What is Rainsford's position on hunting before arriving on the island?

In the opening of "The Most Dangerous Game," Rainsford and Whitney are having a conversation about hunting. Whitney remarks, "great sport, hunting," and Rainsford agrees, saying, "best sport in the world." As the conversation goes on, Rainsford states that animals have no feelings, or if they do, no one cares about them. Rainsford is a big game hunter of international renown and tells Whitney that there are really only two kinds of creatures in the world: the hunters and the hunted.
Later, when Rainsford meets General Zaroff, the Cossack immediately recognizes Rainsford as "the celebrated hunter" and tells him that he enjoyed the book he wrote about hunting snow leopards in Tibet. When the two men sit together at dinner, Rainsford admires the mounted heads that decorate Zaroff's home, particularly a sizable Cape buffalo. As Zaroff confides to Rainsford that he has stocked his island with the most dangerous game of all, Rainsford is fascinated—until he learns that it is humans that Zaroff hunts.