You can find an activist group for almost any type of social topic in the world today. A very popular activist group is PETA; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. If you visit their website, their header states "Animals are NOT ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any way."
Before I go any further, I want you to know just how much of an animal lover I am. I cry every time I watch Free Willy. I get all kinds of nervous every time my car approaches an indecisive squirrel, and I love my chocolate lab more than I love most human beings. Looking at this statement from PETA, I 100 percent agree with the majority of the list. The eating of animals however, should not be as controversial as our easily-offended generation has made it out to be.
You may ask me "how do you get emotional every time you nearly create road-kill, but could easily pull the trigger on that animal if in a different situation?" The reason for this is because if I hit a rabbit with my car, it will be left useless and deflated of life on the side of the road. However, if I shoot a rabbit in a field, I could use that meat to make chili, or stew that will feed an entire family. I'm guessing that if you opened this article to have your mind changed on the idea of hunting, you're probably not there yet, so here's some other logical reasons as to why hunting is conservational, not controversial.
First, let's talk money. Hunting is phenomenal for the economy. If you are an outdoors person and like to fish, hike, hunt, etc., then you know just how expensive your hobby can get! According to a study by the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Related Recreation, outdoors-enthusiasts spend $89.8 billion annually on their outdoor needs. If you're curious to know just how expensive hunting really is, I've attached an extremely detailed, itemized list below. This was taken from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency's website and was created almost 15 years ago, imagine how much more expensive these things are now.
"But they die in an inhumane way." Actually, not so much. Proper game management is essential for the well-being of the species. With the loss of habitat through industrial development, many wild animal species have become severely over-populated. If these species aren't hunted, unfortunately the majority of them will soon die of starvation or disease anyway. This option leaves the animal completely useless to anything other than the vultures that love to pick at their carcasses. Talk about inhumane.
Hunting is actually beneficial to the planet for all of you green people out there! The fees on hunting licenses as well as the taxes on firearms/ammunition go towards conserving and improving a crazy amount of habitat acreage. According to an article on Americanhunter.com, each year, hunters contribute $7.5 million toward habitat conservation per day. That just blows my mind.
The obvious reason as to why hunting shouldn't be considered controversial is that the meat you hunt is so much healthier for you than the meat you can buy at grocery stores. Wild animals eat a variety of natural foods such as grass, leaves, etc. Animals who eat grass have more nutrients stored in their muscle tissues than that of animals that are raised on grain, such as most of our grocery store meats. This generally makes for more lean protein in wild game. Venison, elk, and smaller game such as birds and rabbits are usually pretty low in fat, as well.
If the health benefits don't persuade you, let's take a look at the cost differences behind hunting your dinner and buying it from Kroger. If you shoot one single deer at about 165 lbs. and can get about 58 lbs worth of edible meat out of it. That's equivalent to about $232 worth of ground beef at Kroger if the beef is priced at about $4/lb. To put this into perspective, most hunter's don't shoot just one deer and eat off of it for a year. Many seasoned hunters bring back a few pieces of game (more if they're lucky) per hunting season. That's a lot of free meat compared to grocery store prices.
In closing, I want to say that each person has their own opinion on all things social in today's society. I was raised around pretty much every type of outdoor activity. I learned how to clean a fish (no not with soap and water) at a very young age. I watched my grandpa field dress countless rabbits growing up and I've done my fair share of research on wildlife conservation. Before you go and rally for a cause that you know little about, please educate yourself, regardless of the topic. In this society, we are taught to unashamedly love what we love. We are preached at to let people live their own lives and to not have any government restrictions on the happiness of others. Shooting deer and making delicious jerky out of it makes me happy and hopefully after reading this, you'll understand why I can do so with a clean conscience.
