History Main / ThankYourPrey

* ''Series/{{That's So Raven}}'': In the Halloween episode, vegetarian Chelsea accidentally ends up eating a burger when her and Raven's orders are switched. She is later seen wearing a pin button with a cow's face and reads poetry to apologize to the animal she ate. In a strange twist of fate, [[spoiler: her guilt for eating the hamburger would later result in her and Raven turning into cows at Alana's Halloween party.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'' emphasizes the importance of directly thanking plants and animals that "gift themselves" to be eaten or used for other purposes. Molly's parents tell her that salmon are caught only when they choose to give themselves up for that purpose.

%%* ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'': Younger members of Clan Mackenzie begin doing this when they hunt.%%Doing what?

This is usually a sign that the hunter in question is in tune with nature, possibly a NobleSavage. Expect them to make use of all parts of the animal, too.

* The very first thing Tsukasa does after being revived in ''Manga/DrStone'' is to kill a pride of lions with his bare hands. After the deed is done, he says that he must make use of the lions' corpses to honor them. Conveniently, because he was NakedOnRevival, this provides him with lion skins he uses to make clothing.
* ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'' has Ed and Al stuck on an island in a flashback. They catch a rabbit and apologize for killing it, thanking it for extending their lives.
* In ''Literature/KinosJourney'', Kino apologizes to the rabbit she kills in one episode.
* In one chapter of the ''Manga/SgtFrog'' manga, Natsumi is called in to deal with one of Keroro's invasion schemes that involved exploiting Earthlings' dependency on cattle, which somehow lead to Giroro being turned into a minotaur-esque half-cow, half-Keronian monster and going on a rampage in the Keronian base. When Mom brings home hamburgers for dinner later that day, Natsumi feels inspired to do this trope.
* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' does this, as part of his belief that life should not be taken for granted.

* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'': In ''Kings of the Broken Wheel'' 5, there's a bit of gentle ribbing of Pike, because he always thanks his prey for the meat, [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/KOBW/KOBW05/DisplayKOBW05.html?page=12 even though it can't hear him anymore.]]
* ComicBook/{{Galactus}} may count.
-->"Of all the creatures in the vastness of the universe, there is none like me. I was present at the birth of the universe, and I shall be there at its end. Though I ravage worlds to live, I bear no malice to any living thing. I simply do what I must to survive. And why must Galactus survive? For, no matter how many worlds I devour... how many civilizations I destroy... it is my destiny to one day give back to the universe -- infinitely more than I have ever taken from it. So speaks Galactus."

* In ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/266881/hooves-and-talons Hooves and Talons,]]'' it's revealed this is a large part of Griffin culture, who are carnivores and eat meat. [[spoiler:This helps Rarity come to accept Griffin culture a bit better when the band she's making designs for explain why they want bones in the design is using every part of an animal is showing gratitude for it dying so they can eat.]]

* ''{{Film/Avatar}}'': Thanking your prey is part of the Na'vi's hunter culture. After making a kill, one is supposed to say, "I thank you (relative). While your body stays with us, your spirit returns to [[SentientCosmicForce Eywa]]".

* For the Kesh people in Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'' it is considered necessary for a person to sing a song after killing an animal on a hunt. A shortened version (a single line) is required even for butchers. A ''super''short version (one word) is mandatory even when swatting a fly or [[PickedFlowersAreDead picking a flower]].
* In the [[VirtualTrainingSimulation holodeck-style LARP]] in ''[[Literature/DreamPark The Barsoom Project]]'', one encounter requires the adventuring party to defend HumanityOnTrial for its sins as defined by the Inuit belief system. After successfully defending humanity against the charges of murder and abortion, they hit a stumbling block when the prosecution charges Western society with failure to uphold this trope. Exhibit A: the meat-packing industry. Exhibit B: LetsMeetTheMeat. Luckily, one of the players is a [[spoiler: stand-up comedian]] by profession, and his testimony demolishes the prosecution.
* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'', Torak and Renn are both seen thanking their prey and promising to use all of it as required by Clan Law. Villains who kill animals and waste the parts often get a KarmicDeath, and this was once exploited to slow Torak down by forcing him to kill a [[FullBoarAction crazed boar]] that attacked him.
* Jondalar, the [[RelationshipSue mate]] of [[GodModeSue Ayla]] in ''Literature/EarthsChildren'' is often described as asking the prey he just killed to confer his thanks to the "Great Earth Mother".
* In S. M. Stirling's ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'' novels, younger members of Clan Mackenzie begin doing this when they hunt.
* Wolves from Beyond the Beyond in the ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'' series have a thing at the end of every hunt where they lock eyes with the prey they kill. Doing this is apparently an insurance of the prey getting to the afterlife, and if you can't lock eyes with someone, you basically go to hell, as a not-so-unfortunate bad guy finds out.

* Happens in one of the ''Literature/JulieOfTheWolves'' books. The hunter also apologizes to the animal whose carcass he was unable to retrieve.
* Demonstrated after the deerhunt in ''Literature/LastOfTheMohicans,'' where the hunters thanked the spirit of the deer for its body so that they could live.
* In ''Literature/LordOfTheClans'', Thrall learns to do this after becoming a shaman. Specifically, when he can't find anything to hunt, he calls upon the nature's spirits. A few seconds later, he happens upon a deer and kills it. He thanks the deer for its sacrifice and tells his hunting partners that none of the animal will go to waste. They will eat the meat, drink the blood, and use the bones, the hide, and the tendons to make tools and clothes.
* Inverted: In ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea'' the eponymous "Old Man" recalls an incident when he and his apprentice apologised to a fish they'd just caught (although the attitude behind the trope is more or less the same).
* In the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' books, the Abbot/Abbess would say a prayer to this effect whenever the inhabitants eat a meal of fish.
* In Norma Fox Mazer's ''Saturday, the Twelfth of October'' the prehistoric tribe the main character accidentally ends up with does this before eating anything living, such as grubs or ants.
-->Then, impishly, she added what Sonte had told her so often, "You must thank them, you know, or else they will turn to poison in your belly!"
* The Pahkwa-thanh in the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse''. A reptilian race of carnivores who believe their prey animals have souls, they honour the creatures they bring down and kill.
** In the ''Literature/StarTrekVoyagerRelaunch'', meanwhile, we're introduced to a Klingon tradition of thanking your prey. B'Elanna does so while participating in the "Challenge of Spirit" wilderness survival rite.
* The Clan cats in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' do this because it's part of their warrior code.
** Defied by Tigerclaw, however. He feels he doesn't owe [=StarClan=] thanks because he caught the prey on his own.

