Re: Pheasants
Bill Sheehan (w.sheehan@WORLDNET.ATT.NET)
Wed, 7 Apr 1999 13:53:13 -0400
This is gonna get me flamed, but I have to speak out!
First off, I am the grandson of a butcher. The store was attached to my
grandparents house. I visited multiple times weekly and for a short time
even lived there. I know and understand where food comes from. My
earliest recollections are of a cooler with sides of beef and and lamb
and hogs hanging. I have been around slaughtered animals my whole life.
It was normal life for us. I still have and use one of the old slicers.
And yes, I eat meat.
Now that having been said, let me add: ANIMAL SLAUGHTER IS NOT
APPROPRIATE AT A GENERAL SCOUT FUNCTION IN 1999!!!!!!
1) I don't care how they did it in 1776, this isn't 1776. Many people
who eat meat, do not want to be confronted with it's origins. We have
not right to force that on them! (Yes I know this is a moral dilemma to
some. but it's not our right to decide!!)
2) If you were really raised around the slaughter of animals you know
that an adult was sent to do it, it wasn't the job of an 11 year old
kid.
3) If you do not know what you are doing, (and if you don't do it
regularly you don't) you will soon find out how unsanitary and even life
threatening it can be to clean poultry improperly! The big slaughter
houses, who do it for a living, have major salmonella problems. (And you
can only hope you are lucky enough to just get salmonella!)
4) I am also worried about a program where this dilemma comes up. We as
leaders shouldn't decide the boys need to learn this lesson. We, as
leaders, shouldn't be making any decisions like this. We are supervising
a boy run troop. I doubt any boy came to a leader and said we need to
learn that we being brought up in a styrofoam society. It isn't using
our resources either. I live in a big city, granted, but I've never run
across a pheasant, chicken, turkey, etc. wandering down Euclid Ave. when
I was hungry.
Just my feelings. Flame on, as I know many of you will...
"Nicholas J. Henshue" wrote:
>
> Heidi- Ho!!!!
> I recieved the following question via email from one of my fellow
> scoutmasters, and thought I would pose it to you.... The context of this
> letter is the planning of a "Pioneering: Back to 1806" thematic campout
> with the troop.
>
> ...."I have considered legaly securing six (6) hen pheasants. These would
> be brought on a campout where we would allow the Scouts to butcher, gut,
> pluck and cook. Cooking would/could be using a variety of methods including
> dutch oven, bucket method and rotissery. Butchering would be by
> decapitation and plucking follows immersion in hot water."... "The question
> which has come up when discussing this with other adults is whether or not
> this might be perceived as some sort of cult or other "bad" thing? I only
> believe this to be teaching basics to Scouts being brought up in a
> styrofoam society, however, when in doubt we are taught to go to our
> resources..."
>
> What should I tell him?
> YiS,
> Nick
