If you are an avid hunter chances are you have come across many people who have been opposed to your hobby and were very vocal about it. As hunting as a sport gained more interest so has the anti-hunting opposition. There are numerous different organizations with supporters that oppose hunting as they feel it harms the ecosystem amongst other things. You hear them say things like:
- Hunters dislike animals that’s why they kill them.
- Hunting is all about killing and promoting violence.
- Hunting as a sport is morally wrong.
- Hunting is not necessary and promotes more violence towards defenseless animals and the list goes on.
We have some words of wisdom for you that will allow you to deal with people with anti-hunting sentiments and we will go through each example one by one.
Hunters dislike animals that’s why they kill them.
This is one of the more common things you hear anti-hunters say. While the case of hunters killing animals is true, that doesn’t generally mean they dislike them. Most hunters will tell you that the killing of the animal is probably their least favorite part of the sport. It is the preparation and the building up until the kill is what thrills them. In either way, the kill does happen. Ethical hunters ensure that they shoot the animal in such a way that it causes the least amount of pain, making the process as gentle as possible.
Hunting is all about killing and promoting violence
On the contrary, hunting doesn’t have much to do with violence. Being a hunter doesn’t automatically make you sadistic. Hunting is a sport like any other and provides hunters with a thrill they enjoy. This doesn’t mean they enjoy violence and killing.
Hunting as a sport is morally wrong
The killing of an animal through hunting is considered morally wrong. However, if you eat any type of meat then you can’t really argue that. Because you eat meat from an animal that was killed for your consumption. Hunting is as moral as killing animals for their meat is. Hunters, as stated above, go about hunting in an ethical manner and try to limit the pain for the animal they hunt as much as possible.
Hunting is not necessary and promotes more violence towards defenseless animals
Hunters generally hunt animals that are predators like coyotes or preys of predators. So when hunting predators they generally do it to reduce the population of predators so they don’t harm humans in case of coyotes in the US. While prey would fall prey to these predators anyways. Prey being killed through hunting is far more ethical and less painful than when they are killed by a predator.
While hunting may seem bad for the ecosystem, hunters in general hunt animals that are in abundance and don’t face any threat of extinction. That is one thing people with anti-hunting sentiments should consider. Plus, they have the proper permit to hunt so it is their choice.