* "The Sweetest Gift," an episode of the CBS miniseries ''Literature/{{Christy}}'' ([[AdaptationDisplacement based on the book]] by Catherine Marshall) featured [[NobleSavage mixed-race]] Billy Long teaching Creed Allen the importance of thanking a turkey's spirit after shooting it.

* In ''Series/TrueBlood'' Amy, a FantasticDrug addict, blitzed on vampire blood and in the midst of sex with her boyfriend, turns and slurs that they ought to thank their supplier, FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire, Eddie "for the gift he's given us." Since Eddie has been kidnapped, chained to a lawn chair in their basement and forced to watch their antics, he replies with a sullen burst of profanity.
* In the ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' first-season episode "Let Your Hair Down", Nick and Monroe find a litter of animal bones in the forest while tracking a suspected Wesen. Monroe explains that it is a ''knochen hof'' (literally a "bone yard") arranged as tribute to the animals who died so the Wesen could eat.
* Averted in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': when Frasier complains about the price of the caviar being sold in his favorite specialty grocery, the owner deadpans, ''"To you, yes. To the fish who gave up her life so you could spread her unborn children on a cracker, it's not so much."''

* In the ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' supplement ''Terror Australis'', adventure "City Beneath The Sands'', Power Boy (who had some relationship with Aboriginal deities) could call animals and ask that they allow themselves to be eaten. If they agreed, he praised their beauty and courage.
* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has the "Prayer for the Prey" rite for this purpose.
* A recurring trait of nature-loving good races, or at least NobleSavage races, in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' is that they do this, as well as striving to only take what prey they need for food and other goods.
** One PrestigeClass in ''Book of Exalted Deeds'' has, as its highest-level ability, the power to summon a large group of bears to fight on their side once per day. If any of the bears are killed in battle, they are expected to harvest and make use of as much of the bears as possible (meat, bones, skins), and give anything that remains a proper burial. Every time they fail to do this, there's a culmulative 20% chance that the power will fail, wasting its use, the next time they try to summon bears.

[[folder:Theater]]
* "Apology to a Cow" from ''Theatre/BatBoyTheMusical''.
[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' it's mentioned you should thank the spirit of the Pokémon before eating it.
* Conner does this in his native tongue in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII''.
* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', Udyr is in lore [[WildMan a wild druid-fighter]] with [[AnimalisticAbilities the power to channel animal spirits through his body]], and in gameplay a "jungler" who spends most of his time fighting neutral monster camps (raptors, wolves, the occasional odd dragon, etc.) in the jungle of Summoner's Rift. Unlike pretty much every other champion in the game, he fights them with utmost respect, thanking them for their sacrifice and pledging to keep their spirits alive through their gifted strength.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Jack and the Hunters", Aku hires a band of alien hunters who [[PlanetOfHats live for the profession]] to bring Jack down. They succeed in doing so, but not before [[WorthyOpponent he gives them the greatest hunt in their careers]], so great that they refuse to hand him over to Aku, then let him go and leave him a message thanking him and telling him to "Run free."

* In ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'', Kino apologizes to the rabbit she kills in one episode.

* ''{{Film/Avatar}}'': thanking your prey is part of the Na'vi's hunter culture. After making a kill, one is supposed to say, "I thank you (relative). While your body stays with us, your spirit returns to [[SentientCosmicForce Eywa]]".
* ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy'' has a scene like this.

** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-01-19 In another strip]], which provides the current page image, Squigley thanks the cow who sacrificed itself to be turned into his cheeseburger before voraciously eating.

** In the ''Literature/StarTrekVoyagerRelaunc''h, meanwhile, we're introduced to a Klingon tradition of thanking your prey. B'Elanna does so while participating in the "Challenge of Spirit" wilderness survival rite.

* In Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'' the Kesh always do this when butchering animals, even if they just mutter it in a perfunctory fashion.

** A German tradition when hunting deer or boars is ''der letze Bissen'', or "Last Bite". When killing one of these animals, the hunter will place a sprig of (usually) oak in its mouth as a sign of respect before it dies.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Averted in ''Series/Frasier'': when Frasier complains about the price of the caviar being sold in his favorite specialty grocery, the owner deadpans, ''"To you, yes. To the fish who gave up her life so you could spread her unborn children on a cracker, it's not so much."''

* In the ''Series/Grimm'' first-season episode "Let Your Hair Down", Nick and Monroe find a litter of animal bones in the forest while tracking a suspected Wesen. Monroe explains that it is a ''knochen hof'' (literally a "bone yard") arranged as tribute to the animals who died so the Wesen could eat.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2007-03-21 Squigley says it's more like an apology to the chicken sandwich than grace.]]
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-01-19 Cow Jesus, Hallemooya.]]

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'', Torak and Renn are both seen thanking their prey and promising to use all of it as required by Clan Law.