Hunting: Once Necessity Now Sport
In ancient times when we all lived in caves and had to protect ourselves and our families from huge animals, hunting and fishing were absolute necessities. We had to find food in order to live and sustain ourselves. Over time, the concept of hunting for food has slowly eroded and we now get our food from the supermarket. Some cultures around the world still hunt and fish for food, but they are a rarity. Have we, as a society become too lazy and take our food for granted to an extent that we have turned it into a sport for people to take part in on the weekend? Fishing and hunting have both become our way of killing animals for fun instead of feeding ourselves because of a necessity.
Hunting wild animals used to be our only source of food and clothing. A kill could feed an entire family for days and also provide fur and many other essentials for a family. Then came the agricultural revolution and after that the industrial revolution which brought food to us instead of us having to work for our food. Hunting and fishing slowly lost their primary reason of providing food and were replaced by easily available sustenance, (Evelina Stout, 2008).
It is possible that human beings hunted so much in the past that even though it is not necessary anymore, we still retain the need to kill. Maybe some humans are just bloodthirsty creatures with a desire to kill something. The need for hunting has remained over the years and it does not look like it will be ending any time soon.
Some argue that hunting and fishing are actual sports and compare them with other sports. The argument explains that hunting, once a necessity, has now lost that aspect and has become a recreational activity. The comparison is made to the sport of karate. Both hunting and karate require practitioners to have a certain fitness level, for them to be able to employ strategy and skills for tracking an opponent and then finally striking that opponent down, (Dean Smith, 2010).
This comparison is interesting, but the distinction is in the fact that in karate the opponent is usually a willing participant also trying to strike you down. Animals are defenseless against long range rifles and long fishing rods with hooks attached to the end. Yes there is strategy and a certain skill level required, but karate is an ancient art form that takes years of practice to master. A large number of Olympic and other sports were at a certain time used as survival techniques; running, boxing and fighting all come to mind. Since hunting was also a survival technique it might be able to make the leap towards becoming a sport.
As hunting today is no longer a necessity, its need to society is questionable. A lot of people are asking for specific reasons why we need hunting to be a part of society and what purpose it serves. A lot of arguments for and against hunting arise.
Those that are for hunting usually make the following claims. They say that hunting is a tradition and requires skill and tactical knowledge and is not about the kill but is about outwitting the prey. They also say that hunting is an effective method of population control. Hunters also have to pay for the privilege to go hunting in addition to taxes. All this collected revenue goes into habitat conservation so it’s for a good cause.
On the other hand, the arguments that are against hunting make the following claims. They say that hunting is done for recreational purposes as opposed to ‘out of necessity’, so it does not make sense to kill defenseless animals. They also argue that population control is a weak argument because the animals that are hunted do not overpopulate. Nature has a way of taking care of overpopulation in species, (Andrea Dickson, 2008).
There is another side of this argument. There are people who choose not to buy products from supermarkets. Should it be alright for them to hunt and fish if they are going to do it to feed themselves and their families? Well it would seem that if hunting is going back to the basics and is being used as a necessity then it should be ok, but there are still those who don’t understand why people cannot just go to the supermarket instead of hunting.
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