hunting essay

Arguments for and Against Hunting

White tail deer are at the center of this debate.

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Legitimate arguments abound for and against hunting for the control of the population of deer and other “nuisance” wildlife; or for sustenance for people who kill animals so they can eat them. For many people, the issue is complex, particularly for those who are (and intend to remain) meat-eaters. After reading the arguments pro and con, you may find yourself leaning strongly to one side — or you may find that you're still on the fence.

What Is Meant by 'Hunting?'

Most people who argue in favor of hunting are not arguing in favor of trophy hunting, the practice of killing an animal simply to show off its head and pelt. Trophy hunting is, in fact, abhorred by the majority of the public with a recent survey showing 69% of Americans are against it. Often, the animal being hunted is a rare or endangered animal, but even trophy hunting for wolves and bears is unpalatable to many people. 

The killing of wild animals for food is a different story. Though it was, at one time, a way of life and necessary for survival, today, hunting is a controversial topic because it is frequently regarded as a recreational activity. Many people are concerned about safety issues, and society’s attitudes towards animals are changing. Some hunters oppose certain practices they consider unethical, such as baiting, canned hunting (in fenced areas), and hunting of stocked animals.

At the heart of the non-trophy hunting debate in the United States is one species: white-tailed deer. In many areas in the U.S., white-tailed deer flourish because of the lack of natural predators and the abundance of deer-friendly habitat. As pockets of green space shrink and disappear in our suburbs, the species has become the center of the debate over hunting, and many who consider themselves neither hunters nor  animal rights activists  find themselves drawn into the debate. The debate centers on practical and ethical issues including deer management, human/deer conflicts, non-lethal solutions, and safety.

Arguments in Favor of Hunting

• Hunting proponents argue that hunting is safe, effective, necessary, and inexpensive to taxpayers.
• The injury rate for hunting is lower than that of some other forms of physical recreation, such as football and bicycling.
• Proponents argue that hunting is an effective form of deer management because it will remove a number of individual deer from a population, preventing those individuals from reproducing.
• Since natural deer predators have been eliminated in many areas, hunters argue that hunting is necessary to perform the function of wolves or cougars in keeping the deer population in check.
• Hunting proponents also argue that reducing the deer population will reduce human/deer conflicts, such as car/deer collisions, Lyme disease, and landscaping damage.
• Compared to sharpshooters and immunocontraception, hunting is inexpensive to taxpayers because hunters will kill the deer at no cost. Also, hunting permits are sold by state wildlife management agencies, which are partially or fully supported by the sales of permits.
• Hunters argue that killing the deer is better than letting them starve to death.
• Hunters argue that hunting is a tradition, a ritual or a bonding experience.
• Regarding ethics, hunting proponents argue that killing a deer for food cannot be worse than killing a cow or a chicken. Furthermore, unlike the cow or the chicken, the deer lived a free and wild life before being killed and had a chance to escape.
• Hunters also argue that killing a number of deer benefits the ecosystem as a whole.

Arguments Against Hunting

• Hunting opponents argue that hunting is unsafe, ineffective, unnecessary, and unfair to taxpayers.
• Opponents point out that compared to some other forms of recreation, hunting injuries are far more likely to be fatalities. Based on data compiled by the International Hunter Education Association U.S.A., hundreds of people have died in hunting accidents in the US over the past decade.
• Opponents also argue that hunting is ineffective for solving human/deer conflicts. Studies show that car/deer collisions increase during hunting season because hunters frighten the deer out of the woods and onto roads.
• Contrary to popular belief, hunting is not the only way to address Lyme disease. The ticks humans encounter on grassy areas are often spread by mice, not deer. Additionally, hunters who dress deer or squirrels have a higher risk of tick bites.
• And as long as suburban landscaping includes deer-preferred plants such as tulips and rhododendrons, that landscaping will attract hungry deer, no matter how many deer there are.
• It may also be the case that hunting to reduce the number of deer is less effective than contraception. Hunting is ineffective because state wildlife management agencies intentionally keep the deer population high, for hunters.
• Lands managed for hunting are sometimes purchased and maintained with tax dollars, even though about 90% of Americans do not hunt.
• Hunters out for trophies, such as elk and deer with large racks, are killing the strongest and healthiest of the species, not the weak and starving they claim to be putting out of their misery. Killing the stronger members of the species leaves a permanent consequence for the species as a whole.

The hunting debate may never be resolved. The two sides will continue to debate safety, effectiveness, and cost, but will probably never agree on the ethics of killing wild animals for food or recreation.

Pacelle, Wayne. “ Survey of American Electorate Reveals Overwhelming Opposition to Trophy Hunting .” The Humane Society of the United States . Published December 5, 2017.

Cawthorn, Donna-Mareè, and Louwrens C. Hoffman. “ The Bushmeat and Food Security Nexus: A Global Account of the Contributions, Conundrums and Ethical Collisions .”  Food Research International (Ottawa, Ont.),  vol. 76, 2015, pp. 906–925., doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2015.03.025

Jennings, David. " It's Time to Stop Kicking the Can and Ban Canned Hunting ." Vermont Journal of Environmental Law .

Williams, Scott C., et al. “ Evaluation of Organized Hunting as a Management Technique for Overabundant White-Tailed Deer in Suburban Landscapes .” Wildlife Society Bulletin , vol. 37, 2013, pp. 137-145., doi:10.1002/wsb.236

Loder, Randall T., and Neil Farren. “ Injuries from Firearms in Hunting Activities .” Injury , vol. 45, 2014, pp. 1207-1214., doi:10.1016/j.injury.2014.04.043

Sheu, Yahtyng, et al. “ Sports- and Recreation-Related Injury Episodes in the United States, 2011–2014 .” National Health Statistics Report, No. 99, November 18, 2016.

“ Deer Hunting: An Effective Management Tool .” Maryland Department of Natural Resources .

“ Deer Population Control Methods – Cost & Effectiveness Comparison .” Hilltop Conservancy .

Barnhill, Anne, et al, editors. The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics . Oxford University Press , 2018.

“ Deer Can Be a Threat to Forests .” New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Bestetti, Valentina et al. “ If Hunters End Up in the Emergency Room: A Retrospective Analysis of Hunting Injuries in a Swiss Emergency Department .”  Emergency Medicine International,  vol. 2015, p. 284908., doi:10.1155/2015/284908

" Hunter Incident Database ." International Hunter Education Association U.S.A .

“ Facts + Statistics: Deer Vehicle Collisions .” Insurance Information Institute .

Buchthal, Joanna, et al. “ Mice Against Ticks: an Experimental Community-guided Effort To Prevent Tick-Borne Disease by Altering the Shared Environment .” Phil Trans R Soc B , vol. 374, 2019, doi:10.1098/rstb.2018.0105

“ Disease Precautions for Hunters .” American Veterinary Medical Association .

Gamborg, Christian, et al. “ Ethical Management of Wildlife. Lethal Versus Nonlethal Control of White‐Tailed Deer .” Conservat Sci and Prac , vol. 2, 2020, doi:10.1111/csp2.171

Pursell, Allen, et al. " Too Many Deer: A Bigger Threat to Eastern Forests Than Climate Change? " Cool Green Science . Published August 22, 2013.

“2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Knell, Robert J., and Carlos Martínez-Ruiz. “ Selective Harvest Focused on Sexual Signal Traits Can Lead to Extinction Under Directional Environmental Change .”  Proc R Soc B , vol. 284, 2017, doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.1788

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Essay on Hunting | Hunting of Animals Good or Bad? Role of Hunting

October 19, 2021 by Prasanna

Essay on Hunting: Since the beginning of history, during the stone age period man hunted animals for food to live and to utilize other parts for clothing and other daily needs . But today in the modern world men still hunt animals for food but also for the sake of interest and to show off. The question is, is hunting right? Is it not a crime to kill such an innocent animal for just a sake of entertainment?

Earlier there was not much development in agriculture, animal husbandry and manufacturing of processed food so people were completely dependent on hunting. Even their source of income was through hunting. Hunting is important for them as it provides their families with food, clothing, and shelter.

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Noble people hunt animals to show their bravery. Hunters love to hang the faces of animals in their living room for display. In the medieval period people used hunting as a business for selling animal fur, skin and also claws.

But today in these modern times societies hunting needs for survival have decreased because there are many sources of food and also income. Hence hunting is not the need of today’s generation.

Animals shouldn’t be hunted for the selfish needs of man. Hunting of animals should be banned as it disturbs the food chain and creates imbalance in the environment. Example: Extinction of tiger. Animals are killed for no reason. Humans showed their cruelty by killing these innocent animals.

Finally the government has to pass certain regulations to limit the hunting of animals. Because of abundance hunting some species began to disappear, like tigers. Certain regulations came into effect that started the national parks and sanctuaries which protected the wild life.

Hunting is a controversial topic amongst hunters. Some of the hunters do not want there to be regulations so that they could hunt anytime. But abundant hunting could lead to some animals going extinct. Although some hunters want the regulations so that the populations of the animals are not disturbed. There needs to be regulations also for the safety of the hunters. Because of abundant hunting animals could go extinct or animals could become overpopulated. So there should be a limit to everything.

