The immorality of hunting and why it needs to stop
CW: This article discusses topics of animal cruelty which could be distressing to some readers.
Why is hunting cruel?
Although hunting started as a crucial tool necessary for humanity's survival, it has now turned into nothing more than a violent recreational activity directly contributing to the extinction of various species and leading others to the same fate. Many animals that are the victims of this sickening activity endure long and painful deaths when they are injured by hunters. A study of 80 radio-collared deer found that 22 of them had been shot with traditional archery equipment, 11 of them were wounded but not recovered leaving them to suffer prolonged and painful deaths. Another study showed that 11% of deer who had been shot by hunters only died after being shot two or three more times resulting in the deer suffering for over 15 minutes before actually dying,
Hunting is often referred to as a sport to disguise the cruel and senseless murderous activity to deem it sociably acceptable.
Sports usually consist of two opposing sides agreeing to a set of fair rules and competing to achieve a higher score than the opposing side, in this case, the animals are forced into participating in this cruel ultimatum where they must escape or suffer an untimely and violent death - the hunter however never faces such unfair odds and leaves at the end of the day facing little to no risk.
Hunters claim to adhere to a "fair chase" code, this is a blatant exaggeration of the word fair. Being armed to the teeth with rifles, shotguns, pistols, traps, bows and arrows - an animal would need a miracle to escape, and not many do with over 200 million animals dying each year due to hunting and hundreds of millions more being crippled or orphaned as a consequence.
With so farms to fulfil our needs for food and a vast variety of recreational activities, hunting has transformed from a necessity for human survival to a sickening activity that is unnecessary and cruel towards animal welfare and their ecosystems.
Thousands of animals are now facing extinction due to hunting such as rhinos and polar bears.
Is it really okay to eliminate an entire species, for "sport"?