Why We Need Hunting

There is a movement promoted by animal rightists to ban hunting in the United States and around the world. These people believe that all animals are equal to people and, therefore, should not be hunted. These animal rightists profess that no animal should be used to benefit mankind under any circumstance, be it for food, medical research or companionship. They believe all animals, including pets, should live free of human interference.

There are places in the United States where the only meat served to family members is obtained through hunting. Two-thirds of the world’s population went to bed hungry last night and, despite that statistic, there are those well-fed persons who believe that the rest of the world should be vegetarians and that all hunting should cease immediately.

More than two billion people suffer malnutrition and protein deficiency. Who are these people who believe all hunting should be illegal? Can anyone suggest or believe that families in the United states or around the world should be denied this valuable resource (wildlife) or the benefits we obtain from our relationship with animals?

The argument exists that, in this country, hunting is a sport and not a necessity. While this is true for much of our urban population, it is far from the truth for many of America’s rural families. Our own government places millions of people on the poverty sector, many of these people hunt and fish out of necessity. Nationwide, most game shot is eaten.

To some, wildlife is a necessity for food. To others, animals are an enjoyed comfort, they are recreational, and they are a hedge against our own greed. Everyone can enjoy wildlife and their habitat, yet it is the hunters (NOT the animal rightists) that pay the fees that protect the animals, reintroduce them to areas they were previously driven from, and prevent their extinction. If the early colonists had controlled hunting and had respect for the environment, passenger pigeons would exist today.

Recently, the Peregrine Falcon was virtually eliminated (less than 100 pairs in North America), and now it has made a dramatic comeback. This success story is due to people close to nature (falconers), not because of animal rightists! In fact, if we left the fate of the Peregrine Falcon and hundreds of other species, in the hands of those who believe mankind doesn’t have dominion (protection) of all animals, they would all go extinct. It is the pressure brought by sportsmen that protect our waterways, and it is the sportsmens‘ dollars, and activities that have returned wild turkeys to the East Coast, increased deer to pre-Revolutionary war levels and have allowed Canadian Geese to become a nuisance.

Hunting and its automatic protection of the environment have forced a “green acres” or protection of the environment. To ban hunting is to say that wildlife has no value, and if left unprotected (US Fish and Wildlife Agency), more species will go extinct. It is the hunters and the appropriate agencies that demand clean air, clean water and protected areas for our animals and fish. It may be said that hunters are protecting the environment for wildlife, and at the same time, this protects us from our own pollutants.

Wildlife is one of the natural wonders of America and needs protecting and financing. Around the world, wildlife is being squeezed out of their natural habitats by unlimited human expansion.