Long Essay on Hunting

Killing the wild animals is referred to as hunting and the person doing this act is referred to as a hunter. People in ancient times killed animals for their livelihood like food, clothing and shelter. Hunting was their major occupation.

Noble people like hunting for their interest; they enjoy the hunt because it is enjoyable. And also they want to showcase their bravery on the innocent animals.

If a hunter had to hunt and kill an animal for any good purpose then you could say that it is okay to hunt an animal but if an animal is killed only for entertainment then it is a crime.

Hunting animals for food was alright to do because it had a real purpose. But nowadays it is mainly done for fun and this is not a purpose which can be justified. Earlier people had to hunt animals for their survival but today if a hunter says that he kills animals for food it is unacceptable when there are many alternatives for food which don’t cause pain and suffering.

Animals are hunted also for the skin on their back known as fur. To make people look attractive in fur clothes, death of an innocent being is not justified.

Today’s modern people call hunting a “sport,” but the point is, is killing the innocent animals right?. Here are some reasons why hunting is not good :

• Hunting causes a lot of negative impact on the environment as it creates imbalance in the food chain..Hunting has made certain animals go extinct or are on the verge of extinction.
• Like humans, animals also love and feel the pain. Animals shouldn’t have to be killed for fun.
• Hunting can lead to violence among humans.According to psychologists people who are cruel to animals are cruel to humans, too.
• Animals don’t always die right after they’re shot they die only after they’re shot two or three times. Others are hurt but not killed. They suffer for a long time or even more before they die.
• Animals also have close bonds with their families just like us.Hunting one’s family members makes them fall apart.
• According to experts hunting “keeps nature’s ecosystem in balance,” but that’s not true. Hunters are the ones who are disturbing nature’s balance in the food chain.
• There are lots of hunting accidents which are endangers for hunters too.

Hunting has become so severe that many animals have gone extinct.People illegally hunt the endangered species for their horns, teeth, fur, etc. to sell in the market. Whole species cannot be vanished because of the selfish needs of us human beings. National parks, sanctuaries, and reserves should be set up to protect this species. Mass education should be conducted in every country to protect these animals and make people aware of how important each and every animal is. Certain laws should be regulated to punish the people who kill innocent animals.

FAQ’s on Hunting Essay

Question 1. Why is hunting a sport?

Answer: The strength you need to trail and hunt down animals is as good as any cardio workout. This increases your heart rate and improves blood circulation, leading to overall better health. Hunting needs strength to gear up, especially rifles, and lifting it consistently will sculpt those bicep muscles.

Question 2. How can hunting balance the ecosystem?

Answer: Yes hunting is helping balance out the ecosystem but in certain limits. Let us explain it, deer breed very fast and can increase rapidly in numbers in a short period of time leading to overpopulation. This causes an imbalance in food chains because these deer consume most of the primary producers. This creates competition among many other species and those who are weaker and smaller ultimately die. Hence, killing a few hundred deer every year, will keep the ecosystem in balance.

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Is hunting moral? A philosopher unpacks the question

Instructor of Philosophy, Boston University

Disclosure statement

Joshua Duclos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Boston University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

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Every year as daylight dwindles and trees go bare, debates arise over the morality of hunting. Hunters see the act of stalking and killing deer, ducks, moose and other quarry as humane, necessary and natural, and thus as ethical. Critics respond that hunting is a cruel and useless act that one should be ashamed to carry out.

As a nonhunter, I cannot say anything about what it feels like to shoot or trap an animal. But as a student of philosophy and ethics, I think philosophy can help us clarify, systematize and evaluate the arguments on both sides. And a better sense of the arguments can help us talk to people with whom we disagree.

Three rationales for hunting

One central question is why people choose to hunt. Environmental philosopher Gary Varner identifies three types of hunting: therapeutic, subsistence and sport . Each type is distinguished by the purpose it is meant to serve.

Therapeutic hunting involves intentionally killing wild animals in order to conserve another species or an entire ecosystem. In one example, Project Isabella , conservation groups hired marksmen to eradicate thousands of feral goats from several Galapagos islands between 1997 and 2006. The goats were overgrazing the islands, threatening the survival of endangered Galapagos tortoises and other species.

Subsistence hunting is intentionally killing wild animals to supply nourishment and material resources for humans. Agreements that allow Native American tribes to hunt whales are justified, in part, by the subsistence value the animals have for the people who hunt them.

In contrast, sport hunting refers to intentionally killing wild animals for enjoyment or fulfillment. Hunters who go after deer because they find the experience exhilarating, or because they want antlers to mount on the wall, are sport hunters.

These categories are not mutually exclusive. A hunter who stalks deer because he or she enjoys the experience and wants decorative antlers may also intend to consume the meat, make pants from the hide and help control local deer populations. The distinctions matter because objections to hunting can change depending on the type of hunting.

What bothers people about hunting: Harm, necessity and character

Critics often argue that hunting is immoral because it requires intentionally inflicting harm on innocent creatures. Even people who are not comfortable extending legal rights to beasts should acknowledge that many animals are sentient – that is, they have the capacity to suffer. If it is wrong to inflict unwanted pain and death on a sentient being, then it is wrong to hunt. I call this position “the objection from harm.”

If sound, the objection from harm would require advocates to oppose all three types of hunting, unless it can be shown that greater harm will befall the animal in question if it is not hunted – for example, if it will be doomed to slow winter starvation. Whether a hunter’s goal is a healthy ecosystem, a nutritious dinner or a personally fulfilling experience, the hunted animal experiences the same harm.

But if inflicting unwanted harm is necessarily wrong, then the source of the harm is irrelevant. Logically, anyone who commits to this position should also oppose predation among animals. When a lion kills a gazelle, it causes as much unwanted harm to the gazelle as any hunter would – far more, in fact .

Few people are willing to go this far. Instead, many critics propose what I call the “objection from unnecessary harm”: it is bad when a hunter shoots a lion, but not when a lion mauls a gazelle, because the lion needs to kill to survive.

Today it is hard to argue that human hunting is strictly necessary in the same way that hunting is necessary for animals. The objection from necessary harm holds that hunting is morally permissible only if it is necessary for the hunter’s survival. “Necessary” could refer to nutritional or ecological need, which would provide moral cover for subsistence and therapeutic hunting. But sport hunting, almost by definition, cannot be defended this way.

Sport hunting also is vulnerable to another critique that I call “the objection from character.” This argument holds that an act is contemptible not only because of the harm it produces, but because of what it reveals about the actor. Many observers find the derivation of pleasure from hunting to be morally repugnant.

In 2015, American dentist Walter Palmer found this out after his African trophy hunt resulted in the death of Cecil the lion . Killing Cecil did no significant ecological damage, and even without human intervention, only one in eight male lions survives to adulthood . It would seem that disgust with Palmer was at least as much a reaction to the person he was perceived to be – someone who pays money to kill majestic creatures – as to the harm he had done.

The hunters I know don’t put much stock in “the objection from character.” First, they point out that one can kill without having hunted and hunt without having killed. Indeed, some unlucky hunters go season after season without taking an animal. Second, they tell me that when a kill does occur, they feel a somber union with and respect for the natural world, not pleasure. Nonetheless, on some level the sport hunter enjoys the experience, and this is the heart of the objection.

Is hunting natural?

In discussions about the morality of hunting, someone inevitably asserts that hunting is a natural activity since all preindustrial human societies engage in it to some degree, and therefore hunting can’t be immoral. But the concept of naturalness is unhelpful and ultimately irrelevant.

A very old moral idea, dating back to the Stoics of ancient Greece , urges us to strive to live in accordance with nature and do that which is natural . Belief in a connection between goodness and naturalness persists today in our use of the word “natural” to market products and lifestyles – often in highly misleading ways . Things that are natural are supposed to be good for us, but also morally good.

Setting aside the challenge of defining “nature” and “natural,” it is dangerous to assume that a thing is virtuous or morally permissible just because it is natural. HIV, earthquakes, Alzheimer’s disease and post-partum depression are all natural. And as The Onion has satirically noted , behaviors including rape, infanticide and the policy of might-makes-right are all present in the natural world.

Hard conversations

There are many other moral questions associated with hunting. Does it matter whether hunters use bullets, arrows or snares? Is preserving a cultural tradition enough to justify hunting? And is it possible to oppose hunting while still eating farm-raised meat?

As a starting point, though, if you find yourself having one of these debates, first identify what kind of hunting you’re discussing. If your interlocutor objects to hunting, try to discover the basis for their objection. And I believe you should keep nature out of it.

Finally, try to argue with someone who takes a fundamentally different view. Confirmation bias – the unintentional act of confirming the beliefs we already have – is hard to overcome. The only antidote I know of is rational discourse with people whose confirmation bias runs contrary to my own.

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The Thrill of the Hunt: A Personal Narrative Essay on Hunting

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The Tradition of Hunting

The preparation and anticipation, the hunt itself, the connection with nature, reflection and conclusion, resources for essay writing.

• Hunting magazines for articles and information on hunting experiences and techniques.
• Government wildlife agencies for hunting regulations, seasons, and conservation efforts.
• Outdoor websites for hunting tips, gear reviews, and hunting stories.
• Field and Stream magazine for hunting and outdoor-related articles.
• National Geographic for articles on wildlife and the natural world.
• Hunting forums for discussions with fellow hunters and access to shared experiences.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for information on conservation efforts and wildlife management.
• PETA for information on animal rights and ethical hunting practices (to consider different viewpoints).
• Archery Talk forum for discussions on archery hunting techniques and equipment.
• Hunt Network for hunting news and resources.
• Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's for hunting gear and equipment reviews.
• YouTube for video tutorials and hunting-related content (for visual learning).

