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In my version, I don't always use an evergreen branch. In the late fall early winter some thing green can be hard to find in the hard woods. So I use ferns, acorns, leaves, grass and so on. I then place it in the animals mouth, take both hands and press the mouth closed and say thank you to the animal.

I have done this in front of other hunters, some have made fun of me others have stated that wanted to start doing the same thing.

So, how do you honor the animals that you take?

My best, Paul

I have lived in 3rd world countries and seen how lucky we really are to have easy access to food.

When I am lucky to harvest game I always say a little prayer.

I am a happy, very extrovert guy so my celebrations do include fist pumps, hugs and high 5s as well.

I might also give thanks that I am blessed to live in a country where we are still "free" to pursue our passions, and also that I am blessed with physical health and breath to do what I love to do.

A prayer , European ritual , a promise to the animal that I will use his body , to make my body stronger. And when he returns from the taxidermist , I never ever place a hat or sunglasses on their heads......no cigars in their mouths and no ornaments from their antlers and horns . That just doesn't sit well with me.

Then I care for the meat to the best of my ability and enjoy every bite.

The highest purpose an animal can fulfill is to feed a family.

My turkeys usually end up with the fan, beard n spurs accompanied by a picture. WT bucks, euro mount i do myself, or try... All of them nourish my family, proudly and thankfully.

Then I make sure for as quick/humane of a kill as possible, and make sure the meat doesn't go to waste whether or not I personally eat it (usually it's me doing the eating as I'm selfish lol). Used to mount most everything, now it's mainly skulls.

God has placed them here for me to hold dominance over.

I do thank God daily for everything I have.

In the event I don't do that I normally thank God and start with the meat preparation process.

I don't revere them either.

Pretty much what Paul, Jamico :^), Ki-ke, wyobullshooter and others have already said.

I don't honor the animal per se, rather I honor God and thank Him for the opportunity to live free, live healthy, live to hunt, and provide for my family.

Seriously, I thank God. I never "thank" the animal. I believe that to be the height of insult. As if it died to do me a favor.

I'm not judging anyone here but I have been in awe of big game before.

I have a deep respect for the animals that I hunt.

For me, I think the Good Lord above for the ability to be there and have the ability to take the animal and give thanks and praise for the bounty he has provided. Then I clean and care for the meat and eat it. Where I once again think him for it all. God Bless

I have an elk, a pronghorn, 6 whitetails, a sailfish and 2 bass mounted ... they're my reminders of each animal hunt/catch but I remember the ones I don't mount too

If someone killed you, knelt over you and thanked you for dying scant moments after your last breath, wouldn't that really, really make you mad? Maybe it's me. I believe it to be an aberration of all creation.

Thank God. Be grateful. However, the critter did not live for you. He lived for his purpose(s) and you took his life irrespective of his will. "Thanking him" minimizes his existence. Almost trivializes it.

I do however, thank the animal. Though they were placed here by God for us, i do appreciate the animal, it's will and ability to stay alive in the wild and for providing protein for my family.

Personally I don't believe God cares whether a human kills an animal, any more than He cares about who wins a football game. So thanking Him for enabling you to kill another of His creatures smacks of arrogance, IMO.

But to each his own.

I usually just say a prayer of thank you to the one who created us both.

Then I do my level best to properly care for that gift and to make it into food. I figure this is not only talking about being grateful for the gift but also ACTING on it. This not only honors my words to God but to the animal also. It's the least I can do!

"Hunt hard,

Kill Swiftly,

Waste Nothing,

Offer No Apologies"

That's why the Pats won the Superbowl with Brady's magnificent performance, and why God convinced Pete Carroll to throw the ball down there.

I do need to add one caveat though....I am pretty sure God is a Kentucky fan. :)

I slow down and spend some time thinking about what I've taken from the animal and from nature. I think about the interdependency of all life, and how death sustains life every single day. I always remember to deeply appreciate the animal, nature, and what I will get from this kill. I do my best to care for whatever I take from the animal, be it hide, horn, meat or anything. I remember to be awed by the opportunity and never take it for granted.

