Does Hunting Help or Hurt the Environment
Those who oppose hunting as it stands today, please step forward. The question whether if hunting is helping or hurting our environment has been an ongoing yet debatable issue for a little while now. A variety of arguments have been made about this issue. It is definitely a big issue because it concerns the well-being of many different people nationwide. Mainly it raises attention to the moral and economic questions, as well as the pros and cons, dealing with the way we utilize our native wildlife.
Humans have been hunting practically since the beginning of time. Take a moment to look back at our country’s founding fathers and Native Americans. People in that era hunted as a means of survival. We all possess the skills of stalking prey. It’s in our blood. Hunting is automatically instilled in us being at the top of the food chain. Although looking back into history, one can also find that some hunting has diminished animal populations practically to the verge of extinction. However these facts have not gone unnoticed. If hunting is well regulated, whether it be for sport or recreational involvement, and there are no major affects to the species, if anything it may help bring back species from the edge of extinction. “Several wildlife managers view recreational hunting as the principal basis for protection of wildlife.”(Lebel)
Thousands of years ago, hunting may have been the cause of the extinction of the North American large land mammals. “Moving up into the 1940’s and 50’s some of today’s most prominent game animals were almost non-existent.”(Kerry G) Over-hunting will directly cause the decline in the particular animal’s species. This will effect everything around it, for example ...
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...unting Hurt or Help the Environment? Scientific American. EarthTalk, New York. Print November 10, 2009
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Lebel, François, et al. "Influence Of Habitat Features And Hunter Behavior On White-Tailed Deer Harvest." Journal Of Wildlife Management 76.7 (2012): 1431-1440. Environment Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Nicholas Kristof’s article “For Environmental Balance, Pick up a Rifle,” which appeared in The New York Times, attempts to convince the American people that deer pose a danger to humans by taking more lives each year than any other American mammal. He states that deer populations, unchecked by predators, are increasing in a way that is unnatural and are destroying the ecosystem in many parts of the country. The suggestion he makes to his readers is that we must kill deer to bring the population down in order to prevent so many human deaths. Kristof appears to advocate hunting without much concern for other alternatives. While he does include statistical data to strengthen his point, other types of support he provides could be considered irrelevant or biased.
Thesis: The population of white-tail deer in Alabama has drastically increased over the past century causing significant damage to property and homeowners, caused by hunters being less active.
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The first big issue concerning big game hunting is that it is considered to be the citizens' rights. Anti-hunters believe that there is no right for anyone to take the life of another living creature. It would be morally wrong. The thought of going out and killing an animal for fun is just appalling to these individuals. Maybe they believe hunters will rear a generation of killers.
Sager, Josh. "Refuting Anti-Gun Control Arguments." The Progressive Cynic. N.p., 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Since the European colonization of eastern Africa, big game hunting, also know as "trophy hunting", has been a very controversial topic. During the early days of trophy hunting, dwindling numbers of some of the world’s most unique and prized wildlife was not a problem like it is today. When a trophy hunting dentist from Minnesota paid $55,000 to kill a prized African lion, he unintentionally reignited the heated debate concerning big game hunting. Wildlife conservationists and hunters debate the impact of hunting on the economy and the environment. Legal hunting can be controlled without government intervention, and the expensive sport of trophy hunting could generate a large sum of money to support conservation efforts.
Beginning with the creation of the world, hunting has been over thousands of years for a number of reasons. Nowadays, hunting is considered one of the most interesting outdoor activities that have many advantages. However, hunting is a very controversial topic, for some might consider it very harmful and dangerous for the environment. Although this point of view is adopted by a part of the society, one can counter it with a numerous reasons. Hunting provides several benefits for those who partake in it and for the environment as well.
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
Hunting is a passion for millions of Americans across the United States and without it who knows what the current deer population would be. With the white tailed deer having few predators and a large habitat to thrive in it is important to keep the tradition of hunting going. Besides, the real problem Anti-hunters should be focusing on is the growth of cities and communities because they are what truly hurts the deer population. As long as deer hunting safety remains under control and the deer population stays in tacked, there should be no reason to end future hunts for Americans. To conclude, it is true that many people don’t believe in the ethics of hunting and that is alright, because regardless of how they feel hunting is here to stay for many years to
Hunting demonstrates the ability to protect and provide mainly referred to males providing their families with meat from the animals and protecting their land. (“Modern Hunters Are Stewards of Wildlife and the Environment.”) The economy today is very unsustainable and hunting is the key to feeding the hungry. (“Modern Hunters Are Stewards of Wildlife and the Environment.”) There are many food banks today that will accept the meat provided by animals and feed hungry organizations that cannot buy food themselves. What most people don’t know is most of the money used by hunters that go towards hunting licenses, hunting tags, and hunting lotteries to hunt in particular spots go to wildlife research and habitat protections in that hunters home state. With approximately 12.5 million hunters in the World today a lot more money gets sent to these organizations than people would ever think. Overall, hunting is a positive force because it provides an economic motive for maintaining wildlife habitats. This keeps animals in their own habitats and away from people and their homes as much as possible. Some see this sport very cruel and un-humane but overall it is helping this World out way more than people think. If we didn’t have people who hunt or knew how to hunt we would be very reliant on other foods. Such as farming fruits and vegetables, which could go extinct if something devastating happens. We wouldn’t have the protein and vitamins needed in the meat we eat. Hunting is very necessary, and everyone should know how to hunt or learn soon. It’s helpful now, and will be very helpful in the future if there is a reason we can’t rely on cattle for meat anymore. We will have to figure out other ways to get meat, and without hunting it is very unlikely that
For centuries, humans have been hunting for food; but in today’s society, hunting is no longer necessary. Advances in the modern world gave people access to Grocery stores and Supermarkets where they can purchase meat instead of going into the woods to shoot down and slaughter an animal in order to feed their families. There is nothing wrong with hunting for food and there may even be times when hunting is necessary for human survival. Unfortunately, because hunting for survival is no longer the norm, much of today 's hunting is done for sport, trophies, or just for the rush of a kill. When, in reality, sport hunting is cruel, unnecessary, and should be banned globally.
The. In 1995, the number had been reduced to around 64 million. Within 20 years, in short, the duck population was reduced by almost one third, showing. the drastic toll hunting is taking on our wildlife. If we assume that other species have been reduced in number at approximately the same rate in recent years, then what are the larger implications for our ecological balance?