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108 Hunting Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Hunting is a timeless activity that has been enjoyed by people all over the world for centuries. Whether it's for sport, food, or conservation purposes, hunting is a popular pastime that requires skill, patience, and dedication. If you're looking for some inspiration for your next hunting essay, we've compiled a list of 108 hunting essay topic ideas and examples to help get you started.

• The Ethics of Trophy Hunting: Is it Justifiable?
• The History of Hunting: From Survival to Sport
• The Role of Hunting in Wildlife Conservation
• The Benefits of Hunting for Mental Health
• Hunting as a Family Tradition: Passing Down the Legacy
• The Impact of Climate Change on Hunting
• Hunting Regulations: Balancing Wildlife Preservation and Population Control
• The Psychology of the Hunter: Why Do People Hunt?
• Hunting in Pop Culture: Portrayals in Film and Literature
• The Hunting Industry: Economic Impact and Sustainability
• Hunting Techniques: From Bowhunting to Rifle Hunting
• The Connection Between Hunting and Outdoor Recreation
• Hunting Safety Tips: How to Stay Safe in the Wilderness
• The Controversy of Canned Hunting: Is it Ethical?
• Hunting and Indigenous Cultures: Traditions and Practices
• The Relationship Between Hunting and Conservation Organizations
• The Evolution of Hunting Gear and Technology
• Hunting Laws Around the World: A Global Perspective
• The Benefits of Hunting for Wildlife Management
• The Role of Hunting Dogs in the Hunt
• Hunting and the Environment: How Does Hunting Impact Ecosystems?
• Hunting as a Form of Meditation and Mindfulness
• The Cultural Significance of Hunting in Different Societies
• The Health Benefits of Eating Wild Game Meat
• Hunting and Gender: Breaking Stereotypes in the Hunting Community
• The Hunting Debate: Should Hunting be Banned?
• The Art of Tracking: How to Become a Skilled Hunter
• Hunting in the Digital Age: Using Technology to Improve Your Hunt
• The Connection Between Hunting and Foraging for Food
• Hunting and the Food Industry: How Does Hunting Compare to Factory Farming?
• The Role of Hunting in Wildlife Population Control
• The Impact of Hunting on Endangered Species
• Hunting and Public Land Access: Ensuring the Future of Hunting
• The Hunting Lifestyle: Living Off the Land
• The Connection Between Hunting and Conservation Education
• Hunting and Mental Health: How Does Hunting Improve Wellbeing?
• The Ethics of Hunting for Sport vs. Hunting for Food
• The Role of Hunting in Rural Communities
• Hunting as a Form of Animal Behavior Study
• The Importance of Ethical Hunting Practices
• Hunting and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies
• The Connection Between Hunting and Native American Culture
• Hunting and Human Evolution: The Evolution of the Hunter-Gatherer
• The Impact of Hunting on Biodiversity
• Hunting and Traditional Medicine: The Healing Powers of Wild Game
• The Connection Between Hunting and Agriculture
• The Benefits of Hunting for Mental Health in Veterans
• Hunting and Wildlife Habitat Conservation
• The Ethics of Crossbow Hunting: Is it a Fair Hunt?
• Hunting and Outdoor Recreation Tourism: Attracting Visitors to the Outdoors
• The Impact of Hunting on Animal Behavior
• Hunting and Land Use: Balancing Conservation and Recreation
• The Connection Between Hunting and Animal Rights Activism
• Hunting and the Decline of Predatory Species
• The Benefits of Hunting for Physical Fitness
• Hunting and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
• The Role of Hunting in Controlling Invasive Species
• Hunting and Species Diversity: Maintaining a Healthy Ecosystem
• The Connection Between Hunting and Indigenous Rights
• Hunting and Climate Change Mitigation Strategies
• The Impact of Hunting on Animal Migration Patterns
• Hunting and Wildlife Disease Management
• The Ethics of Bowhunting: Is it a Humane Method of Hunting?
• Hunting and Water Conservation: The Role of Hunters in Protecting Water Sources
• The Connection Between Hunting and Food Security
• Hunting and Gender Equality: Breaking Barriers in the Hunting Community
• The Impact of Hunting on Soil Health
• Hunting and Ethical Consumerism: Choosing Wild Game Over Factory-Farmed Meat
• The Benefits of Hunting for Community Building
• Hunting and Habitat Restoration: Restoring Ecosystems Through Conservation Efforts
• The Connection Between Hunting and Climate Resilience
• Hunting and Wildlife Trafficking: Combating Illegal Trade in Wild Animals
• The Ethics of Trapping: Is it a Cruel Form of Hunting?
• Hunting and Wildlife Monitoring: Using Hunting as a Tool for

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Essay Examples on Hunting

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Comparative Analysis of The Two Types of Lifestyles: Hunting and Gathering Vs. Settlements and Agriculture

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Essays on Hunting

Faq about hunting.

Essay on Hunting Animals

Students are often asked to write an essay on Hunting Animals in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Hunting Animals

What is hunting.

Hunting is when people chase and kill wild animals. Some do it for food, while others do it for sport. Long ago, hunting was necessary for survival, providing food and clothing. Today, with stores and farms, it’s less needed for living.

Types of Hunting

Arguments for and against.

Some say hunting controls animal numbers and helps nature. Others argue it’s cruel and harms wildlife. This debate is big, with strong feelings on both sides.

Hunting Rules

Laws exist to manage hunting. They tell when and where you can hunt and which animals. These rules aim to protect both wildlife and people. Hunters must learn and follow these laws.

250 Words Essay on Hunting Animals

What is animal hunting.

Animal hunting is when people chase and kill wild animals. Some do it for food, while others hunt for sport. Long ago, hunting was necessary for survival. People needed to hunt to eat and to get fur for warmth.

There are different kinds of hunting. In some places, people use guns. In others, they might use bows and arrows. Some hunters set traps to catch animals. The type of hunting can depend on the rules of the place or the kind of animal they are trying to get.

Reasons for Hunting

Some people hunt to control animal numbers. When there are too many of a certain animal, it can be a problem. For example, too many deer might eat too much food in a forest. Hunters help keep the number of animals balanced.

Others hunt as a tradition. They learn it from their family and do it the way their parents and grandparents did. They often use what they hunt and do not waste it.

Debates on Hunting

Not everyone agrees with hunting. Some think it is wrong to kill animals. They worry that hunting can hurt wildlife numbers and harm nature. Others believe that if done right, hunting can be good for the environment. It can help keep animal numbers at a healthy level.

500 Words Essay on Hunting Animals

Hunting is when people go into the wild to catch or kill wild animals. People have been hunting for a very long time, since the days when humans lived in caves. Back then, they hunted to get food, clothes from animal skins, and bones to make tools. Today, some people still hunt for these reasons, but others hunt as a sport or to help control animal populations.

There are many reasons why people hunt. In some places, hunting is important for staying alive. People need the meat for food and the fur for keeping warm. In other places, the government allows hunting to keep too many of a certain animal from living in one area, which can cause problems. For example, too many deer in one place might mean not enough food for them all, which can make them sick.

The Rules of Hunting

Arguments against hunting.

Not everyone thinks hunting is a good idea. Some people believe it is wrong to kill animals for food or sport. They argue that animals have the right to live and that there are other ways for people to get food and clothes without hunting. They also worry about animals becoming very rare or even disappearing forever because of too much hunting.

Conservation and Hunting

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Hunting, Its Moral and Environmental Issues Essay

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Hunting is rather a controversial issue nowadays. Some people consider it cruel and unnecessary while others have some facts that uphold it. There is no direct answer to the question of whether hunting is a positive or negative thing. Various aspects concerning hunting represent it as both good and bad activity.

Hunting is a well-known practice when people (usually men) pursue animals to trap it and kill it. In prehistoric times, hunting was one of the primary means of survival for humans. Hunting brought not only meat but also clothes and other necessary items for households. Currently, there is no need to hunt for survival for most people. Many people prefer doing it for having fun. However, the interest in hunting decreased over the last few decades.

According to Davis (2009), more than fifteen percent of people recognized themselves as hunters in many developed countries ten years ago. The situation is rather different nowadays. There is no more than five percent of individuals who define themselves as hunters. Public support for hunting, on the contrary, arose in recent years. More individuals consider hunting a regular legitimate activity throughout the world.

The general division between the advantages and disadvantages of hunting is based on two statements. The first fact refers to the idea that there is nothing more natural than hunting, and that is why it is normal. The second aspect concerns the problem of killing animals, moral issues, and environmental concerns. However, more aspects of hunting should be taken into consideration.

The first advantage of hunting is economical. Hunters have to pay substantial amounts of money to receive the license for shooting. There are taxes for hunters. Besides, the equipment for hunting is not cheap as well. From this perspective, every country only benefits from hunters’ payments. The other reason deals with the fact that hunting is good for health. One has to be in a good physical condition to walk long distances in various environments and carry all equipment.

