I remember those times in my life before I learned to appreciate and respect
the natural role of animals in our world. These were times when I would have had no more reservation about killing a deer,
fox or bear than I had about shooting empty beer cans floating down the creek near my childhood home. And birds? From the
time of my first Daisy BB gun, the birds were too often the targets I chose. My first optics were in the form of a rifle scope
instead of binoculars. Countless numbers of god's creatures fell victim to my targeting indifference.
Judging by the continued popularity of hunting for sport, clearly
I was not the only one out there centering the crosshairs of death on some unsuspecting critter. But something happened
in my life after I moved away from my killing grounds to attend college: I gradually became more worldly in my views and learned
to appreciate the role of animals as something more beautiful and important than just being a target for hunters. The transformation
didn't happen overnight--in fact, while serving in the military I had a one year assignment as a game warden. Perhaps that
was the event that opened my eyes to the overall senselessness of killing animals for sport. I can now see that in my youth probably
no respected adult ever challenged me to consider that there could be more "sport" in not killing the
animals I so loved to "hunt."
Stalking animals continues as one of my favorite activities and I still enjoy target shooting.
But I've not directed my gunfire at an animal for the purpose of sport in more than 36 years. These days
my stalking successes are followed by the matchless enjoyment of viewing the complex behavior and natural beauty of animals
with a pair of binoculars instead of a rifle scope. Instead of bullets and shotgun shells I spend my money on birdseed.
Oh, I've heard all the arguments for the need to have hunting
seasons: Control of overpopulation, removal of diseased animals and continuation of our heritage are among the ones most often
repeated. However, long before man used guns for killing animals there was balance in nature. Nature doesn't need man to deplete
its beautiful creatures with a firearm for sport in the name of population control. And on the subject of killing for food
as continuation of our "heritage," it is my belief that animals to be killed for food should be raised for that purpose. Such
a process minimizes the chances that an animal will suffer from the ravages of grievous wounds that are too often the result
of hunting for sport. As to our heritage, there are far too many of us to fool ourselves into believing that it is important
to actually repeat the killing of animals year after year in the name of continuing the deeds of our forefathers.
There are other considerations you're not likely to read about
in those outdoor sporting magazines and websites; for example, did you ever wonder if killing an animal for sport had any
adverse impact upon the animals' social structure? And what about the emotional devastation we wreck upon the animals we hunt
for sport? Yes, I believe anyone who has spent time observing animals must realize that most animals can express at least
the basic emotions of joy, fear, anger and sadness. Just think about your domesticated pets and I believe you'll agree with
me: Animals do develop emotional attachments to others of their own kind. This is one of those things I learned over
the course of my years of observing animals while thinking--instead of killing.
