Is Hunting Ethical

The New Generation

Hunting is neither ethical nor practical.

“[It] is about connecting with the world and our friends. It’s where stories are made and legends created.” This is a quote from a New Hampshire magazine. With its emphasis on camaraderie, outdoor enthusiasm, and lifelong memories, the description could easily apply to the Dartmouth experience. But it’s not; it’s from a hunting publication. Fellowship is one of the main motivations for hunting, not only in New Hampshire but also across the country and world. There are three main reasons for and thus types of hunting: subsistence, therapeutic (killing one species to protect an ecosystem), and sport. However, certain hunting practices cannot be explained by either animal or environmental

Its main purposes are food, trade, removing predators, pest control, and recreation. Hunting has occurred for the past two million years, becoming a dominant practice among hunter-gatherer societies with the development of spears and the domestication of hunting dogs around 11,000 years ago. Today, approximately 11.5 million Americans hunt each year, spending over $20.5 billion on equipment, technologies, and licenses. Every year, over 200 million animals are killed by U.S. hunters alone. While less than five percent of Americans are hunters today (ten percent less than in 1996), there has been a five percent increase in support over the same period of time (78 percent today versus 73 percent in 1995). Public support for hunting animals such as deer and wild turkey is significantly higher than for hunting black bears and mountain lions. In regards to motivation, protecting humans from harm as the largest support (95 percent) as compared to challenge (40 percent) and as a trophy (28 percent). If hunting activities are viewed as part of human heritage, they are thus much more likely to be supported by the average American

Hunting is suggested to involve problem-solving skills and connects people with nature. Teachers report that kids who hunt responsibly become more mature adolescents. However, this occurs at the expense of millions of animals. Due to advances in agriculture and technology, the majority of mankind no longer relies upon hunting for subsistence and food. Instead, the main motivations for hunting are recreation and cultural tradition among a community. By practicing and supporting hunting, these interests are placed above the lives and safety of animals. Under an argument of harm, hunting is ethical if the harm from hunting is less than the harm from not hunting - if the animal would have died in a more painful way. Some argue that hunting is more humane than other methods of animal control, such as biological (animal-specific diseases) and chemical control (pesticides). However, this is false. Animals are sentient beings, with the ability to suffer. Unnecessary stress and casualties are placed upon animal populations for the pleasure of man under hunting