According to Dolbeare (n.d.), hunting is useful for men as far as some surveys have shown that it enhances the level of oxytocin or “love hormone”. The next advantage is the feeling of satisfaction. This satisfaction occurs after the hunter shares his game meat with family or friends. One more advantage is debatable. It deals with the protection of the environment. There are too many species of animals. They cannot survive in the modern environment. In such a way, hunters keep balance and reduce the risk of overpopulation.

Hunter may kill species that are not overpopulated as well. Their activity can lead to the extinction of particular animals. The second disadvantage is connected to moral issues. Animals may suffer from terrible pain and die a long death when hunters only injure them. Besides, the idea of killing animals is not moral too. In the modern world, one can buy everything he needs for survival. There is no need to hunt. One more disadvantage concerns the potential damage to somebody’s property and even other people. There were accidents when hunters killed cows, cats, or dogs, and even humans ( Why Sport Hunting is Cruel and Unnecessary n.d.)

It is impossible to define exactly whether hunting is right or wrong. It has both advantages and disadvantages. Taking all of them into consideration, one has to define his or her relation to hunting.

Davis, B. (2009). Does Hunting Help or Hurt the Environment? Web.

Dolbeare, C. (n.d.). Three Benefits of Hunting . Web.

Why Sport Hunting is Cruel and Unnecessary . (n.d.). Web.

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Hunting: A Persuasive Essay

Favorite Quote: "Believe me nothing is trivial"(The Crow)

The circle of life is what we call it even though others think it’s wrong. Sports like hunting and fishing are truly a good thing to have because without them there would be no humans on earth. Hunting has kept us alive for generations why stop now when people are beginning to question? If an emergency were to happen people who hunt would survive longer. People who hunt have smaller grocery bills because they don’t have to buy meat and they live longer off of the fresh meat then those who eat farm raised meat that was frozen at the store. There are many reasons why hunting is a good thing rather than a bad. First of all in case of an emergency like global warming, ice age, or anything that could possibly happen, hunters would survive longer because of the skill they acquired when young. It is a fact that when lost in the woods someone who can hunt will survive for at least a week more than someone who lives off plants they find. There are many other facts but one I like the most is that people who have the skill to hunt are better at defending themselves, so in chance of world war the 7% of people who hunt will be able to provide safety for their families. Additionally the price of food is going up, families with hunters do not need to pay for meat at least half of the year. The prices of common food and drink like milk and cookies have gone up to 50% more than in 2008, how much higher will the prices go in the next two years? Taking off the price of meat on a family’s grocery list for a year will give more then 10% savings! Would it not be great to be able to buy your cousins an extra Christmas gift, get yourself the new jacket you need, or even pay the workers to fix the leak in the roof? There are many more reasons why people who hunt will be better off. On the other hand there is plenty of logic against hunting, one reason being hunting for sport kills the animal even though they are too small to eat or use for anything but a trophy. Another reason being the animals are cute and killing them is sad, but there are many animals and all hunters do is keep the population in line. The last reason I have against hunting is that animals that are endangered are hunted to the point where there is none left. While all of these are good reasons there are more reasons why hunting should be allowed. Equally important a reason for not being able to hunt are gun laws, because some people make mistakes everyone who uses guns correctly are to be punished. For example last Friday the 16th of December 2012 a shooting occurred where 20 children where shot and 6 adults the man who did this was reported dead but to the people on the news this was the start of a storm. Gun law fanatics jumped at a reason to make guns illegal, to enforce more laws on innocents even though people who just use weapons to hunt did not do anything wrong. People jump at the chance to make things sound wrong to everyone when in fact it only affected few. These things happen in support of the grieving families, think of the families that have had hunting as a tradition through generations who’s sport and lifestyle will be changed. Again there are families in which hunting is a tradition passed down from father to son and even to daughters for generations. It is a fact that real father son bonding takes place when they go on their first hunting/fishing trip. Happy family events take place when a child shoots his/her first deer, they get their picture taken and people in the family get copies and most of the time it is ritual to give the first slice of meat to a mother or grandmother. In Conclusion, there are many reasons why people who hunt should have more respect and why it should be allowed instead of dismissed. People are safer, have more to eat, and have more money to spend when they have hunters in their family. I hope this essay has put an understanding in the hearts of people who did not understand. These have been facts on why hunting is good and a few facts about why it is not.

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The Role of Hunting in Wildlife Conservation, Explained

While some deem hunting to be a cruel, unnecessary and unethical practice, it remains the “backbone” of wildlife conservation in the United States, according to one NC State professor. 

“Hunters do more to help wildlife than any other group in America,” said Chris DePerno , a professor of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology at the College of Natural Resources. “They not only provide financial support for state wildlife agencies, but they also play an important role in wildlife management activities.” 

The connection between hunting and conservation in the U.S. can be traced back to the late 19th century, according to DePerno. During this time period, unregulated killing and habitat destruction pushed many species, including bison, white-tailed deer and wild turkeys, to the edge of extinction. 

In response to the nation’s declining wildlife populations, sportsmen began to organize conservation groups and advocate for hunting regulations. “They realized that natural resources aren’t limitless and that they need to be protected for future generations,” DePerno said. “It was a real turning point for conservation, and it’s the reason why a lot of the wildlife that’s hunted today still persists.” 

By the early 20th century, sportsmen worked with Congress to pass a number of laws designed to provide long-term protection for wildlife and wilderness areas. That included the Lacy Act, which outlaws the interstate shipment of any wild animals killed in violation of state laws, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits the killing, capturing, selling, trading and transport of nearly 1,100 species of migratory birds.

Paying for conservation 

As state fish and wildlife agencies formed across the country to enforce laws and regulations, sportsmen groups recognized the need for a strong and stable source of funding for conservation. Working with the firearms industry and state agencies, they successfully lobbied Congress to pass two key pieces of legislation: the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act and the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. 

Passed in 1934, the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, or the Duck Stamp Act, requires all hunters 16 years or older to purchase a federally issued stamp prior to hunting for ducks, geese and other migratory waterfowl species. The revenue generated from stamp sales is used to buy or lease waterfowl habitat. To date, the Duck Stamp Act has generated more than $1.1 billion for the preservation of over 6 million acres of waterfowl habitat. 

Meanwhile, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, or the Pittman-Robertson Act, enacts an 11% excise tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. The revenue generated from this tax is distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies each year to support the management and conservation of wildlife populations. Since it was passed by Congress in 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Act has generated more than $12 billion for state conservation initiatives. 

Following the success of the Duck Stamp Act and Pittman-Robertson Act, Congress passed several other laws to bolster conservation funding, including the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950, which created an excise tax on fishing equipment. 

Today, state fish and wildlife agencies continue to rely on the Duck Stamp Act, Pittman-Robertson Act and the Dingell-Johnson Act to support conservation initiatives, according to DePerno. However, they also rely heavily on hunting licence sales. In 2017, the last year data is available, more than 15 million Americans purchased a hunting license, generating over $500 million in revenue for conservation. Also, most states use the revenue from licenses sales as the matching funds they must have to gain access to the Pittman-Robertson Act and the Dingell-Johnson Act funding.  

Many states have also enacted legislation to raise funds for conservation programs, according to DePerno. In North Carolina, for example, the state’s Wildlife Resources Commission requires all hunters to purchase an electronic stamp before hunting for black bears. The revenue generated by the $11 stamp is dedicated to black bear research and management. 

“A lot of people think state wildlife agencies and programs are funded by taxpayers. But in reality, they’re mostly funded by hunters,” DePerno said. 

DePerno added that hunters also raise millions of dollars and contribute thousands of volunteer hours to wildlife conservation through their memberships in organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited. Many of these organizations play a vital role in habitat creation and protection. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, for example, has protected or enhanced more than 7.9 million acres of habitat for elk and other wildlife since it was founded in 1984. 

Supporting wildlife management 

In addition to providing funds for conservation, hunters play an important role in helping state wildlife biologists manage the size of certain animal populations, according to Nils Peterson , a professor of forestry and environmental resources at the College of Natural Resources. 

Some prey animals such as elk or deer can become overabundant in their habitat, mostly due to a lack of predators or landscape changes. This overabundance can threaten the well-being of other species, and, in some instances, impact human health and safety. When deer become overpopulated in urban and residential areas, for example, it can lead to an increase in vehicle collisions. 

Regulated hunting is one of the most effective tools that state wildlife agencies can use to address the overpopulation of a species, Peterson said. “It removes the excess number of animals.” 

DePerno added that the ultimate goal of wildlife management is to monitor populations “under an adaptive resource management process while using sound research principles.” 

Wildlife managers typically model population growth and set management regulations, which may include season length or harvest quotas, based on field research and harvest data. Once these regulations are implemented, wildlife managers monitor the population while continually conducting research and adapting future management decisions based on the resulting data.  

If a population of white-tailed deer is too large, for example, wildlife managers might increase the season length or allow hunters to harvest one or more female deer to reduce the number of fawns born. On the other hand, if wildlife managers want the population to increase, they might implement a regulation restricting hunters to harvest adult males only, allowing all the females to produce fawns.

Many state and federal wildlife agencies also ask hunters to report the number of animals they harvested in a season and where the animals were harvested, according to DePerno. This allows biologists to evaluate long-term wildlife population and distribution changes.

