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Boy Kills Giant Turtle

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kmurphy

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What are they teaching those kids in North Carolina!!! Sounds like a wonderful little boy.

Boy kills giant turtle

A 14-year-old boy from Spruce Pine shot and killed a 68-pound snapping turtle on May 21.

Issac Hedrick was at a pond on Lynn Gap Road close to his grandmother's house when he saw the turtle.

Hedrick said he was out looking for snakes with a 410 shotgun and saw the turtle move in the pond.

He kept an eye on it and when it put its head up, he shot it twice.


Hedrick said he wrestled with pulling the turtle from the pond for over an hour.

He ended up using a broken rake from a shed to help him drag the turtle to land.

About 15 pounds of meat came off of the turtle.

http://www.mitchellnews.com/articles/2006/06/28/sports/sports02.txt
 
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Though it is easy to point the finger, and question how this child became so evil and twisted, it bears remembering that "about 15lbs of meat came off the turtle". Was he out that day for the purpose of wanton destruction (he was looking for snakes, after all), or did he seize an opportunity to put food on the family table? Would we be up in arms to hear that he had shot a deer or some squirrels?
 
I'm going to chime in on this one before something is said out of ignorance about the local culture that pisses me off.
This incident occurred in my town. I don't know the boy personally, but my son does I believe. They are the same age and go to school together.
While I personally regret the death of the turtle, as well as the snakes, there's nothing wrong with the boy or how he was raised.
We live in the country in the south. People still raise gardens, and perform other activities outside on a daily basis. As often as not the woods come right up to the edge of a person's yard or garden and it's a common practice to clear the property of snakes in the spring.
While I haven't talked to the boy, I figure this is what he was doing for his grandmother. While I would not have taken the same course of action, other people are not familiar with snakes as we are and this is how they deal with a perceived threat.
I admit there's still alot of misconception and needless fear on behalf of the local population in relation to snakes, this is how things are in the country. Generally it's copperheads that are the primary target due to their abundance in close proximity to homes.
The turtle was found and viewed as a meal, or several meals in this case, and taken. Yes a large percentage of the people here, myself included still eat wild game on a regular basis and a turtle is just that to many people. Just as Harald said, if it had been a rabbit or squirrel nothing would have been considered out of the ordinary.
The fact he killed the turtle is not a suggestion that he is mentally disturbed, deriving pleasure from the killing of animals, nor does it suggest he has been raised poorly.
It merely demonstrates he is from a different culture that the vast majority on this forum, a culture I share with him and wouldn't trade for any other.
 
This boy is an idiot. Likewise with his parents. It takes a really big, smart person to kill a helpless turtle with a 410 shotgun. I don't care where you live, or how close the woods come to your house.
 
Actually I wasn't thinking too much about the turtle. It was the snake hunting with a 410 that got me. Now that you've explained it it does make more sense. I'm from Maine, which isn't exactly a metropolis, 2 million peeps in an area about 3/4 the size of NC. We have our share of woods, lakes, mountains and game up here too. I hunt and fish. We have a rule though. If you shoot it you eat it. I just thought the kid was out shooting snakes for fun. Sorry for the mistake.
 
Rattlesnake said:
This boy is an idiot. Likewise with his parents. It takes a really big, smart person to kill a helpless turtle with a 410 shotgun. I don't care where you live, or how close the woods come to your house.
Click to expand...

:no01: And us folks from the south are suppose to be simple minded.

last time i checked snapping turtle soup was still on the menu on more than a few 5 star restaurants. I believe i all so seen it sold in the can food section at the grocery store. I believe Wolfgang Puck even has hid own brand of snapping turtle soup sold in the can. Of course my preferred method of cooking up some would be cubed on a kabob, and my preferred method of catching one would be with a fishing pole and a hook with maybe some nightcrawlers or a piece of chicken liver.

This wasn't someone's pet turtle it was wild game taken for its meat. No different than any other wild game hunted for consumption. It didn't go to waste. Wasn't left to rot in the pond. It was taken home clean, prepared, and eaten.
 
