When I was about 8-9 I used my paper route money to buy a WHAMMO SLINGSHOT. Dad was a heavy equipment mechanic and that meant I had an unlimited supply of steel ball bearings for ammo.

  We had all kinds of pets, some wild ones too. My parents let me have that slingshot with the agreement I wouldn't shoot anything but cans/targets in the backyard. Dad made me a shooting gallery rack.

  Well, I got pretty good and one day I lookup in one of the tall Oaks in our backyard and see a big old
Blue Jay sitting there.
 
I don't know why but I pulled back and took a shot.
I didn't really think I would hit it but I did and it fell dead at my feet!

  I was so distraught and started bawling. That got my little sister's attention and she came out and started crying too. I knew she'd tell my parents, so I put the Blue Jay in a shoebox and when Dad came home I fessed up to my evil deed.

  He could see how upset I was so he didn't yell at me or spank me like I thought he would.

  He told me that I had learned a valuable lesson the hard way. You NEVER point a weapon of any kind at a living animal or person unless your WILLING to kill them.

  He made me get a shovel and we buried the Blue Jay in the pet cemetery we had in the corner of the backyard.

I still like to hunt/fish, but I don't hunt for trophies, I only hunt to eat what I kill/catch.

I'm like you with wild critters, I put them outside or trap in non-kill critter trap and re-locate to a wooded area. Only exceptions have been a few raccoons that were obviously sick/aggressive and I had to put down for safety reasons.

I read stories about people abusing/killing animals just for fun it makes my blood boil. They better never do that around me. I don't have that many years left and I can think of far worse things to be locked up for.