“Ultimately, managers want to maximize the harvest without putting the population at risk of extinction,” DePerno said. “They want populations to remain healthy for people to enjoy in the future.”

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Essay Samples on Hunting

Considering whether the inhumane act of hunting should be banned.

Many people see hunting as an inhumane sport with little or no benefits to the economy or environment. Now ask any hunter in America, whether it be for food, money or just recreation, hunting is a passion that promotes environmentally friendly behavior. People that hunt...

• Animal Cruelty
• Animal Ethics

Hunting Is Right: Should Hunting Be Banned

There are many people in the world that disagree with hunting. Many people ask “Why hunt?”. Each person hunts for a different reason. It makes humans change their perception of life as it is. While there are many reasons that people hunt for, it provides...

A Sound of Thunder: The Significance of Small Actions

Everyone has a fear of something, but in some cases, it can make a big impact on someone else, or even something's life. The narrative “A Sound of Thunder,” by Ray Bradbury, is about how even the smallest action can make the biggest difference; and...

• A Sound of Thunder
• Ray Bradbury

Animal Extinction by Poaching and Illegal Hunting Activities

In the year of 2017, there have been more incidents of poaching in South Africa (Poaching) than murders in the state of Illinois (Numbers), which has a major city, Chicago, infamous for its crime rate. Humanity deems it evil to murder other human beings, but...

Hunting and Fishing Rights as per Our Predecessors

For many years many indigenous people lived off hunting and fishing for survival and still do today. Many indigenous people's rights to hunt and fish mean so much more than just a hobby or sport, to others it could be survival, culture and much more....

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Waterfowl Hunting as a Tool to Improve Shooting Skill

Waterfowl hunting is a fascinating subject because of the fun with friends, the meat you get, and the experiences you’ll have for the rest of your life. One of the most important aspects of waterfowl hunting is decoys. There are so many different kinds of...

The Moral Ethics and Human Causes of Trophy Hunting 

Trophy Hunting Trophy hunting is a multidiscipline practice that occurs on a broad ecological and socio political landscape making significant economic contributions. Trophy hunting involves searching, tracking, chasing and killing game for their trophy which is done often by foreigners who are willing to pay...

The Continuity Through History: Homo Sapiens Relationship With Animals As Food

The inhabitance of our planet has been recorded specifically through two primary worlds, the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The Pleistocene dated from 2. 6 million years ago (MYA) through 11. 7 thousand years ago (KYA), while the Holocene dates from the end of the late...

Gun Control Issues: Going Hunting As A Sport

Gun control has been a controversial issue in the united states for the past decades. From committing a murder to mass shootings in the United States. A lot of times when guns and violence come together a negative outcome occurs. The United States government needs...

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Hunting In American Culture: Something More Than Just A Hobby

Walking through the door at deer camp and being greeted by families and friends and the smell of the smoke from the fire is something that many hunters recognize and have grown to love. These memories has made the sport very important to hunters as...

• American Culture

Best topics on Hunting

1. Considering Whether The Inhumane Act Of Hunting Should Be Banned

2. Hunting Is Right: Should Hunting Be Banned

3. A Sound of Thunder: The Significance of Small Actions

4. Animal Extinction by Poaching and Illegal Hunting Activities

5. Hunting and Fishing Rights as per Our Predecessors

6. Waterfowl Hunting as a Tool to Improve Shooting Skill

7. The Moral Ethics and Human Causes of Trophy Hunting 

8. The Continuity Through History: Homo Sapiens Relationship With Animals As Food

9. Gun Control Issues: Going Hunting As A Sport

10. Hunting In American Culture: Something More Than Just A Hobby

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The Killing Game

In this controversial 1990 essay, Joy Williams described the American hunter as bloodthirsty, piggish, and grossly incompetent.

Death and suffering are a big part of hunting. A big part. Not that you’d ever know it by hearing hunters talk. They tend to downplay the killing part. To kill is to put to death, extinguish, nullify, cancel, destroy. But from the hunter’s point of view, it’s just a tiny part of the experience. The kill is the least important part of the hunt … they often say, or, Killing involves only a split second of the innumerable hours we spend surrounded by and observing nature .... For the animal, of course, the killing part is of considerably more importance. Jose Ortega y Gasset, in Meditations on Hunting , wrote, Death is a sign of reality in hunting. One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted. This is the sort of intellectual blather that the “thinking” hunter holds dear. The conservation editor of Field & Stream , George Reiger, recently paraphrased this sentiment by saying, We kill to hunt, and not the other way around , thereby making it truly fatuous. A hunter in West Virginia, one Mr. Bill Neal, blazed through this philosophical fog by explaining why he blows the toes off tree raccoons so that they will fall down and be torn apart by his dogs. That’s the best part of it. It’s not any fun just shooting them.

Instead of monitoring animals—many animals in managed areas are tagged, tattooed, and wear radio transmitters—wildlife managers should start hanging telemetry gear around hunters’ necks to study their attitudes and listen to their conversations. It would be grisly listening, but it would tune out for good the suffering as sacrament and spiritual experience blather that some hunting apologists employ. The unease with which the good hunter inflicts death is an unease not merely with his conscience but with affirming his animality in the midst of his struggles toward humanity and clarity , Holmes Rolston III drones on in his book Environmental Ethics.

There is a formula to this in literature—someone the protagonist loves has just died, so he goes out and kills an animal. This makes him feel better. But it’s kind of a sad feeling-better. He gets to relate to Death and Nature in this way. Somewhat. But not really. Death is still a mystery. Well, it’s hard to explain. It’s sort of a semireligious thing…. Killing and affirming, affirming and killing, it’s just the cross the “good” hunter must bear. The bad hunter just has to deal with postkill letdown.

Many are the hunter’s specious arguments. Less semireligious but a long-standing favorite with them is the vegetarian approach (you eat meat, don’t you?). If you say no, they feel they’ve got you—you’re just a vegetarian attempting to impose your weird views on others. If you say yes, they accuse you of being hypocritical, of allowing your genial A&P butcher to stand between you and reality. The fact is, the chief attraction of hunting is the pursuit and murder of animals—the meat-eating aspect of it is trivial. If the hunter chooses to be ethical about it he might cook his kill, but the meat of most animals is discarded. Dead bear can even be dangerous! A bear’s heavy hide must be skinned at once to prevent meat spoilage. With effort, a hunter can make okay chili, something to keep in mind, a sports rag says, if you take two skinny spring bears.

As for subsistence hunting, please…. Granted that there might be one “good” hunter out there who conducts the kill as spiritual exercise and two others who are atavistic enough to want to supplement their Chicken McNuggets with venison, most hunters hunt for the hell of it.

.css-f6drgc:before{margin:-0.99rem auto 0 -1.33rem;left:50%;width:2.1875rem;border:0.3125rem solid #FF3A30;height:2.1875rem;content:'';display:block;position:absolute;border-radius:100%;} .css-1r4wn2w{margin:0rem;font-size:1.625rem;line-height:1.2;font-family:Lausanne,Lausanne-fallback,Lausanne-roboto,Lausanne-local,Arial,sans-serif;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1r4wn2w{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1r4wn2w{font-size:2.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}.css-1r4wn2w em,.css-1r4wn2w i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;}.css-1r4wn2w b,.css-1r4wn2w strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-1r4wn2w:before{content:'＂';display:block;padding:0.3125rem 0.875rem 0 0;font-size:3.5rem;line-height:0.8;font-style:italic;-webkit-transform:translateY(-1.5rem) rotate(180deg);-moz-transform:translateY(-1.5rem) rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:translateY(-1.5rem) rotate(180deg);transform:translateY(-1.5rem) rotate(180deg);font-family:Lausanne,Lausanne-fallback,Lausanne-styleitalic-roboto,Lausanne-styleitalic-local,Arial,sans-serif;} For hunters, hunting is fun. Recreation is play. Hunting is recreation. Hunters kill for play, for entertainment.

For hunters, hunting is fun. Recreation is play. Hunting is recreation. Hunters kill for play, for entertainment. They kill for the thrill of it, to make an animal “theirs.” (The Gandhian doctrine of nonpossession has never been a big hit with hunters.) The animal becomes the property of the hunter by its death. Alive, the beast belongs only to itself. This is unacceptable to the hunter. He’s yours…. He’s mine…. I decided to…. I decided not to…. I debated shooting it, then I decided to let it live…. Hunters like beautiful creatures. A “beautiful” deer, elk, bear, cougar, bighorn sheep. A “beautiful” goose or mallard. Of course, they don’t stay “beautiful” for long, particularly the birds. Many birds become rags in the air, shredded, blown to bits. Keep shooting till they drop! Hunters get a thrill out of seeing a plummeting bird, out of seeing it crumple and fall. The big pheasant folded in classic fashion. They get a kick out of “collecting” new species. Why not add a unique harlequin duck to your collection? Swan hunting is satisfying. I let loose a three-inch magnum. The large bird only flinched with my first shot and began to gain altitude. I frantically ejected the round, chambered another, and dropped the swan with my second shot. After retrieving the bird I was amazed by its size. The swan’s six-foot wingspan, huge body, and long neck made it an impressive trophy. Hunters like big animals, trophy animals. A “trophy” usually means that the hunter doesn’t deign to eat it. Maybe he skins it or mounts it. Maybe he takes a picture. We took pictures, we took pictures. Maybe he just looks at it for a while. The disposition of the “experience” is up to the hunter. He’s entitled to do whatever he wishes with the damn thing. It’s dead.

