Argumentative Essay-Oh, Shoot !

Oh, Shoot! As stated by Margaret Van de Pitte, “Hunting and gun ownership continue to be associated with liberty, a very fundamental right indeed” (263). The exercise of deliberate stalking, observing, and killing of animals is a cherished pastime that positively impacts our world today. The base of traditional and cultural practices, hunting wild animals should remain legal due to the environmental and economic benefits. First, because of how commendably hunting directly and indirectly strengthens economies of all sizes, banning a vital source of income would cripple many cities, communities, and businesses worldwide. According to the state game officials of Montana, exactly “15,603 hunters bought wolf tags, including 89 nonresidents
The hunting of wild animals is not only a more humane way of killing a living organism, but it is also healthier for the consumer as well. In his article “Considerations on the Morality of Meat Consumption: Hunted-Game versus Farm-Raised Animals”, author Donald W. Bruckner describes the slaughterhouse as “live cattle being shackled and hoisted while fully conscious after the ‘knocker’ failed to deliver an accurate blow to the head with his captive bolt stunning device”, and how the cattle “kick and thrash, causing severe injury to the ‘sticker’, the worker responsible for severing the animal’s carotid artery once it is stunned and hoisted” (319). Moreover, substituting meat sources from farm-raised animals to wild game one personally kills will allow for a deeper respect for the animal, as well as eliminating the danger of wounding and angering the animal that could be dangerous to whoever is in its presence. In this same article, Bruckner clarifies how there is “scientific evidence that animals unable to engage in some natural behaviors suffer stress, as indicated by increased levels of stress hormones” (314). Because the animal is being required to act unnaturally in confinement, it is putting heavy amounts of stress on this animal throughout the course of its life, depleting the quality of the meat for whoever is consuming it, proving
Although there are exceptions of hunters not presented in this article, including those who kill animals solely for the “thrill of the hunt”, or just because sport hunting has gained popularity as modern firearms make it more convenient to kill. In her article “Sport Hunting Is an Unnecessary Form of Cruelty to Animals”, Dawn Laney argues that the practice of hunting for sporting purposes defeats the meaning of hunting and causes animals' pain and suffering in the last minutes of their lives. Some would agree with the fact that not every shot that a hunter makes is a kill shot; however, there are always reasons for the bullet to miss the intended target; like an unsighted scope, high winds, and movement of the animal when the shot is fired. Also, keeping farm–raised animals herded into confinement will result in unnecessary brutality; whipping and thrashing the animals for direction, branding the animal, gauging the ears for identification, and trapping them in quarters so tight they can hardly move. Furthermore, author and primatologist Jane Goodall stresses how hunting around the world is “driving species to extinction”. It cannot be denied that exotic animal hunting can lead to low population numbers, however in most cases, this is an act of poaching rather than hunting. A poacher is