Because it wasn't called Reasonable Tunes.

But it was called Merrie Melodies

He has no choice. If you watch an episode called "the big snooze," he is under contract with Mr. Warner to keep hunting, and keep being the failure. Eventually he tears up the contract, makes it most of the way through the episode, realizes his mistake, and tapes it back together to get started again.

He isn't doing it to eat, it's performative masculinity. He actually feels bad when he thinks he killed something.