Morality Of Hunting

One of the more controversial topics around the world is if hunting is a good or bad thing for animals as well as the ecosystems. Gary Varner is an environmental philosopher who is on the side in favor of hunting. In fact, Varner’s view is that hunting is required in order to keep an ecosystem in-balance and healthy. Morality and suffering are two of the major factors that are used in Varner’s piece to support his side. There are critics of Varner’s viewpoint, and these will be addressed and responded to throughout the course of the paper. In this paper, I will share why I believe that Varner is right in saying that everyone should be in favor or some type of hunting, and what types of hunting I am for and against. As long as the hunting is …show more content…
Sport hunting is classified as, “hunting aimed at maintaining religious or cultural traditions, reenacting national or evolutionary history going certain skills, or just securing a trophy.” It is done in order to meet human needs. Sport hunting is where the most noise is heard from critics. These critics compare deer farms to zoos as they both take animals out of their natural habitat in the wild, and move them to an artificial habitat where humans are involved heavily in their lives. Deer farms are often times one of the best ways for hunters to get the best bucks with bigger racks and bodies. In order for deer farms to produce the best bucks, they must maintain the population below the standard number. This is so the deer are able to consume more and become bigger and stronger, more ideal for trophy hunters. However, in order for deer to reach their fullest potential, they must be kept for four or more years. Deer farms that are heavily hunted and populated, have shown that nearly 90 percent of the bucks that are hunted are less the four years of age. I believe that this is something that animal rights activists could do something about. Getting rules and regulations set in place to assure that the deer live better lives in their time at the farm. As a hunter, I am in favor of deer farms as they give you the best opportunity to get a nice deer with minimal effort. Trophy deer live healthy lives, even though they are stuck in captivity. If the deer farm has adequate space and food for the animals, they are living a ‘less stressful life’ than deer in the wild. They are never without a meal, and often times they are able to eat as much as they choose. However, I am not in favor of deer farms not being used to produce trophy deer. If the deer’s lifespan is cut short of the four to six years that they spend in the deer farms, I believe that they are being cheated of their