Essay/Term paper: The evils of hunting

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Society Term Papers

The Evils of Hunting


Hunting is an unnecessary activity in the modern world. Slob hunting is
the way many so-called sportsmen hunt these days. The phrase slob hunting refers
to indiscriminate assault on animals, whatever their type. This type of
recreation is harmful and undesirable the United States for three reasons: 1) It
reduces the number of areas available for tracking animals, 2) It upsets the
natural balance, causing many species to have their ranks drastically reduced,
and 3) It can be unnecessarily cruel to animals.
Hunting on private lands is one of the best ways to hunt, because the
game is plentiful, and there is challenge to the sport. However, when land-
owners encounter a slob hunter on their lands, they are much less likely to let
anyone hunt their land in the future. When a person wishes to hunt on a certain
person's land, s/he is often denied the privilege, after the proprietor of the
land has had one negative experience with some other hunter. This can make
hunting a much harder sport to participate in, even for the people who are
hunting for their livelihood. (Satchell 30)
Over the years, hunting has reduced the animal population drastically.
In the 1970's, the number of ducks making annual flights was approximately 91.5
million. 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? If this
trend continues, by the year 2055, the members of species which are hunted could
be reduced by as much as 81 percent. (Satchell 31)
Not only does hunting reduce the number of animals, it can also be
unnecessarily cruel to the creatures. When deer are bowhunted, they often are
not instantly killed. Most deer will then suffer a painful and lingering death,
as only 50 percent of deer struck are retrieved and put out of their misery.
This is unnecessary cruelty; only an end to slob hunting would bring this to a
halt. (Satchell 32)
In the modern era, with advanced technologies, we have found ways of
killing large numbers of animals painlessly. Although some people continue to
hunt, it is needless because it can lessen the area available for hunting in,
cause many animals to have their population decreased, and be pointlessly cruel
to animals. These three evils humanity can live without, which makes slob
hunting an ecologically-unsound throwback to a less enlightened age.