The Vegan Hunter

The end of a bad relationship with a hunting-loving boyfriend inspires Blythe Roberson to reconsider her stance on killing an animal herself. As a vegan, Roberson takes her change in thought very seriously, resulting in a well-considered piece of writing with a touch of humor that prevents any veering into self-importance.

Despite being a vegan who lived deep inside New York City, I now wanted to become a hunter. I couldn’t believe such a horrible relationship had changed something so fundamental about me. But maybe that was the sign of a really bad relationship, I thought, or a really good one. I no longer had a boyfriend to teach me about hunting, but maybe I didn’t need one.

As I educated myself, I promised myself I would never click on an NRA link, and I never did. At some point, though, a friend asked me if I had seen the video of Wayne LaPierre shooting an elephant. I hadn’t, but I watched it that night. In the video, filmed for what would have been an NRA television show, LaPierre is trophy hunting. He shoots an elephant, but it’s not a clean shot and the elephant doesn’t immediately fall, so he rushes after it and shoots it again at close range. The elephant groans. Wayne LaPierre, former head of the National Rifle Association, is not a good enough shot to put an elephant out of its misery. He shoots it repeatedly, only hurting it more, until his hunting guide steps in and kills the elephant himself. I turned the video off. It made me ill.