Hunters like categories they can tailor to their needs. There are the “good” animals—deer, elk, bear, moose—which are allowed to exist for the hunter’s pleasure. Then there are the “bad” animals, the vermin, varmints, and “nuisance” animals, the rabbits and raccoons and coyotes and beavers and badgers, which are disencouraged to exist. The hunter can have fun killing them, but the pleasure is diminished because the animals aren’t “magnificent.”

Then there are the predators. These can be killed anytime, because, hunters argue, they’re predators, for godssakes.

Many people in South Dakota want to exterminate the red fox because it preys upon some of the ducks and pheasant they want to hunt and kill each year. They found that after they killed the wolves and coyotes, they had more foxes than they wanted. The ring-necked pheasant is South Dakota’s state bird. No matter that it was imported from Asia specifically to be “harvested” for sport, it’s South Dakota’s state bird and they’re proud of it. A group called Pheasants Unlimited gave some tips on how to hunt foxes. Place a small amount of larvicide [a grain fumigant] on a rag and chuck it down the hole…. The first pup generally comes out in fifteen minutes…. Use a .22 to dispatch him…. Remove each pup shot from the hole. Following gassing, set traps for the old fox who will return later in the evening…. Poisoning, shooting, trapping—they make up a sort of sportsman’s triathlon.

In the hunting magazines, hunters freely admit the pleasure of killing to one another. Undeniable pleasure radiated from her smile. The excitement of shooting the bear had Barb talking a mile a minute. But in public, most hunters are becoming a little wary about raving on as to how much fun it is to kill things. Hunters have a tendency to call large animals by cute names—“bruins” and “muleys,” “berry-fed blackies” and “handsome cusses” and “big guys,” thereby implying a balanced jolly game of mutual satisfaction between the hunter and the hunted— Bam, bam, bam, I get to shoot you and you get to be dead. More often, though, when dealing with the nonhunting public, a drier, businesslike tone is employed. Animals become a “resource” that must be “utilized.” Hunting becomes “a legitimate use of the resource.” Animals become a product like wool or lumber or a crop like fruit or corn that must be “collected” or “taken” or “harvested.”

Hunters love to use the word legitimate . (Oddly, Tolstoy referred to hunting as “evil legitimized.”) A legitimate use, a legitimate form of recreation, a legitimate escape, a legitimate pursuit. It’s a word they trust will slam the door on discourse. Hunters are increasingly relying upon their spokesmen and supporters, state and federal game managers and wildlife officials, to employ the drone of a solemn bureaucratic language and toss around a lot of questionable statistics to assure the nonhunting public (93 percent!) that there’s nothing to worry about. The pogrom is under control. The mass murder and manipulation of wild animals is just another business. Hunters are a tiny minority, and it’s crucial to them that the millions of people who don’t hunt not be awakened from their long sleep and become antihunting. Nonhunters are okay. Dweeby, probably, but okay. A hunter can respect the rights of a nonhunter. It’s the “antis” he despises, those misguided, emotional, not-in-possession-of-the-facts, uninformed zealots who don’t understand nature…. Those dime-store ecologists cloaked in ignorance and spurred by emotion…. Those doggy-woggy types, who under the guise of being environmentalists and conservationists are working to deprive him of his precious right to kill . (Sometimes it’s just a right ; sometimes it’s a God-given right .) Antis can be scorned, but nonhunters must be pacified, and this is where the number crunching of wildlife biologists and the scripts of professional resource managers come in. Leave it to the professionals. They know what numbers are the good numbers. Utah determined that there were six hundred sandhill cranes in the state, so permits were issued to shoot one hundred of them. Don’t want to have too many sandhill cranes. California wildlife officials reported “sufficient numbers” of mountain lions to “justify” renewed hunting, even though it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the animal is extremely rare. (It’s always a dark day for hunters when an animal is adjudged rare . How can its numbers be “controlled” through hunting if it scarcely exists?...) A recent citizens’ referendum prohibits the hunting of the mountain lion in perpetuity—not that the lions aren’t killed anyway, in California and all over the West, hundreds of them annually by the government as part of the scandalous Animal Damage Control Program.

Oh, to be the lucky hunter who gets to be an official government hunter and can legitimately kill animals his buddies aren’t supposed to! Montana officials, led by K.L. Cool, that state’s wildlife director, have definite ideas on the number of buffalo they feel can be tolerated. Zero is the number. Yellowstone National Park is the only place in America where bison exist, having been annihilated everywhere else. In the winter of 1988, nearly six hundred buffalo wandered out of the north boundary of the park and into Montana, where they were immediately shot at point-blank range by lottery-winning hunters. It was easy. And it was obvious from a video taken on one of the blow-away-the-bison days that the hunters had a heck of a good time. The buffalo, Cool says, threaten ranchers’ livelihood by doing damage to property—by which he means, I guess, that they eat the grass. Montana wants zero buffalo; it also wants zero wolves.

Hunters believe that wild animals exist only to satisfy their wish to kill them. And it’s so easy to kill them!

Large predators—including grizzlies, cougars, and wolves—are often the most “beautiful,” the smartest and wildest animals of all. The gray wolf is both a supreme predator and an endangered species, and since the Supreme Court recently affirmed that ranchers have no constitutional right to kill endangered predators—apparently some God-given rights are not constitutional ones—this makes the wolf a more or less lucky dog. But not for long. A small population of gray wolves has recently established itself in northwestern Montana, primarily in Glacier National Park, and there is a plan, long a dream of conservationists, to “reintroduce” the wolf to Yellowstone. But to please ranchers and hunters, part of the plan would involve immediately removing the wolf from the endangered-species list. Beyond the park’s boundaries, he could be hunted as a “game animal” or exterminated as a “pest.” (Hunters kill to hunt, remember, except when they’re hunting to kill.) The area of Yellowstone where the wolf would be restored is the same mountain and high-plateau country that is abandoned in winter by most animals, including the aforementioned luckless bison. Part of the plan, too, is compensation to ranchers if any of their far-ranging livestock is killed by a wolf. It’s a real industry out there, apparently, killing and controlling and getting compensated for losing something under the Big Sky.

Wolves gotta eat—a fact that disturbs hunters. Jack Atcheson, an outfitter in Butte, said, Some wolves are fine if there is control. But there never will be control. The wolf-control plan provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service speaks only of protecting domestic livestock. There is no plan to protect wildlife.... There are no surplus deer or elk in Montana…. Their numbers are carefully managed. With uncontrolled wolf populations, a lot of people will have to give up hunting just to feed wolves. Will you give up your elk permit for a wolf?

It won’t be long before hunters start demanding compensation for animals they aren’t able to shoot.

Hunters believe that wild animals exist only to satisfy their wish to kill them. And it’s so easy to kill them! The weaponry available is staggering, and the equipment and gear limitless. The demand for big boomers has never been greater than right now , Outdoor Life crows, and the makers of rifles and cartridges are responding to the craze with a variety of light artillery that is virtually unprecedented in the history of sporting arms…. Hunters use grossly overpowered shotguns and rifles and compound bows. They rely on four-wheel-drive vehicles and three-wheel ATVs and airplanes…. He was interesting, the only moving, living creature on that limitless white expanse. I slipped a cartridge into the barrel of my rifle and threw the safety off.... They use snowmobiles to run down elk, and dogs to run down and tree cougars. It’s easy to shoot an animal out of a tree. It’s virtually impossible to miss a moose, a conspicuous and placid animal of steady habits…. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The bull dropped. I looked at my watch: 8:22. The big guy was early. Mike started whooping and hollering and I joined him. I never realized how big a moose was until this one was on the ground. We took pictures…. Hunters shoot animals when they’re resting…. Mike selected a deer, settled down to a steady rest, and fired. The buck was his when he squeezed the trigger. John decided to take the other buck, which had jumped up to its feet. The deer hadn’t seen us and was confused by the shot echoing about in the valley. John took careful aim, fired, and took the buck. The hunt was over …. And they shoot them when they’re eating…. The bruin ambled up the stream, checking gravel bars and backwaters for fish. Finally he plopped down on the bank to eat. Quickly, I tiptoed into range …. They use decoys and calls.... The six point gave me a cold-eyed glare from ninety steps away. I hit him with a 130-grain Sierra boattail handload. The bull went down hard. Our hunt was over …. They use sex lures…. The big buck raised its nose to the air, curled back its lips, and tested the scent of the doe’s urine. I held my breath, fought back the shivers, and jerked off a shot. The 180-grain spire-point bullet caught the buck high on the back behind the shoulder and put it down. It didn’t get up …. They use walkie-talkies, binoculars, scopes…. With my 308 Browning BLR, I steadied the 9X cross hairs on the front of the bear’s massive shoulders and squeezed. The bear cartwheeled backward for fifty yards …. The second Federal Premium 163-grain bullet found its mark. Another shot anchored the bear for good …. They bait deer with corn. They spread popcorn on golf courses for Canada geese and they douse meat baits with fry grease and honey for bears…. Make the baiting site redolent of inner-city doughnut shops. They use blinds and tree stands and mobile stands. They go out in groups, in gangs, and employ “pushes” and “drives.” So many methods are effective. So few rules apply. It’s fun!... We kept on repelling the swarms of birds as they came in looking for shelter from that big ocean wind, emptying our shell belts …. A species can, in the vernacular, be pressured by hunting (which means that killing them has decimated them), but that just increases the fun, the challenge . There is practically no criticism of conduct within the ranks…. It’s mostly a matter of opinion and how hunters have been brought up to hunt …. Although a recent editorial in Ducks Unlimited magazine did venture to primly suggest that one should not fall victim to greed-induced stress through piggish competition with others .