Rattlesnake said:
This boy is an idiot. Likewise with his parents. It takes a really big, smart person to kill a helpless turtle with a 410 shotgun. I don't care where you live, or how close the woods come to your house.
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:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

I bet it's cheaper to BUY meat in the store - than to buy the ammo !
here's a challenge - hunt with a knife ! :>poke2<:

I live in the woods and would much rather see the wildlife alive than on my plate or hanging on the wall :ack2:


AND some people in the south are simple minded. :rolleyes:
 
homegrownherps said:
I bet it's cheaper to BUY meat in the store - than to buy the ammo !
here's a challenge - hunt with a knife ! :>poke2<:
Click to expand...

Shells for a 410 are really cheap, meat at the grocery store is not.


homegrownherps said:
AND some people in the south are simple minded. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

So true! Same goes for the north though. :hehe:
 
Mary-Beth is KoRny said:
Shells for a 410 are really cheap, meat at the grocery store is not.




So true! Same goes for the north though. :hehe:
Click to expand...


Yes ...same goes for the north too !

But when you go hunting isn't there more than the need of JUST ammo ?
A trip to the grocery store and head to the meat dept. seems some much easier :raspberry

Oh wait I have heard about "the thrill of the hunt" :ack2:
Track down defenseless animals - or just bait them and wait for them to walk up and then shoot them. sounds like a real challenge :slamit:
 
I'm not going to get into a hunting debate as it really doesn't make any difference to me what you think about it. In Maine there are about 5 deer per square mile (I think I read that somewhere). It's not that easy believe me. With Moose the closer to the road the better. If I could get them to fall into the truck I would. They walk too fast though so it's hard to time just right. :hehe:

It's just meat that's all. I don't need it necessarily, I just like it. I think the last deer I got cost me about $20 per pound.

Kevin
 
I was being a little sarcastic with my last reply. However, it is pretty difficult for our industry to throw stones at the hunting crowd. We import hundreds of thousands of animals every year from various countrys. Countless others are taken from within our borders. Virtually all the animals we keep originated from wild caught animals. An animal taken from the wild is just as dead to its' environment as if you shot it. And sometimes shooting it is more merciful.
Don't kid yourself about a snake actually enjoying being in a shoe box or carted around the country every month to a new show. Sure we treat them right but leave cage open and see if they stick around, or come back for dinner.

Kevin
 
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kmurphy said:
I'm not going to get into a hunting debate as it really doesn't make any difference to me what you think about it. In Maine there are about 5 deer per square mile (I think I read that somewhere). It's not that easy believe me. With Moose the closer to the road the better. If I could get them to fall into the truck I would. They walk too fast though so it's hard to time just right. :hehe:

It's just meat that's all. I don't need it necessarily, I just like it. I think the last deer I got cost me about $20 per pound.

Kevin
Click to expand...


That can be used as an excuse I guess, If society keeps building and destroying land maybe there will be8-10 deer per square mile and then then can make a festival out it ...they can call it reindeer roundup :rofl:

I would still prefer to see them ALIVE :rolleyes:

this is just my opinion and I am sure its not going to change a thing, so I am sure all you great white hunters have nothing to fear :shrug01:
 
cowboyman13 said:
:no01: And us folks from the south are suppose to be simple minded.

last time i checked snapping turtle soup was still on the menu on more than a few 5 star restaurants. I believe i all so seen it sold in the can food section at the grocery store. I believe Wolfgang Puck even has hid own brand of snapping turtle soup sold in the can. Of course my preferred method of cooking up some would be cubed on a kabob, and my preferred method of catching one would be with a fishing pole and a hook with maybe some nightcrawlers or a piece of chicken liver.

This wasn't someone's pet turtle it was wild game taken for its meat. No different than any other wild game hunted for consumption. It didn't go to waste. Wasn't left to rot in the pond. It was taken home clean, prepared, and eaten.
Click to expand...


Just because its on the menu, that makes it right ?

And it seems that he shot that turtle just because it was there, if he was hunting snakes to protect his grandmother, how much harm could that turtle do? Theres more danger of wild dogs here in there woods than any WILD animal.

cowboyman13 said:
This wasn't someone's pet turtle it was wild game taken for its meat. No different than any other wild game hunted for consumption. It didn't go to waste. Wasn't left to rot in the pond. It was taken home clean, prepared, and eaten.
Click to expand...