I also chew slowly with my eyes closed.

Not to get all religious on the thread but God DOES care when you take an animal or anything else that you would consider a blessing from Him.

It talks about thanking Him in the scriptures for all that you have been given.

So yes, when I kill an animal God does want to hear a quick thanks of appreciation for the blessing.

That said, to EACH their own. Whatever your case, enjoy that delicious meat!

MikeC

God's chief concern is being exalted. If killing an animal causes you to proclaim His greatness it is a good thing. This is not debatable but we can debate all day long whether he it makes Him happy when you kill an animal. I tend to think he doesn't care....just like He doesn't care if the Lakers ever win another game.

"I normally violently pelvic thrust while pulling both of my clenched fists in like opening a drawer. I do this by yelling "who's your daddy!"

Both too funny to not repeat. With all due respect of course.

It would not make me mad....I would be dead.

Then I rip it's guts out, tie a rope around it's neck and front legs, tie that to a four wheeler and drag it a couple of hundred yards through the woods, throw it up into the back of my truck and drive home where I skin it, cut it up, grind and mix with pork to make sausage. Come to think of it, I've never thanked the pig for it's contribution to my sausage mix. Does that make me a hypocrite?

I read of tribes in old africa who offered apologies to the animal for the rather rude behavior of taking it's life, then thanking it for providing food, tools, clothing, what have you for the betterment of his family. Can't really argue with that.

Now obviously today we are not survival dependant upon the kill. That said, I do like venison and it can help offset the grocery bill. But...when one adds up the average cost we incur in harvesting all that "free meat", it would exceed the tab in the finest of restaurants...lol.

Me... I DO respect the animal...give thanks...and savor each bite.

As mentioned before, to each his own.

Not for me. The only added cost for me is the license and tags. The gas isn't that much and I'd burn it anyway if I stayed home. Food for camp works the opposite. I eat pretty much the same things I eat at home but while hunting and enjoying the outdoor life for several weeks straight, I actually eat less than if I stayed home. No processing fees because I do it myself.

Well ... maybe my beer and whiskey bill is a bit more, but that's it. :0)

+1 on this one. I taught my kids this very early in life. We kneel next to the animal and say a prayer thanking God and then apologizing to and thanking the animal.

I try to give thanks with any meal. The cow or chicken or pig that I eat was no less a life than any deer or elk or what have you. I do not separate killing anything for food into categories, be it hunting or in the meats section and don't think (for the most part) any ritual was performed when it was killed. I'm good with that.

Seriously doubt you will find any spiritual forgiveness from a dead animal that you just killed, or anything that was killed for you.

If it makes a person feel better about killing his own food by performing some man made thought up ritual after they killed something.... honestly, the whole point is about easing your conscious, nothing to do with the dead animal. While I don't see anything wrong, it's dead, you killed it, it's yours to do whatever you want with it,.... just see no point to it either.

I'm far from any semblance of a good Christian... but try to give thanks for things that go my way (and not to complain too much for those that don't). My food (that I killed it myself or someone else did for me) my health.... and yeah, even for this last Super Bowl..... heheheheh....

As hunters, we have a strong connection with the animals we pursue. I've spent a great deal of effort and time pursuing animals with an arrow, as I'm sure everyone here has as well. I can assure you I'm unapologetically thankful for every one. Dave

I do however respect my prey in life and death... mostly for my own peace of mind I suppose. In life by working to minimize their suffering by my hand, by forgoing unnecessary aids, methods, and technology that has advanced faster than they can evolve to evade it, and by making decisions as a natural predator/hunter/gatherer rather than in a competitive way, an emotional way, a managerial way, or with skewed industry influenced values. I don't view any animal as 'a trophy'.

After death I use every bit of them I can find good uses for... from brains to dew claws. There's no bragging, rituals, pictures, scoring, buck pools, etc. Generally, other than those consuming it, nobody knows when I kill.

how would you feel if you were the result of a cannibal encounter.........amoung other things hopefully you would at least feel honored.