Hunters’ Assault on Nature
by Ron Spomer
A small segment of western society believes — fervently — that hunting is evil, vile, cruel, and destructive. An affront against Nature. They see strident opposition to hunting as a tenant of environmentalism. He or she who is against sport hunting commands the moral high ground.
But is that true? Is hunting evil, an assault on Nature/God? Perhaps we should consult Nature on this question. After all, She is, by her very nature, the ultimate authority on environmentalism, the final arbiter on questions of environment because Nature/God built the system. She/He should have the ultimate answer to the burning question: Is sport hunting environmentally justifiable or an assault on Nature?
To appreciate Nature’s stance on this, one must determine if humans are children of Nature. With our four limbs, two eyes, air-breathing lungs, and oversized brains, are we One with the apes, wolves, lions, falcons, chickadees, whitetails, and quail? Or are we something other, something apart, displaced, perhaps “left behind” extraterrestrials isolated from the panoply of life on Earth?
Evidence argues strongly that we are and always have been products of the same Nature/God that has replenished the Earth for countless millions of years. Humans don’t carry some 98 percent of the same DNA as chimpanzees because men are from Mars and women from Venus.
This reality suggests we are subject to the same Natural laws as the rest of life. We breathe, eat, drink, shelter, reproduce, and die, our material parts recycled through Nature’s system of decline and renewal. We, too, whirl in the cycle of life and death. That raises the next question…
Can we identify any indications that Nature abhors hunting or a carnivorous diet? We rightly revere Nature’s system as the ultimate biodegradable, all-organic, endlessly recyclable, environmentally perfect manifestation of Earthly perfection. Yet she shows no inclination to stop wolves from biting and tearing caribou to death. She doesn’t prevent lions from clawing kudu and buffalo. She lets eagles snatch lambs from ledges, allows sharks to bite seals in half, house cats to toy with innocent, helpless mice. Whether you subscribe to evolution or creation, the Ultimate Authority purposefully included hunting, predation, and meat eating as essential parts of the biosphere.
All evidence indicates planet Earth has long been seething with carnivorous fish, fowl, and beasts galore without green agendas, recycling bins, or vegan diets. Nature is obviously bloody red in tooth and claw. Is this wrong? An irreconcilable dichotomy? Has Someone made a mistake?
Not if life on Earth is any indication. Nature’s predators — the ones many call “innocent animals” — chase and grab, frighten and terrorize, rip and tear, bloody and kill, bite and swallow their fellow creatures in an endless cycle of carnivorous rampage. Were Nature human, PETA and vegan community organizers would protest Her, condemn Her, cancel Her. Condoning hunting and meat eating? How could She!
Still, somehow, it works. Nature has somehow managed to reach environmental perfection — without cancelling her carnivorous creations, without heeding the insights and wisdom of even the greenest vegan acolyte. And this brings us the answer: hunting and meat eating are environmentally responsible. Nature proves it.
This reality brings into question another popular trope: humans are a curse on the environment. Selfish, hateful, uncaring, uniquely destructive. We kill wildlife wantonly, indiscriminately just to satisfy our egos. No one can dispute that, right?
Well, it’s true that many humans have been thoughtless, even cruel and wasteful. But that is painting an entire species with a broad brush. It’s like condemning all wolves because packs sometimes kill dozens of caribou at a time and only eat one or two. Before we pass judgement, we might contemplate the one uniquely human trait that separates us from Nature’s other predators and prey… altruism. Humans are the only species that is altruistic.
Yes, this goes against the popular view of humans-as-horrible, yet we naked apes are the only animal that willingly and knowingly indulges in self sacrifice for the benefit of other species. Think about that for a second. No wolf ever limits its kill or observes closed seasons. No hungry cougar ever lets a fawn escape. No eagle ever builds ponds or plants forests for the benefit of other species. No beaver ever removes its dam so burrowing rodents can reclaim their tunnels and fish can swim to upstream spawning grounds. No lions ever build nesting boxes for owls, bluebirds, or wood ducks. Human hunters do.
Although humans are routinely accused of selfish, heartless destruction of Nature, we are the only species that voluntarily works to help other creatures. And hunters are, once again, the prime exhibit. Sport hunters (distinguished from market hunters and poachers) initiated and continue the American tradition of protecting and enlarging wild habitats. They lobby for and pay to create wildlife refuges. They build ponds and restore wetlands. Hunters fund wildlife disease research, species protection and reintroductions. During specific, limited time periods each year, hunters commune with Nature, taking from her the free-range, organic, biodegradable, endlessly recyclable meat and fur She provides. And they do it in sustainable quantities, accepting the necessary limits that ensure the wildlife they love continues to thrive. Sport hunters do all this despite the best efforts of misinformed anti-hunting zealots to stop them.
The unique, remarkable altruism has saved many species from extinction and restored many to abundance. Not every hunter knows the right postures and phrases to explain this. Hunters typically do not seek the limelight in which to parade and pontificate. They do not protest and rant and claim the moral high ground, though they could. Perhaps they should. Because they’ve long known and accepted their responsibility to the wilds and wild creatures they love. Sport hunters were the cultural group that initiated wildlife sanctuaries, for saving forests and wetlands, for closing seasons and hiring Game Wardens. Sport hunters were the first who argued against market hunting and excessive harvest. They self-imposed closed seasons and limited take. Sport hunters called for license and tag fees, even excise taxes on guns and ammo to fund habitat improvement. They still do.
Proof of sport hunters’ successes is found in the remarkable numbers of prime game species once on the brink of extinction but now thriving. Whitetail deer, wild turkeys, Canada geese, elk, pronghorns, wolves, cougars, bears… The list of recovered and growing species is long and inclusive of virtually all hunted species protected by modern game laws initiated by hunters and paid for by hunters. This is remarkable, yet consistently ignored, corrupted and flipped 180-degrees by anti-hunters posing as environmentalists. Perhaps, for the survival of our wildlife and wild places, society should flip it back. Back to what Nature created. Back to what works: Sustainable use of Nature’s resources.
Nature doesn’t care if humans drain the last wetland, damn the last river, pave over the last grassland. But WE should. And we do. Just as we dream of seeing a living mastodon or T. rex, future generations might dream of seeing a whooping crane, sage grouse, or woodland caribou. If sport hunters have anything to say about it, they won’t have to dream.
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