The killing of Zimbabwe's most well-known and much-photographed lion, affectionately named Cecil, ignited a firestorm of controversy and debate. This essay will explore hunting and trapping, both play key roles in maintaining a balance in the animal kingdom. Both sports have been a tradition since the beginning of mankind. Men needed to hunt and trap to feed their families and stay alive. For some people that is still true today and others it is a hobby that has become a passion.
Did you know that hunters pay $796 million a year in conservation programs? Sportsmen are a huge source of revenue in the United States. Also, hunters requested an eleven percent tax on guns, ammo, and archery equipment. All these sources of income add up to a total of $1.6 billion a year. If that money was cut out of the economy it would hurt it a lot more than the people fighting against hunting would ever realize. In this paper, the goal is to inform people why sports like hunting and trapping are needed to keep the world going. Not just financially but also to keep a balance between the types of wildlife.
Hunters contribute more than any other group to help maintain and keep wildlife habitat. According to this trusted source on hunting, “In 1907, only forty-one thousand elk remained. There are now over one million” , hunters are the reason these elk populations have improved. This hunting source also says, “In 1900, only five-hundred thousand whitetails remained. Hunters have now raised that number to thirty-two million” , hunters protect deer so they can continue to hunt them and keep the population strong and healthy. Waterfowl hunters fight to keep habitat for the ducks and geese to live and thrive in their area. This fact proves the ...
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For many people, hunting is just a sport, but for some it is a way of life. In Rick Bass’s “Why I Hunt” he explains how he got to where he lives now and what he thinks of the sport of hunting. There are many things in the essay that I could not agree more with, and others that I strongly disagree. Overall this essay provides a clear depiction of what goes through the mind of a hunter in the battle of wits between them and the animal.
A point has to be made about hunting and outdoor life in Illinois, which is a common interest throughout Illinois. Though it may not interest everyone, the livelihood and a portion of income is g...
When a Minnesota dentist killed a prized African lion named "Cecil" he received an onslaught of criticism and reignited the debate concerning big game hunting. Is big game hunting wrong? Should big game hunting continue? Big game hunting has been a very controversial topic for some time and these types of questions are being asked daily. There are a lot of people for it and a lot of people against it. This issue causes a lot of extreme behaviors and ideas by both sides. Those who oppose it believe it to be morally wrong, unfair to the animals and damaging to the environment. Those individuals for it believe that it is the citizens' rights and a way to be involved in the environment. Hunting is the law and shall not be infringed upon. In defense of the hunters' I believe that there are five main issues of concern.
Part of the problem lies in the number of competing activities. Youth have school, sports, computers and friends vying for their time, and the same thing is true with adults — work, sports and devices take them away from hunting as a primary outdoor
It is early in the morning; the majestic Elk bugles in the distance. The sun is kissing the tops of the peaks with the most beautiful gold, and painting the clouds rose red. The men and women who enjoy the outdoors whether it is hunting or just hiking help make these types of moments possible. Hunting and the ecosystem is tied closely to conservation of land and animals. The articles of “Hunting and the ecosystem” written by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department (SDGFP), and “Facts and statistics on wildlife conservation” written by Roger Holmes, director of the Fish and Wildlife, touch on how hunting is important in the environment to keep a good balance in the ecosystem. They also point out how hunters do more than any other organization for wildlife and environment. Our country was created by outdoors men who hunted and they passed their knowledge of the outdoors to their kids. Hunting has worked its way down from the generation and we should learn to “pass it on” Hunting is great for the environment and wildlife and should be preserved for the ages to come.
Hunting is a very expensive sport to get into. From guns, to tree stands, to even hunting clothes, hunting can be costly. On average, hunters spend $1896.00 per year on hunting (LaBarbera 1). Equipment and expenditures alone in 2001 grossed $24,708,970,000 (for all types of hunting) and $10,673,990,535 of that was of deer hunting (LaBarbera 2). These expenditures then “ripple” through the economy generating three times more impact for the U.S. economy. For many communities, hunting dollars keep them afloat. This money made can also be pumped back into funding wildlife and conservation foundations. In good times and bad, hunters set their sights on spending more time in the fields and forests. Even when economic recession and uncertainty over homeland security have the nation and the economy recoiling, hunters continue to aim their leisure time and money toward shooting sports activities. For example, since 1991, when the nation was mired in a similar recession and war, retail sales have grown nearly 17% (adjusted for inflation). Many just do not realize the positive impacts generated by hunters. A recent report released by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation highlights that Americans spend more on hunting equipment and dogs than they do for ski equipment. If that’s not enough, the $2.4 billion in federal income tax revenue generated by hunters
It’s a brisk November morning like any other day, but today isn’t any other day, today is the first day of firearm deer season. Shots are going off everywhere like world war three declared on deer. I’m wrapped in every hunting garment I own but winters cold embrace always finds its way in. My cheeks are rosy red and my breath was thick in the air. As I raise my shotgun and pull the trigger, my heart races and my hands shake. As I race after my prize, the sounds of leaves crunching beneath my feet are muffled by the ringing in my ears. I’m walking face to the ground like a hound on a trail and then my eyes caught it, my very first whitetail. I will never forget my first deer and the joy I felt sharing it with my family. Hunting is a passed down tradition for my family and friends. Throughout the world, millions of people participate in the spoils and adventure of the hunt. Hunting has been a pastime since the beginning of man. Hunting is one of those things either you like or you don’t like. It’s hard to explain the joys of hunting ,because it’s something one must experience for his self. Hunting does have laws and regulations you have to abide by. Are hunting regulations benefiting the hunter or the animal? This paper will discuss some of the regulations and laws, types of game, disadvantages of regulations, the pros of regulations, poachers, and ways to preserve wildlife and there habitat.
