CRITICISMS AGAINST HUNTING

"The most common criticisms of sport hunting are that it is cruel and
inhumane, that it violates the rights of the animals, that it entails
disobedience to rules of conduct that all who exhibit genuine respect
for nature must observe, that it upsets ecological balances and can
lead to endangerment of some game species, and that hunting is an
expression of mindless aggression and violence and thus perpetuates
human barbarism.

Most of these charges are easily countered. The genuine sport hunter
due to his earnest respect for his prey is usually highly sensitive to
the animal's pain and suffering and makes every effort to minimize
both. Proper weaponry and hunter training can minimize trauma to the
animal. In terms of overall humaneness, a life free of confinement and
a quick death at the hands of a skilled sport hunter beat anything the
livestock industry can offer and certainly beat most of the death
scenes Mother Nature directs. The rights argument is one based largely
on emotion. There is no evidence that nature has assigned rights to
any creatures and plenty of logical biological, and evolutionary
evidence that she has not. In fact, it is not unreasonable to suppose
that man has a place in the zoological hierarchy just as all other
animals have; if so, assigning all higher animals rights to life is
artificial at best and at worst counterproductive to efforts aimed at
understanding man's place and role in the natural scheme of things.

The argument from respect for nature, based on duties supposedly
stemming from man's moral agency, is biologically naive; there is no
reason to suppose that man's unique role as a moral agent should,
prohibit him from occupying his mostly evolution-determined niche as
an omnivore. The advances made in game management techniques and
ecological science during the past half-century enable us to regulate
hunting so that it does not excessively upset ecological balances or
put species in danger of extinction. Finally, no studies have shown
that people who engage in sport hunting are more likely to commit
violent crimes or display excessive aggression than are nonhunters."

Ann S. Causey, "On the Morality of Hunting", Environmental Ethics Vol.
11 Winter 1989. pp. 334-335.