What do people think about the morality of hunting and fishing?

Question

I have a project for english, and i need to find the opinions of other people on this subject, so if anyone would put in there opinion and help me out that would be greatly appriciated.

Answer 1

What do I think the morality of hunting and fishing? I believe that it is more moral to harvest animals from nature and consume them as did are ancestors, that to let politics run what is rightfully human nature. We were designed to hunt, and have done it for thousands of years, and w have became increasingly more humane in doing it. The people that say its not moral, are the ones that would band hunting saying they are doing what is best, but ultimately are the ones clear cutting forest for new shopping malls, or build houses in the middle of the forest. I ask you this, is it more human to harvest a animal humanly, feed or family with high quality meat, or let “conservationist” destroy forest and kill many  animals with cars, which is such a waste.  Hunters are the best conservationist on the planet, their contributions, which include finances from hunting licenses, and sporting goods  (taxes on which are used for conservation), and so on, accompanied with harvesting animals and protecting habitat, do far more than politicians or city slickers will ever do.  

Answer 2

Madison-

There are some things that I feel that most folks who have never hunted do not understand.  Morality has nothing to do with hunting.  I know many folks in my church that enjoy hunting.  I think folks confuse making a humane kill in the field with morality.

Most hunters use a rifle that has a large enough caliber to make the kill quick and clean on the first shot.  Make no mistake, there is a significant amount of skill required to make these long distance shots at targets that are often on the move.

I have witnessed hunters in my years that have been abusive to animals that have been quarried by them.  Trust me when I say there is nothing that makes my more angry when I see this happen.  But, let me state a fact.  Those incidents are very rare, and anytime I have seen this behavior, I have made a b-line or those folks trucks to record license plate numbers for report to Fish and Game Officers.  In the years that I have been hunting, this has only happened twice.

I think what is not understood about harvesting of any animals is the fact that we are so used to purchasing or chicken, beef, fish, lamb, pork or any other product from our supermarkets.  This detaches us from the reality that these animals provide our food.

When I lived with my parents, we operated a small subsistance farm.  Mainly chickens.  The chickens provided meat and eggs for our family.  One per we would purchase a Pig and a Steer for slaughter.  This provided the remainder of the meat we would use for the year.  Fishing was done on a fairly regular basis, and this was always a welcome change.  

But let me state this.  It was always hard to kill the animals for slaughter, but it was something that had to be done for our family.  Additional animals like rabbits wer hunted from my father's property, along with Phesants, Quail and Dove.  All make excellent meals by the way.

All of these animals were dispatched in a completely humaine manner and rendered immediately.  

Some may not agree, but hunting is a natural extension of the Agriculture Industry.  As you can research, the Department of Fish and Game allow hunting and license for it.  All of the major game animals also require Harvest Tags for the animals being taken during their open seasons.  There are some animals that do not have a specific season, but this is mainly because they are animals are considered a menace, and therefore there is no limit on the amount of animals that may be taken.

Two that fall into this category in California are Wild Pigs and Coyote.  This is because their infant mortality rate is nearly 0%, and the give birth to litters of animals like many rodents.  However they are large enough, they have few natural predators, and to keep the population in check, hunting is the only option.

One of the sources that I would recommend that you explore is the State of California Department of Fish and Game.  If you do not live here in this state, you should have a Fish and Game site available.

Sorry for being a little long winded, but there was quite a bit to answer in your question.

And... finally you ask about morality in this use of animals???

My dad and I were also thieves.  How?

We also raised Honey Bees for their Honey and Wax.  This is really nothing more than symbiotic theft.  They make the honey and wax, and may dad and I take it and sell it.  The only thing we provide for the bees is shelter and care.

Good luck with your report.  

Answer 3

I personally see nothing wrong with hunting or fishing, so long as the game is used for food purposes.

i dont hunt, i fish tho,

i also dont eat red meat so why would i kill it?

basicly i fee that yes hunting is something that needs to be done in order to provide food but if its just something to do for fun thats sick and so wrong its not even right.

Answer 4

I have hunted all my life, and I'm 34.  Growing up on a cotton farm my family didn't have much money.  So basically hunting was a way of life.  We would never shoot more than we could eat.  We always hunted for deer, squirrel, dove, rabbit, pheasant.  My dad always taught me to respect the animals, and thank god for providing us with food on our table.  The bad thing about it though is you have people going out and killing anything that moves.  It really ruins it for the people that pay the money for a license, and only shoot what they can eat.  We always would save our money to buy a fishing license, hunting license and deer tag.  That was around a hundred dollars back then for all of that.  Now it is more.

