Hunting Sense

Friday, while skimming through stations on the car radio, my wife happened to come across a radio talk-show where they were discussing Alberta’s Provincial Hunting Day. Even though the kids were less than thrilled by the prospect of having to listen to it, my wife left it there so we could listen. I have to say I’m more than a little glad that she did, but I believe she is planning on making a post that may explain why. What I want to discuss is something the anti-hunter they spoke with said.

It is widely agreed that hunting is one of the best management tools wildlife departments have at their disposal. Except to anti-hunters, who will find any reason, no matter how skewered, to debunk the fact. And that is exactly what the anti-hunter on the radio talk-show did, so I wasn’t disappointed. What surprised me though is the way she presented her argument against it.

Her stance is that nature has an established set of checks and balances that will take care of wildlife populations without the intervention of hunters. I don’t agree with her on that point, but I am amazed that she thinks that those checks and balances still actually work with the impact the human race has had on them. Things like the sprawl of our species, the impact we have had on our environment, and the general interference we have had on the entire cycle of nature.

Another issue to take into account is that we, the human race, before we reached our current level of development, played a part in that natural cycle of checks and balances she spoke of. Predation, by us, was a natural part of that cycle until we began moving away from the heritage and necessary activity of hunting.

How can Mother Nature take into account those things? She can’t, plain and simple. That is the reason we see the effects of starvation, overpopulation, in-breeding, and numerous other issues. And since we are to blame for the problems of the wildlife, we need to at least right some of those wrongs. Granted, hunting may seem cruel and barbaric to some, but it has always been a factor. And now it is even more important than ever because of the issues I stated above that we are to blame for.

I don’t know what others actually believe, think, or view this, but I would bet dollar to dollar that many of you feel the same way. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

[tags]hunting, hunting sense, Alberta, Provincial Hunting Day, wildlife management, anti-hunting[tags]