Hunting for Sport

Q. My girlfriend and I have had a conversation about hunting recently, and she is not in favor of it. I told her that I only hunt deer for food, not for trophy purposes. I understand that killing the deer through the means of hunting makes it treif, but she feels that hunting in general goes against Judaism. I told her that only trophy hunting (killing for sport) is prohibited, however she doesn't believe me.

A. Thanks for your question. In boxing, this is what we call a split decision: you're each a little bit right and a little bit wrong.

Hunting is not overtly prohibited but it's certainly frowned upon. In the Bible, Nimrod and Esau (who are considered "bad guys") were hunters. Our forebears and role models, like Abraham, Moses and David, were shepherds.

As far as hunting for food, you rightly note that killing a deer by shooting it, whether with a gun or a crossbow, would render it non-kosher. Accordingly, we can't consider it "food," therefore we cannot consider hunting in this manner a sanctioned activity. Our concept of hunting for food would involve trapping an animal so that it can be properly slaughtered.

However, hunting for a reason other than sport or for (non-kosher) food is arguably permitted. For example, if you wanted to make a fur coat or needed animal pelts for some other practical purpose, I would say the activity is justified even if it's not enthusiastically embraced.

Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.