Hunters' Hearts
by Nathan Lewis

The war over hunters being heartless is still at stake, as Justice for Animals continued to say,  "It is ludicrous to believe that someone who actively sets out to kill healthy animals for fun, trophy, or profit really cares about wild animals." And farther states, "Hunters argue that it is not just about killing" as if to imply that killing really is all there is to being a hunter. Or in other words hunters do not care about animals, the sport is to have fun, get a trophy, and profit from the experience.

Let us open our eyes and see the full picture about hunting and why it is essential. Hunting is a good thing for us and animals we need to get past the narrow view of a dead animal and down to the fundamentals. Such as having fun, having fun is part of being a healthy human. We should also take into account  Hunting can be a necessary component of modern wildlife management, according to Wikipedia. Animal population needs to be controlled to avoid overtaxing local economics and ecosystems. Whether it happens by eating our crops or actually being a physical danger to our life, hunting is a must for our survival.  Wikipedia also states "hunting has an extremely long history and may well predate the rise of species Homo sapiens." In other words animals hunted animals even before man existed. Hunting is a part of our very existence and affects every species in nature since the beginning of time. Hunting has been a part of human existence for a very long time according to Wikipeda, 1.8 million years. We really need to look beyond the hunting trophy using the hind site of 20/20.

Hunting has always been a common rally point in bringing people together, this is in due result to how most hunting is accomplished, that is, as a group or family activity. When I was 16 the whole family went hunting. On its own was a small miracle to have gotten everyone together. I remember being so excited to hunt, but even more excited to have the entire family together. One day my sister-in-law shocked us by running back to camp her head held high smiling that she had shot her first deer, it was an great accomplishment to her. And she was able to contribute to supporting the family with food for the winter. She still needed help to field dress the animal (Field dressing just means you clean the animal so you can use it for food) so we all helped and made a great memory together.

There is more to hunting then just killing animals. It's something that allows a balance in the animal kingdom. Hunting allows families to come together; it has been around as long as we have and it is a way of life. Come with me for a weekend of hunting, you will then understand why I dare say it will be here until the end. 

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