Is hunting really necessary to control wildlife populations? That is one of the many questions asked by environmentalists and animal rights activists all over the world. In an article in The Sciences, author Wendy Marston talks about the decrease in hunters across the nation. She found that only six percent of Americans hunt today, down four percent from a decade ago. She says, “from an environmental point of view, unfortunately that change has done more harm than good(12).” Animal overpopulation in some areas is destroying nature. In some areas of overpopulation, food is becoming scarce and animals have started to eat endangered plants and other vegetation that they would normally not. Animals also cause a lot of problems along our nation’s freeways and for many farmers.
In an article in the U.S. News and World Report , author Stephen Budiansky tells of a similar situation in Wisconsin. He says, “rare orchids and the hardwood and hemlock forests have failed to reproduce for fifty years(85).” He tells about botanist, William Alverson of the University of Wisconsin who has studied old growth forests in Wisconsin for many years. In his studies, Alverson found that the dominant hemlocks and white cedars have failed to reproduce. When asked what was causing the problem he stated, “the deer simply eat up all the seedlings that emerge. The changes due to deer are so slow that it’s not obvious to someone driving by in a car, but at the regional level, hemlock forests are becoming rarer and rarer(85).” An example of what hunting can do for this type of situation is shown by looking at the Menominee Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin. It boasts an extensive hunting program. They allow hunting in and out of season which has held the deer population to about eight deer per square mile, compared to twenty per square mile in other forests and as much as 200 in some hard hit suburbs.
Big Game Hunting Should be Allowed
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.
The first big issue concerning big game hunting is that it is considered to be the citizens’ rights. Anti-hunters would believe that there is no right for anyone to take the life of another living creature. It would be morally wrong. The thought of going out and killing an animal for fun is just appalling to these individuals. Maybe they believe hunters will rear a generation of killers. They would argue that there are many other things in this world that could bring that sort of excitement to a person.
The right to hunt is the law. The twenty-ninth Article states, “…securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others…” If this is the law then it can not be infringed. With this there really is no question of big game hunting. These rights are personal rights of the citizens of the United States. Parents can choose what they want for there own children and let them do what they desire, and if that desire is hunting then let it be. When other people who oppose hunting try and stop this freedom then they are the ones at fault and are doing wrong by infringing on the rights of others. These actions are illegal and should be taken care of. In C M Dixon’s article, “The Banning of Hunting is an Affront to Freedom,” he stated that, “He has never heard of hunters violating the just requirements of public order or general welfare” (2). From the hunting experiences that I have had I agree with this statement one hundred percent.