Answer 5

Every living creature must die.

I think it is much more honest to be directly involved in this than to pick up some pink strofoam plastic wrapped meat at the store, totally divoced from the fact that animals died to provide that food.

I also think that when a human being particiaptes directly it the food chain, looks at the death he has caused so that he and his family may eat, it connects man to nature in a way I cannot describe any more than a woman can describe to a childless man what childbirth and the love she feels at that instant for the baby are like.  I further believe that interacting with life and death, seeing the full circle, helps humans better deal with their own eventual mortality.

Every time we kill to live, we are reminded of our ultimate fate.

Answer 6

We are on top of the food chain, so why should we feel bad about hunting and fishing?  

Answer 7

Morality has nothing to do with hunting of fishing. Unless...you are stealing animals from private land without permission, or breaking some laws, or you do them in the nude maybe......

Answer 8

Right now, according to Fox News, a wealthy out of state hunter has just checked into a local hotel for the coming deer/ boar season. He legally possessed 2 rifles and 2 handguns, with ammo. As a hunter, I must say this is not unusual, other than the guy being wealthy. But he was immediately arrested and is now in jail. Why? Because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also lives in that hotel, and she is an anti-gun Democrat, and this is San Francisco. Make of all this what you will.

Answer 9

Do you want to eat..?

If not i guess you dont have to fish or hunt.

Answer 10

Morality has nothing to do with hunting or fishing. The way I see it,as sophisticated, intelligent,and evolved we the human species may have become we still started out as any other omnivore. All creatures in our world have one inborn purpose to their existence. That being to recreate by populating our environment with as many representative of their species as possible. Left alone to her own devices nature has a way of balancing her self out. Unfortunately she needs a little help from us, the superior species in maintaining some of those balances. That is for many reasons a few being we are too successful in our inborn purpose, resulting in encroachment and distruction of some habitats, etc. just to name a few.There are many other reasons nature needs our help but that's for another day. Back to the topic, for a species to prosper they need to be able to survive first. Our basic instincts born into us over millions of years taught us how to survive. The best of the species did indeed survive long enough to fulfill their desires to recreate while weaker or less fortunate ones provided the means for other species to survive by becoming their sustenance. So in a nut shell I am answering a primevel need. Do I enjoy watching another animal draw it's last breath? Deep down sometimes there is feeling of sadness,But most times there is strong sense of satisfaction that a million years ago I would be eating this day. So all I can tell you, is that for me, hunting, and fishing were just two ways we learned over millions of years to sustain our exsistence. I will never be ashamed of, or deny the need to answer the basic instincts that have been engrained into our species.

Answer 11

Hunting and fishing in an ethical ,humane manner helps control wild life populations while giving many people wholesome recreation. It also provides alot of food for people who just like wild game, as well as for needy people. Hunters donate tons of meat every year to be distributed to needy families. God put us on this earth to be stewards over it as well as masters over the animals. He also put em here for us to eat. As long as hunting and fishing are done ethically, with the idea of quick humane kills it is extremely moral and what we are supposed t do.

Answer 12

The mortality of hunting only applies if the Brady Bunch, and Clintonites get there way.

Hunting, my family and myself, is a way of life.

We don't buy meat from the grocery store unless we have a guest over that does not like game meat. All of the meat we consume is wild game. We eat venison, hog, dove, duck, rabbit, quail.

Most of the the Texas Fish and Game Department's budget, 53% of it comes from from licensing and permits. So given that, if they outlawed hunting then the state would loose 53% of its conservation budget.

Answer 13

I think that it is unnecessary, immoral, and unfair to the animal.  

Answer 14

With an ever-expanding human footprint on the environment, I feel something of a moral imperative to hunt for game management purposes (plus it's a ton of fun), but I don't have strongly negative feelings about people who choose not to participate; they may not have the opportunity or simply not enjoy it, so as long as there are plenty of us who do, it's OK.

Answer 15

Its weird when people say "Unless you are going to eat it, it is not needed"...  But we play videogames, watch movies, read books.... which are not at all needed for survival.

Answer 16

I think it's more ethical than animals that are farmed in horrible conditions. Hunting is natural - every carnivorous animal does it. It produces better meat, and the animal's live better too. And you get exercise.

Answer 17

Hunting and fishing have nothing to do with morality.  Animals do not have souls, they have no rights, they do not understand their existence.  Hence, they are only suitable as food for us.  I think that hunters and fisherman should be efficient and humane when they harvest game, but beyond that, more power to 'em.

Answer 18

If you've seen the way MEGAFARMS (CAFO's) disgustingly treat animals of all sorts, you'd become an activist for hunters immediately.

