>It is just an illustration of the difference between being desensitised and not. I'd bet (and you may correct me here if you like) that the first time you killed an animal, you had a different emotional reaction to it than the latest time you killed one.

Yes, you are correct. I had a BB gun and shot birds when I was 10. In the rare event I would actually hit one, I would stand over it and feel like crap for a minute. But I always went back for more. Why? Maybe it was man's primal insticts to hunt. Maybe it was me wanting to grow up like my dad. Maybe it was me wanted to be a "man".

Now I can shoot a deer and feel a primary sense of joy and excitment instead of guilt. Sure if it is a poor shot and it suffers, I feel bad. But the feeling of a clean shot and quick kill of a deer is definitely one of the top 5 joys in my life.