Hunting: Right or Wrong? Throughout history the human population has depended upon hunting to provide food for themselves and their families. Additionally, the hunting and killing of these animals provides many types of uses other than just food. Things such as tools, clothing, and medicine are often made from different parts of the animal. The killing of wild animals for food used to be a part of everyday life. There are people that are both for and against the taking of wild animals for these uses. Animal rights activists lack the knowledge of all the benefits we receive from hunting and act to fast in saying it is unsafe; two solutions to this would be to educate the activists on the benefits and to show them just how much safety is taken into consideration. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a group of people that are against any type of the hunting of animals for food. Outcasts from ALF formed a militia, known, as the Animal Rights Militia (ARM). ARM believes that ALF does not take their violence far enough with regards to direct action (ALF, n.d.). Several examples of the violence that ARM is responsible for as stated on their website:
Animal Rights Militia actions in England include incendiary devices causing economic damage to animal abusers. Some examples include Aug. 10, 1994 where C.H. Brown's saddler & leather shop, Madison and West World leather shops, Edinburgh Woolen Mill, and Nurse's fur store all had incendiary devices placed by ARM. Tens of thousands of dollars in damage was caused to the saddler shop. Another example is Aug. 24, 1994 when over $4,000,000 in damage was done with four incendiary devices placed at Sports and Model Shop (selling leather goods), Suede and Leather Shop, and the Cancer Research Fund Shop (n.d.). What there is to learn from this quote is that this organization will stop at nothing to “protect” these animals. They will not think twice when it comes to destroying company or personal property. These individuals wear black masks to hide their identities when these acts of violence are committed. If they were firm believers in doing the right thing, then they would not have to hide their identity. Most of the world would call this movement a group of cowards, others call them heroes. These two organizations are firm believers in animal rights. They carry out arsons in order to get animals released. Additionally, they make false claims that companies have tainted food products that may harm people if consumed. This false information has forced several businesses to lose millions of dollars due to recalls. Groups such as ALF and ARM have no regard for property. They will stop at nothing in order to keep animals safe. They do not take into account the benefits that these animals give us. Another organization against hunters is known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also known as PETA. PETA states that animals are treated cruel for the purpose of providing food to the public. The animals have supposed harsh living conditions and lack of nutrition while held prior to slaughtering. They say that the environmental impact of raising these animals creates over one-hundred and thirty times more excrement than the human population does. Additionally, their belief is that the animals are fed so much food; the world is being robbed of precious grains. PETA seems to be one sided in that all of their points are for their argument and they do not mention any benefit at all. In addition to animal rights activists being against the hunting of animals they are also against hunting because they think it’s an unsafe activity. They feel that hunters hunt to close to the road, trespass, hunt animals that they are not allowed to hunt, and ignore safety regulations (Responsive Management, n.d.). While some of these accusations are true, they do not pertain to the average hunter. The average hunter is out there to do the right thing and to abide by the laws. There are always people that go rouge in different activities, hunting is no different. Everything that we do in our day to day lives has people that break the rules and regulations. It is up to the people that witnessed these profound acts to report them to the authorities for proper justice to be taken. There are numerous benefits that hunting animals gives us. Some benefits include stimulating the economy through the purchase of all types of goods and services for the hunter and boasting the animal’s habitat through money raised from the purchase of state hunting licenses. Additionally, hunting provides a food resource and teaches responsible gun ownership. Everyone benefits from the taxes that hunters voluntarily pay on guns, ammunition and outdoor equipment. “Since 1937, hunters have contributed over four billion dollars through the Pittman-Robertson Act for the benefit of all wildlife species. The Pittman-Robertson Act takes the taxes from these purchases and other proceeds and distributes them to the States for wildlife restoration” (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, n.d.). These dollars have been used to purchase millions of acres of public lands and to bring the populations of many different species back up to normal levels. See the chart below for information on the population of animals from 1900 and then again in 2001. The Pittman-Robertson act is largely the cause for this huge increase in animal population (NRA, 2004).