But hunters are piggy. They just can’t seem to help it. They’re overequipped... insatiable, malevolent, and vain. They maim and mutilate and despoil. And for the most part, they’re inept. Grossly inept.

Camouflaged toilet paper is a must for the modern hunter, along with his Bronco and his beer. Too many hunters taking a dump in the woods with their roll of Charmin beside them were mistaken for white-tailed deer and shot. Hunters get excited. They’ll shoot anything—the pallid ass of another sportsman or even themselves. A Long Island man died last year when his shotgun went off as he clubbed a wounded deer with the butt. Hunters get mad. They get restless and want to fire! They want to use those assault rifles and see foamy blood on the ferns. Wounded animals can travel for miles in fear and pain before they collapse. Countless gut-shot deer— if you hear a sudden, squashy thump, the animal has probably been hit in the abdomen —are “lost” each year. “Poorly placed shots” are frequent, and injured animals are seldom tracked, because most hunters never learned how to track. The majority of hunters will shoot at anything with four legs during deer season and anything with wings during duck season. Hunters try to nail running animals and distant birds. They become so overeager, so aroused , that they misidentify and misjudge, spraying their “game” with shots but failing to bring it down.

But hunters are piggy. They just can’t seem to help it. They’re overequipped... insatiable, malevolent, and vain.

The fact is, hunters’ lack of skill is a big, big problem. And nowhere is the problem worse than in the new glamour recreation—bow hunting. These guys are elitists. They doll themselves up in camouflage, paint their faces black, and climb up into tree stands from which they attempt the penetration of deer, elk, and turkeys with modern, multiblade, broadhead arrows shot from sophisticated, easy-to-draw compound bows. This “primitive” way of hunting appeals to many, and even the nonhunter may feel that it’s a “fairer” method, requiring more strength and skill, but bow hunting is the crudest, most wanton form of wildlife disposal of all. Studies conducted by state fish and wildlife departments repeatedly show that bow hunters wound and fail to retrieve as many animals as they kill. An animal that flees, wounded by an arrow, will most assuredly die of the wound, but it will be days before he does. Even with a “good” hit, the time elapsed between the strike and death is exceedingly long. The rule of thumb has long been that we should wait thirty to forty-five minutes on heart and lung hits, an hour or more on a suspected liver hit, eight to twelve hours on paunch hits, and that we should follow immediately on hindquarter and other muscle-only hits, to keep the wound open and bleeding , is the advice in the magazine Fins and Feathers . What the hunter does as he hangs around waiting for his animal to finish with its terrified running and dying hasn’t been studied—maybe he puts on more makeup, maybe he has a highball.

Wildlife agencies promote and encourage bow hunting by permitting earlier and longer seasons, even though they are well aware that, in their words , crippling is a byproduct of the sport , making archers pretty sloppy for elitists. The broadhead arrow is a very inefficient killing tool. Bow hunters are trying to deal with this problem with the suggestion that they use poison pods. These poisoned arrows are illegal in all states except Mississippi ( Ah’m gonna get ma deer even if ah just nick the little bastard ), but they’re widely used anyway. You wouldn’t want that deer to suffer, would you?

The mystique of the efficacy and decency of the bow hunter is as much an illusion as the perception that a waterfowler is a refined and thoughtful fellow, a romantic aesthete , as Vance Bourjaily put it, equipped with his faithful labs and a love for solitude and wild places. More sentimental drivel has been written about bird shooting than any other type of hunting. It’s a soul-wrenching pursuit, apparently, the execution of birds in flight. Ducks Unlimited—an organization that has managed to put a spin on the word conservation for years—works hard to project the idea that duck hunters are blue bloods and that duck stamps with their pretty pictures are responsible for saving all the saved puddles in North America. Sportsman’s conservation is a contradiction in terms (We protect things now so that we can kill them later) and is broadly interpreted (Don’t kill them all, just kill most of them). A hunter is a conservationist in the same way a farmer or a rancher is: He’s not. Like the rancher who kills everything that’s not stock on his (and the public’s) land, and the farmer who scorns wildlife because “they don’t pay their freight,” the hunter uses nature by destroying its parts, mastering it by simplifying it through death.

George (“We kill to hunt and not the other way around”) Reiger, the conservationist-hunter’s spokesman (he’s the best they’ve got, apparently), said that the “dedicated” waterfowler will shoot other game “of course,” but we do so much in the same spirit of the lyrics, that when we’re not near the girl we love, we love the girl we’re near . (Duck hunters practice tough love.) The fact is, far from being a “romantic aesthete,” the waterfowler is the most avaricious of all hunters... That’s when Scott suggested the friendly wager on who would take the most birds ...and the most resistant to minimum ecological decency. Millions of birds that managed to elude shotgun blasts were dying each year from ingesting the lead shot that rained down in the wetlands. Year after year, birds perished from feeding on spent lead, but hunters were “reluctant” to switch to steel. They worried that it would impair their shooting, and ammunition manufacturers said a changeover would be “expensive.” State and federal officials had to weigh the poisoning against these considerations. It took forever, this weighing, but now steel shot loads are required almost everywhere, having been judged “more than adequate” to bring down the birds. This is not to say, of course, that most duck hunters use steel shot almost everywhere. They’re traditionalists and don’t care for all the new, pesky rules. Oh, for the golden age of waterfowling, when a man could measure a good day’s shooting by the pickup load. But those days are gone. Fall is a melancholy time, all right.

Spectacular abuses occur wherever geese congregate , Shooting Sportsman notes quietly, something that the more cultivated Ducks Unlimited would hesitate to admit. Waterfowl populations are plummeting and waterfowl hunters are out of control. “Supervised” hunts are hardly distinguished from unsupervised ones. A biologist with the Department of the Interior who observed a hunt at Sand Lake in South Dakota said, Hunters repeatedly shot over the line at incoming flights where there was no possible chance of retrieving. Time and time again I was shocked at the behavior of hunters. I heard them laugh at the plight of dazed cripples that stumbled about. I saw them striking the heads of retrieved cripples against fence posts. In the South, wood ducks return to their roosts after sunset when shooting hours are closed. Hunters find this an excellent time to shoot them. Dennis Anderson, an outdoors writer, said, Roost shooters just fire at the birds as fast as they can, trying to drop as many as they can. Then they grab what birds they can find. The birds they can’t find in the dark, they leave behind .

Carnage and waste are the rules in bird hunting, even during legal seasons and open hours. Thousands of wounded ducks and geese are not retrieved, left to rot in the marshes and fields…. When I asked Wanda where hers had fallen, she wasn’t sure . Cripples, and there are many cripples made in this pastime, are still able to run and hide, eluding the hunter even if he’s willing to spend time searching for them, which he usually isn’t…. It’s one thing to run down a cripple in a picked bean field or a pasture, and quite another to watch a wing-tipped bird drop into a huge block of switch grass. Oh nasty, nasty switch grass. A downed bird becomes invisible on the ground and is practically unfindable without a good dog, and few “waterfowlers” have them these days. They’re hard to train—usually a professional has to do it—and most hunters can’t be bothered. Birds are easy to tumble…. Canada geese—blues and snows—can all take a good amount of shot. Brant are easily called and decoyed and come down easily. Ruffed grouse are hard to hit but easy to kill. Sharptails are harder to kill but easier to hit …. It’s just a nuisance to recover them. But it’s fun, fun, fun swatting them down…. There’s distinct pleasure in watching a flock work to a good friend’s gun....

Teal, the smallest of common ducks, are really easy to kill. Hunters in the South used to practice on teal in September, prior to the “serious” waterfowl season. But the birds were so diminutive and the limit so low (four a day) that many hunters felt it hardly worth going out and getting bit by mosquitoes to kill them. Enough did, however, brave the bugs and manage to “harvest” 165,000 of the little migrating birds in Louisiana in 1987 alone. Shooting is usually best on opening day. By the second day you can sometimes detect a decline in local teal numbers. Areas may deteriorate to virtually no action by the third day…. The area deteriorates . When a flock is wiped out, the skies are empty. No action.

Teal declined more sharply than any duck species except mallard last year; this baffles hunters. Hunters and their procurers—wildlife agencies—will never admit that hunting is responsible for the decimation of a species. John Turner, head of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, delivers the familiar and litanic line. Hunting is not the problem. Pollution is the problem. Pesticides, urbanization, deforestation, hazardous waste, and wetlands destruction is the problem. And drought! There’s been a big drought! Antis should devote their energies to solving these problems if they care about wildlife, and leave the hunters alone. While the Fish and Wildlife Service is busily conducting experiments in cause and effect, like releasing mallard ducklings on a wetland sprayed with the insecticide ethyl parathion (they died—it was known they would, but you can never have enough studies that show guns aren’t a duck’s only problem), hunters are killing some two hundred million birds and animals each year.