Fair chase is the most humane and safest method of acquiring meat for consumption.

If hormones, pesticides and drugs are on your menu...then the factory farms have what you desire, and can be found in every grocery store chain.

Answer 19

" Society will forever Judge Hunters by their Compassion for the Animals that they Hunt for and Harvest." Hunting is Fun and Enjoyable, Killing is Neither fun or Enjoyable.*..All Life is Precious to us True Hunters.*

Answer 20

Morality is a human invention and is subject to the culture that you ask the question in

Hunger was invented by God and is subject only to the natural need to survive

Morality has nothing to do with hunting anymore than it has to do with whether or not you are a meat eater

The only morality involved is the method that you use to take the animal amnd that as I said earlier is subject to the whims of your culture

Answer 21

I see less morality issues with hunting/fishing for sport and food, than I do with buying meat from the supermarket. Hunting for sport and food involves taking a wild animal from it's natural habitat, and that is about it. Buying from the supermarket means that the animal was raised to produce the most meat, for the least cost. You can guess what that means for the poor animal...

Now there are some hunters that go shoot just to kill stuff, and I'm not talking about eradicating predators or vermin. That kind of "hunting" has some moral issues to talk about.

Answer 22

About 80 to 90 percent of people hold little or no opinion about hunting, as long as it is done under the guidelines set by state and federal wildlife agencies.  The remaining 10 to 20 percent are split evenly between hunters and anti-hunters.  

As for the morality of hunting, humans are part of nature.  We have altered the natural order of nature and now the only viable tool for controlling wildlife populations is hunting.  Many anti-hunting groups advocate birth control or relocation, but these efforts have been shown to be too expensive or nearly impossible to do.  It is our duty to maintain wildlife populations at healthy level.  Hunters have done this by harvesting the surplus animals and contributing billions of dollars to conservation efforts.  These efforts have benefited game and non-game species. NO anti-hunting groups have ever given anything beneficial to conserving wildlife populations.  

A true hunter eats what he/she kills and hunts in a legal manner; observing all safety rules, game laws, and striving for a quick and clean kill to reduce or eliminate any suffering by the animal.  There are slobs out there who are breaking the rules and committing unsafe and unethical acts.  These people are not hunters, they are slobs.  Their actions are not condoned by the rest of us.

It would seem as though many people think we are above nature; that we are not part of nature.  Non-hunters observe nature while hunters  participate in nature.

The same goes for fishing.

So, the act of hunting is neither moral, nor immoral.

Answer 23

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: hunting

Pursuit of game animals, principally as sport. To early humans hunting was a necessity, and it remained so in many societies until recently. The development of agriculture made hunting less necessary as a sole life support, but game was still pursued in order to protect crops, flocks, or herds, as well as for food. Weapons now commonly used in hunting include the rifle, shotgun, and the bow and arrow, and methods include stalking, still-hunting (lying in wait), tracking, driving, and calling. Dogs are sometimes employed to track, flush, or capture prey. In Europe much of the land once hunted upon was owned by the aristocracy, and gamekeepers were employed to regulate the amount of game that could be hunted in a given area. By the 1800s the land hunted upon was not or had never been privately owned, and there began to develop a "tragedy of the commons," in that no one hunter had any motive to limit the number of animals killed; certain species were hunted to, or very close to, extinction. To counter this development, ethical codes were established that give the quarry a fair chance to escape; attempts were made to minimize the suffering of wounded game; and game laws, licensing, and limited hunting seasons were established to protect game stocks. For instance, a modern license may authorize a hunter to kill only two deer during the brief season for deer, and he or she must present a kill to a game warden who will then document and tag the animal. There are often penalties and fines for being found with an animal that is not so marked.

Answer 24

fishing is widely accepted.

but you'll find that most people are against hunting.

granted most of these people have never held or shot any type of firearm.

some misguided and foolish people believe that "guns" are evil.

I don't believe any man or woman should be able to tell another woman what she can and cannot do to her own body.

no man or woman should be able to tell you what rifle or shotgun you can and cannot buy or own.

I don't agree with shooting many animals but I will fight for your right to do it as long as you do it legally and safely.

Answer 25

Hunting and fishing do not in any way shape or form bring morality into question.  Both pursuits are activities that we humans have engaged in since we stood on two legs.  I hunt and fish and trap.  I follow the rules laid down by my state and federal government.  Morality has nothing to do with any of these human activities.  Animals and fish are not human.   They do not possess human qualities.  They are animals, nothing more, nothing less.  They may be utilized and consumed by man.