Hunting for Sport?

Hunting for sport is wrong. It is my opinion that it is cruel to hunt down and kill an animal for the fun of it.

I understand hunting for food. It is often necessary for some people. I have no problem with someone hunting id they eat the animal they kill and are within the law.

Nonetheless, I think that it is disgusting to kill an animal simply so it can be stuffed and put on display. It seems immoral to me to torture fellow creatures for pleasure.

Also, hunting for sport has contributed to extinguishing many species and endangering many more. The possibility of losing more of our planet's precious wildlife, on which much of our own existence depends, is intolerable.

I find it sickening that people can find it enjoyable to annihilate another creature. It makes no sense to me.

I think the fact that humans have attained self-awareness gives us a responsibility. Since we are intelligent beings, we know how our actions can have an effect on the world. Our intelligence allows us to affect more than if we had remained relatively simple primates like our distant ancestors, relying mainly on instinct to guide us through life. Humans change the world constantly, according to our whims.

We often have an unfair advantage over other creatures. If we are naturally unequipped to grapple with a tiger, we can build a gun that can take it down. Since we have this advantage, just like every other human, what need is there for us to take advantage of the weak spot of other animals to show off for each other?

Copyright © 2002 Colleen Fischer | Last updated October 7, 2002