Additionally, as listed on the NRA website: over ten-thousand clubs and organizations such as NRA, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Quail Unlimited, contribute an additional three-hundred million dollars each year to wildlife conservation activities (2004). All of this money contributes greatly to the conservation acts that many people so desperately value. In response to anti-hunting extremists that have been focusing their efforts on state ballot initiatives designed to trick the public into supporting their anti-hunting agendas, hunting and conservation organizations including NRA have banded together to more effectively push for conservation and hunters' rights. So much of the meat is given to the public for consumption. For example, for nearly seven-teen years hunters have provided thousands of pounds of game meat through donation programs such as Hunters Sharing the Harvest and Hunters for the Hungry (NRA, 2004). These programs help reduce the costs to food banks because hunters donate the meat, rather than the food banks having to go out and purchase, or ask for donations themselves to purchase meat. In addition to these programs, there are many families across the world that still lives off of the land. They go out into the lands to take animals for their individual consumption rather than go to the supermarkets and grocery stores. This helps the families put money into other parts of their budgets and not into food, thus, helping them live a better life by providing food at low costs to their families. These people can the meat, so it stays preserved for a very long time. Hunting helps to instill responsible gun ownership. The socialization into gun ownership is also vastly different for legal and illegal gun owners. “Adolescents who own legal guns have fathers who own guns for sport and hunting. On the other hand, those who own illegal guns have friends who own illegal guns and are far more likely to be gang members” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994). Starting off illegal only leads to farther breaking of the law. This is not best practices from a hunters stand point. Hunters are responsible, based on the fact that parents introduce their kids to guns at a young age and teach them how to handle them in a safe manner. According to the FBI (2002), persons in rural areas are more likely to be hunters; the total violent crime rate and murder rate in rural counties are sixty-one percent and forty-one percent lower, respectively, than those found in metropolitan areas. I would attribute this to the average criminal knowing that there are most likely guns in a rural home do to the fact that people in rural areas hunt. According to Responsive Management (1993) research indicates that most Americans support hunting in general; however, support for and opposition to hunting can vary dramatically based on numerous factors, including personal values and characteristics, attitudes toward hunters, attitudes toward animal welfare, the motivation for participating, and the safety considerations that are taken, to name a few. In fact hunting is safer than some contact team sports such as football. There are so many safety considerations that are taken into account when hunting. There are firearm safety regulations, hunter safety courses, and certain laws that must be followed. Most hunting accidents occur because people do not follow the most basic rules of firearms. An outstanding list of firearm safety rules are outlined on the Texas Parks & Recreation website. They are as follows: Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Control the direction of the muzzle at all times. Treat every firearm or bow with the same respect you would show a loaded gun or nocked arrow. Be sure of your target and what is in front of and beyond your target. Unload firearms and unstring conventional bows when not in use. Handle the firearms, arrows and ammunition carefully. Know your safe zone-of-fire and stick to it. Your safe zone-of-fire is that area or direction in which you can safely fire a shot. Control your emotions when it comes to safety. Wear hearing and eye protection. Don't drink alcohol or take drugs before or while handling firearms or bow and arrows. Be aware of additional circumstances which require added caution or safety awareness (n.d.). Just because something isn't listed under these "ten commandments of shooting safety" doesn't mean you can ignore it if it is dangerous. There may be rules such as in muzzle loading or archery or posted at a shooting range which should also be followed. It is so much easier to walk in the woods with someone who has a background in guns than someone who does not. When hunters know and understand these rules it will both reassure the hunter and prevent accidents from happening. Guns don’t kill people; people kill people due to negligence with a firearm. Most States require a hunter safety course prior to obtaining a hunting license. Hunter Education provides instruction in hunting regulations, wildlife management and identification, conservation, ethics, firearm and hunting safety and responsibility, and outdoor skills. The course is particularly suited to novice or young hunters. The traditional hunter education course averages four-teen hours of instruction over two or more days (Texas Parks & Recreation, 2011). Courses are offered all across the United States, throughout the year and are taught by certified volunteer instructors. Virginia has several laws that are geared towards safety, for example: “To purchase a hunting license you must have completed an approved Hunter Education course if you are twelve to fifteen years of age, or sixteen and over and have never held a license to hunt” (Hunter Course, n.d.). Additionally, hunters during firearm deer season and those accompanying them must wear Hunter Orange on the upper body, visible from all sides, or a Hunter Orange hat, or display 100 square inches of Hunter Orange within body reach, at shoulder level or higher, visible from all sides. Children younger than six-teen years of age must be accompanied by a licensed adult while hunting. These are some very good laws aimed at reducing the risk of accidents and negligence. Though the world is full of people on both sides of the debate these people must be educated. If the anti-hunter/animal activists are not educated promptly on all the benefits and safety precautions that are taken into consideration, violence will only continue. As with all bad habits they only tend to escalate. Yesterday and today these activists have only targeted property and things that will lead to a monetary loss for a company. Tomorrow they may take it up a notch to assault and battery or even worse, murder.

References
Animal Liberation Front. (n.d.). Animal Rights Militia Fact Sheet. AnimaLliberationFront.com. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-UK/alfarm.htm
FBI Uniform Crime Reports (2002). Crime in the United States
Hunter Course. (n.d.). Virginia Hunter Education Requirements. Huntercourse.com. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.huntercourse.com/usa/virginia/educationrequirement.aspx
National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (2004, March, 2). NRA-ILA Hunting Fact Card. NRAILA.org. Retrieved September 30, 2011, from http://www.nraila.org/issues/factsheets/read.aspx?id=124
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. (2011). Animals Used for Food. PETA.org Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for- food/default2.aspx
Responsive Management. (n.d.). Public Opinion on and Attitudes Toward Hunting. ResponsiveManagement.com. Retrieved September 30, 2011, from http://www.responsivemanagement.com/download/reports/NAMWC_Public_Opinion_H unting.pdf
Responsive Management. (1993). Factors related to hunting and fishing participation in the United States: Hunting focus groups. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Responsive Management.
Texas Parks & Recreation. (n.d.). Rules Hunters Can Live By… Ten Commandments of Shooting Safety. tpwd.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/hunter_education/shotsafe.phtml
Texas Parks & Recreation. (2011). Texas Hunter Education Traditional Two Day Course. www.tpwd.state.tx.us. Retrieved October 7, 2011, from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/hunter_education/traditional.phtml
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (n.d.). Federal Aid Division—The Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. www.fws.gov. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/pittmanrobertson.html
U.S. Department of Justice. (1994, March). Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention -Urban Delinquency & Substance Abuse.