Years ago, killing animals for food was part of the average man’s everyday life. While, now a days, hunting is questioned by many across the world because it is commonly viewed as a recreational activity. Many residents have a problem with the dangers that come with hunting. Not to mention, as time goes on, society seems to feel differently about animals and how they should be treated. One of the biggest debates is the harvest of white tailed deer. All over the United States, white tailed deer thrive because of the few predators that feast upon them and the large forests and habitats that these deer can flourish in. However, as buildings and subdivisions pop up left and right decreasing the white tailed deer natural habitat, the debate grows stronger. The heart of the debate is centered around ethical issues, human and deer conflicts, safety, and the benefits hunting has on the economy.
People today use hunting as a sport. Of course, not everyone agrees with hunting, but those who like to hunt justify their actions by saying that they are helping with the overpopulation of animals, like deer. The truth is that we are affecting the population of animals. Animal overpopulation can be due to the loss of an animal’s natural predator. Predators are extremely important in an ecosystem, and they are nature’s way of controlling the animal population. In William Stolzenburg’s book, Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, he addresses the importance of predators in an ecosystem. He discusses an experiment done by a zoologist named Robert T. Paine. Paine decided to do an experiment to see what happens when one disrupts an ecosystem. He conducted his experiment on rocks along the shore in which a species of starfish was the top predator. Paine’s experiment consisted of grabbing the starfish off the rocks and throwing them into the ocean. His results showed that one single species has a tremendous effect on its ecosystem. After getting rid of the top predator, about half of the species that
Over six million deer are harvested a year in the United States and that adds up to over 120,000,000 pounds of meat! It helps feed millions of Americans, providing lean and inexpensive meat. It also helps maintain and control a healthy population of animals. Because of hunters several big game species that almost went extinct (such as deer, elk, pronghorn, buffalo, turkey, and buffalo) are now in large and healthy populations. Hunting is essential as a balancing force to keep animals safe and
When a wealthy American dentist killed a prized African lion he unintentionally reignited the debate concerning the morality of hunting. In this essay, I am going to provide an argument for the morality of hunting. Hunting, when performed with correct moral intentions and in compliance with regulations, is a morally acceptable act. I will first provide background definitions used in my essay followed by a formal layout of my argument. Next, I will discuss each premise of my argument separately and explain how they prove my argument plausible. Lastly, I will consider an objection to my argument and respond to it accordingly.
PETA, and other organizations like them, think that hunting is a cruel and inhumane, and a non-effective way of controlling the whitetail deer population. Hunting is the primary source of conservation and income for the national fish and wildlife service. Let’s look at a couple ways that hunting provides an effective wildlife management tool. To begin, at the beginning of the 20th century there were an estimated 500,000 deer left in the US, because of conservation efforts led by hunters, there are more than 44 million in America today. Furthermore, hunting helps highway safety. Deer cause over 200 deaths a year and cost around 4 billion a year in auto accidents. Finally, if hunters did not hunt, deer would over populate and be a nuisance animal.
Hunting as a whole is a very controversial topic to talk about. Depending on the person you talk to they can either support this historical sport, or hate the mere mention of the subject. Since the entire subject of hunting can cover such a wide variety of forms, this essay will focus on a specific form of the sport, waterfowl hunting. Firstly many of the groups say that the sport of hunting is unsafe because of the hunter using a high velocity firearm ( 10, 12, 20 and 4-10 gauge shotgun). However this simply isn’t true, according to the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) “hunting with a firearm is the third safest sport when compared to 28 other popular sports, with a lower
And now after killing Cecil the lion he has not shown up in the public as he is afraid as he knows that the killing was illegal any ways as he took Cecil off the reserve. And as you said in your article, ‘my excitement doused when I realized that the lion killer was being painted as the villain’ goes against the point of that this kill was illegitimate. As you talked about an animal being sacred to specific clans and that yours is Nzou, which is the elephant clan, and how you don’t eat elephant meat but don’t mind people killing elephants. Show how these clans are backward and also how they contrast their own statement of letting it get killed but it is also sacred and that your clan cannot eat its flesh. Wild animals do not attack until and unless they sense fear and harm as per studies.
Hunting should be done to benefit the overall population and living quality of animal species. In order to better understand hunting, we need to learn what hunting is, why hunting is beneficial, and the consequences of not hunting. We also need to know what the hunting controversy really is, the population statistics, and a few clubs that support hunters and wildlife conservation.