I was an avid fisherman and hunter in my youth; it's a tradition in my region[s] and in my family. I still support fishing and hunting for the already-stated r

I was an avid fisherman and hunter in my youth; it's a tradition in my region[s] and in my family. I still support fishing and hunting for the already-stated reasons that it puts one in much more intimate contact with nature [i.e., the natural order of predation / food chain / realities of acquiring food]. When I killed an animal that I had caught, I did feel very sorry and regretful, as most people do, and I think that's part of what makes hunting and fishing beneficial for people. As Daniel Beard wrote over a hundred years ago in "The American Boys' Handy Book" : "[the] author must confess that as a man or boy he never killed any animal without a feeling of remorse for what he had done, and it was only after long thought and study upon the subject that he decided to put anything about hunting and trapping in this book. But after mature deliberation the conclusion was reached that other boys must have the same sensations as himself, when a bloody little trophy is stowed away in their game-bag, and that these feelings will prevent the average lad from killing for the sake of killing; for there is no fun in wanton destruction of life for a properly-educated boy..." As I got older, I involuntarily developed a lot more empathy for nonhuman animals and subsequently went meatless / vegan. I'd still sooner eat an animal caught by hunting / fishing than one raised in captivity [let alone, as you say, in a 'factory-farming' hellscape] -- by a country mile p.s. gotta put my favorite joke here as it's apropos : Q: How can you tell if somebody's vegan? A: They'll fucking tell you.