the book, but possibly in that scenario it was the combination of almost having gotten eaten himself and seeing it prepped for eating that made him a bit...off, even if he'd seen butchering before. I mean, I'm not enitrely thrilled to be cutting apart a deer that's still steaming, but I accept that if I want the meat, this is where it's coming from. There's something visceral about reactions to butchering and dissection, even after you've seen it.

[Kater]

I know for myself I couldn't kill and cut up (dress down how ever you want to put it) an animal myself. I could help with the other parts like cleaning what had already been cut up but I couldn't deal with the actual blood coming out at me and looking at the innards and stuff. I have no problem with people killing animals (I do realize that's where they come from when I buy my steaks and pork chops at the market) IF the intent is to eat them. Killing animals for sport ("Gee Fred I like the rack on that buck so lets kill it and leave the body to rot and waste" ) I don't like.

I can see someone not having a problem killing something if cornered (even though I don't normally think I could kill something or someone if cornered I probably could and would) but if they got away without harming their attacker and then the killing happened later on I might have a problem. But that's just me. Gettiong off my and turning in my

[granath]

No more cats dissected in high school here, thank goodness. I've only had to dissect a fish, but that was after going fishing with my father as a 12 year old and learning to gut and de-scale them, so it didn't faze me much.

[Anareth]

The cat was actually my favorite dissection--much easier to deal with than the dogfish shark (where the liver oils stunk up the place) and a little more clear-cut than the fetal pig. All the cats were going to be killed anyway (Carolina Biological Supply buys the carcasses from animal shelters) and I suspect the one I did would have died even if it hadn't been gassed, as it was horribly malnourished and had a major tapeworm. Only dissection I've heard of that I don't think I could do was the vivesection Mom had to do in dental school (basically, surgery where they never wake the in this case dog up. The dogs, again, came from the shelter and were going to be euthanized anyway, but I'm not sure I could cut into something living. Well, then again, I did the pithed frogs..okay, no living MAMMALS.)

Yes, I've chopped up a lot of dead things. That said I'd have a really hard time with an animal where I'd had a personal involvement. In my case that means I doubt I could behead a chicken I'd raised, in the book's case...maybe the predator/prey irony was too much for him.

[Cheryl]

I'd do it if I had to for food, but I was quite thankful the only thing I had to dissect in high school was a chicken wing, and in college a bivalve (for paleontology class ).

[lislynn]

Originally Posted by Anareth

The cat was actually my favorite dissection--much easier to deal with than the dogfish shark (where the liver oils stunk up the place) and a little more clear-cut than the fetal pig. All the cats were going to be killed anyway (Carolina Biological Supply buys the carcasses from animal shelters) and I suspect the one I did would have died even if it hadn't been gassed, as it was horribly malnourished and had a major tapeworm. Only dissection I've heard of that I don't think I could do was the vivesection Mom had to do in dental school (basically, surgery where they never wake the in this case dog up. The dogs, again, came from the shelter and were going to be euthanized anyway, but I'm not sure I could cut into something living. Well, then again, I did the pithed frogs..okay, no living MAMMALS.)

Yes, I've chopped up a lot of dead things. That said I'd have a really hard time with an animal where I'd had a personal involvement. In my case that means I doubt I could behead a chicken I'd raised, in the book's case...maybe the predator/prey irony was too much for him.

It's not very likely the cat would have died from the tapeworm alone but I know where you are coming from. I have had to do many dissections and vivisections in school and it is difficult to rationalize to ourself even though you know the animal was doomed due to other forces than yourself.

[edith]

we only did the usual lungs, hearts and eyes!
oh and we looked at a loooooooooong pickled fish once!
I probably could butcher something if I had to.
I'm not squeamish. I wouldnt like to do the killing though!