Sorry , but to me THAT WAS A WASTE :hot:

Theres not enough food in the grocery store ?

I said it once before, but I will mention it again ...this is just MY opinion.
If you feel like you cant use the banner because I created it ...so be it.
you can handle killing animals but cant handle my opinion. :bawling:
 
ya know if everyone hunted their own meat how much would be wasted? grocery stores throw meat out all the time, and the fact that most of that meat comes from animals(cows, pigs) that destroy the natural habitats using a grocery store as a reason not to hunt and to protect the wild life seems like a bad idea.
how many acres of land per year are used for farming cattle?
how much land is destroyed by pigs?
how much pollution do pigs cause?
lets say we all started hunting and let all that farm land go back to nature and turned them into nature preserves would we be better or worse off?
 
Jadormdrache said:
ya know if everyone hunted their own meat how much would be wasted? grocery stores throw meat out all the time, and the fact that most of that meat comes from animals(cows, pigs) that destroy the natural habitats using a grocery store as a reason not to hunt and to protect the wild life seems like a bad idea.
how many acres of land per year are used for farming cattle?
how much land is destroyed by pigs?
how much pollution do pigs cause?
lets say we all started hunting and let all that farm land go back to nature and turned them into nature preserves would we be better or worse off?
Click to expand...


If everyone hunted their own meat ...how long would it be before they would have to get it at the grocery store any way ?
When theres no more animals left to hunt and kill ....what will you kill then ?
I'd rather see some land used for farming then used to build houses and strip malls. Farm land is still better then a cement parking lot.
 
what im saying is that in the grand scheme of things grocery stores are alot worse for the natural environment than any hunter. farming is good and all if you re growing vegetables and stuff but after the pigs are done with land it is virtually unusable,they cause erosion( which causes desertification) because they eat all the plant matter from the roots, they compact the soil because of the shape of their foot, and they produce so much waste the ground cannot sustain it. I never said I wanted more strip malls where farms are either and btw grocery stores have HUGE parking lots. Also with conservation and a little bit of a change in eating habits( you don't need to eat meat everyday, in fact you shouldn't) there should be plenty of wildlife around more, if like I said you turn those farms into conservation areas if thats even possible after the damage the animals do to the land.
I'm not saying supermarkets are a bad thing, but I'm deffinently saying they are not a good thing when it comes to the environment and therefore should not be used as a measure to save the environment or the wildlife that lives in it.
 
homegrownherps said:
If you feel like you cant use the banner because I created it ...so be it.
you can handle killing animals but cant handle my opinion. :bawling:
Click to expand...

Ok, I was following this pretty well until here. What’s that all about?
 
As an educated hunter, I understand the important role that controlled hunting of certain species can be very beneficial to the species itself... Wildlife that is not kept in check with hunting can lead to an overpopulation that will result in devastating drops in average population when long dry spells or freezes hit...

It is natural for nature lovers, including myself, to initially react negatively, but we have to look at the facts...

This species is not endangered in the state of North Carolina as far as I know from a quick search on it... North Carolina also seems to have an impressive wildlife commission to monitor native wildlife which has not placed this species on any list of concern... From this, we can conclude that its population is healthy and can sustain moderate hunting...

As for the snake hunting, I very seldom agree with it... The fact that he went snake hunting does not mean that this kid is deranged... It means that he is uneducated on the importance of these reptiles and avenues of having venomous snakes relocated... If no public service is offered to relocate poisonous snakes, I do understand killing the reptiles in areas where humans could be bit... If snakes were not killed in mass numbers every day on roads or by most people that come across them, I may feel more inclined to support an occasional snake hunt within a healthy population...

Doubt this is going to change any views but it's my opinion based on some facts...
 
Dennis Hultman said:
Ok, I was following this pretty well until here. What’s that all about?
Click to expand...


I created banners some time ago for people who wanted to use them on their sites to help bring traffic to Fauna. cowboy13 had used one on his site.
After I posted my opinion on this thread about the hunting issue he sent me a private message telling me he removed the banner from his site because I made it, and that he didint want to be associated me in any way because of my views on hunting.
 
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