But these deaths are incidental to the problem, according to Turner. A factor, perhaps, but a minor one. Ducks Unlimited says the problem isn’t hunting, it’s low recruitment on the part of the birds. To the hunter, birth in the animal kingdom is recruitment . They wouldn’t want to use an emotional, sentimental word like birth . The black duck, a very “popular” duck in the Northeast, so “popular,” in fact, that game agencies felt that hunters couldn’t be asked to refrain from shooting it, is scarce and getting scarcer. Nevertheless, it’s still being hunted. A number of studies are currently under way in an attempt to discover why black ducks are disappearing , Sports Afield reports. Black ducks are disappearing because they’ve been shot out, their elimination being a dreadful example of game management, and managers who are loath to “displease” hunters. The skies— flyways —of America have been divided into four administrative regions, and the states, advised by a federal government coordinator, have to agree on policies.

There’s always a lot of squabbling that goes on in flyway meetings—lots of complaints about short-stopping, for example. Short-stopping is the deliberate holding of birds in a state, often by feeding them in wildlife refuges, so that their southern migration is slowed or stopped. Hunters in the North get to kill more than hunters in the South. This isn’t fair. Hunters demand equity in opportunities to kill.

Wildlife managers hate closing the season on anything. Closing the season on a species would indicate a certain amount of mis management and misjudgment at the very least—a certain reliance on overly optimistic winter counts, a certain overappeasement of hunters who would be “upset” if they couldn’t kill their favorite thing. And worse, closing a season would be considered victory for the antis. Bird hunting “rules” are very complicated, but they all encourage killing. There are shortened seasons and split seasons and special seasons for “underutilized” birds. (Teal were very recently considered “underutilized.”) The limit on coots is fifteen a day—shooting them, it’s easy! They don’t fly high—giving the hunter something to do while he waits in the blind. Some species are “protected,” but bear in mind that hunters begin blasting away one half hour before sunrise and that most hunters can’t identify a bird in the air even in broad daylight. Some of them can’t identify birds in hand either, and even if they can ( #%*! I got me a canvasback, that duck’s frigging protected... ), they are likely to bury unpopular or “trash” ducks so that they can continue to hunt the ones they “love.”

Game “professionals,” in thrall to hunters’ “needs,” will not stop managing bird populations until they’ve doled out the final duck ( I didn’t get my limit but I bagged the last one, by golly... ). The Fish and Wildlife Service services legal hunters as busily as any madam, but it is powerless in tempering the lusts of the illegal ones. Illegal kill is a monumental problem in the not-so-wonderful world of waterfowl. Excesses have always pervaded the “sport,” and bird shooters have historically been the slobs and profligates of hunting. Doing away with hunting would do away with a vital cultural and historical aspect of American life, John Turner claims. So, do away with it. Do away with those who have already done away with so much. Do away with them before the birds they have pursued so relentlessly and for so long drop into extinction, sink, in the poet Wallace Stevens’s words, “downward to darkness on extended wings.”

“Quality” hunting is as rare as the Florida panther. What you’ve got is a bunch of guys driving over the plains, up the mountains, and through the woods with their stupid tag that cost them a couple of bucks and immense coolers full of beer and body parts. There’s a price tag on the right to destroy living creatures for play, but it’s not much. A big-game hunting license is the greatest deal going since the Homestead Act , Ted Kerasote writes in Sports Afield . In many states residents can hunt big game for more than a month for about $20. It’s cheaper than taking the little woman out to lunch. It’s cheap all right, and it’s because killing animals is considered recreation and is underwritten by state and federal funds. In Florida, state moneys are routinely spent on “youth hunts,” in which kids are guided to shoot deer from stands in wildlife-management areas. The organizers of these events say that these staged hunts help youth to understand man’s role in the ecosystem . (Drop a doe and take your place in the ecological community, son….)

Hunters claim (they don’t actually believe it but they’ve learned to say it) that they’re doing nonhunters a favor—for if they didn’t use wild animals, wild animals would be useless. They believe that they’re just helping Mother Nature control populations ( you wouldn’t want those deer to die of starvation, would you? ...). They claim that their tiny fees provide all Americans with wild lands and animals. (People who don’t hunt get to enjoy animals all year round while hunters get to enjoy them only during hunting season….) Ducks Unlimited feels that it, in particular, is a selfless provider and environmental champion. Although members spend most of their money lobbying for hunters and raising ducks in pens to release later over shooting fields, they do save some wetlands, mostly by persuading farmers not to fill them in. See that little pothole there the ducks like? Well, I’m gonna plant more soybeans there if you don’t pay me not to…. Hunters claim many nonsensical things, but the most nonsensical of all is that they pay their own way . They do not pay their own way.

They do pay into a perverse wildlife-management system that manipulates “stocks” and “herds” and “flocks” for hunters’ killing pleasure, but these fees in no way cover the cost of highly questionable ecological practices. For some spare change... the greatest deal going ...hunters can hunt on public lands—national parks, state forests—preserves for hunters!—which the nonhunting and antihunting public pay for. (Access to private lands is becoming increasingly difficult for them, as experience has taught people that hunters are obnoxious.) Hunters kill on millions of acres of land all over America that is maintained with general taxpayer revenue, but the most shocking, really twisted subsidization takes place on national wildlife refuges.

Hunters make wildlife dead, dead, dead . It’s time to wake up to this indisputable fact.

Nowhere is the arrogance and the insidiousness of this small, aggressive minority more clearly demonstrated. Nowhere is the murder of animals, the manipulation of language, and the distortion of public intent more flagrant. The public perceives national wildlife refuges as safe havens, as sanctuaries for animals. And why wouldn’t they? The word refuge of course means shelter from danger and distress. But the dweeby nonhunting public—they tend to be so literal. The word has been reinterpreted by management over time and now hunters are invited into more than half of the country’s more than 440 wildlife “sanctuaries” each year to bang them up and kill more than half a million animals. This is called wildlife-oriented recreation . Hunters think of this as being no less than their due, claiming that refuge lands were purchased with duck stamps ( ...our duck stamps paid for it...our duck stamps paid for it... ). Hunters equate those stupid stamps with the mystic, multiplying power of the Lord’s loaves and fishes, but of ninety million acres in the Wildlife Refuge System, only three million were bought with hunting-stamp revenue. Most wildlife “restoration” programs in the states are translated into clearing land to increase deer habitats (so that too many deer will require hunting... you wouldn’t want them to die of starvation, would you?) and trapping animals for restocking and study (so hunters can shoot more of them).

Fish and game agencies hustle hunting—instead of conserving wildlife, they’re killing it. It’s time for them to get in the business of protecting and preserving wildlife and creating balanced ecological systems instead of pimping for hunters who want their deer/duck/pheasant/turkey—animals stocked to be shot.

Hunters’ self-serving arguments and lies are becoming more preposterous as nonhunters awake from their long, albeit troubled, sleep. Sport hunting is immoral; it should be made illegal. Hunters are persecutors of nature who should be prosecuted. They wield a disruptive power out of all proportion to their numbers, and pandering to their interests—the special interests of a group that just wants to kill things—is mad. It’s preposterous that every year less than 7 percent of the population turns the skies into shooting galleries and the woods and fields into abattoirs. It’s time to stop actively supporting and passively allowing hunting, and time to stigmatize it. It’s time to stop being conned and cowed by hunters, time to stop pampering and coddling them, time to get them off the government’s duck-and-deer dole, time to stop thinking of wild animals as “resources” and “game,” and start thinking of them as sentient beings that deserve our wonder and respect, time to stop allowing hunting to be creditable by calling it “sport” and “recreation.” Hunters make wildlife dead, dead, dead . It’s time to wake up to this indisputable fact. As for the hunters, it’s long past check-out time.

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Walmart Sees Higher Sales From Picky Shoppers

The retail giant raised its forecasts as it attracted bargain-hunting shoppers strained by inflation, drawing in high-income households in particular.

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By Jordyn Holman

The state of the economy can be confusing . Consumers, stung by high inflation for two years and navigating a slowing job market, are still spending at a decent clip — but on store-brand soda, not new refrigerators. That puts Walmart, the company that made low prices a mantra, in a good position.

The company said on Thursday that sales at Walmart stores in the United States rose just over 4 percent, to $115.3 billion, beating analysts’ estimates. Its U.S. e-commerce business jumped 22 percent.

Many see Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, as a gauge for how American consumers are faring. Ninety percent of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store.

Another snapshot on the state of the consumer came on Thursday, with data on nationwide retail sales from the Commerce Department. Sales in July were stronger than economists had expected , rising 1 percent from the previous month. The increase outpaced inflation over that period, reinforcing the notion that consumers remain resilient, if more selective about what they are buying.

At Walmart, transactions during the quarter were up 3.6 percent, while the average amount spent per visit showed a slight increase, of 0.6 percent. That combination has been relatively rare for retailers recently: Many have seen cost-conscious shoppers visit less or spend less per trip, or both.

Notably, the company raised its full-year forecast for sales and profits, a signal of its optimism about attracting more shoppers. It said it gained market share with consumers across income brackets, with the richest households once again “primarily” driving those gains.

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