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Animals in Entertainment

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Cruel Science

Fishing/Wildlife

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Vegetarianism

Hunting

"Hunting is much less cruel than factory farming."
It is true that quickly killing an animal in the wild is much less cruel than factory farming. However, hunting, like farming, disrupts families and causes pain, trauma, and grief to both the victims and the survivors.

"Without hunting, deer and other animals would overpopulate and die of starvation."
Starvation and disease are unfortunate, but they are nature's way of ensuring that the strong survive. Natural predators help keep prey species strong by killing only the sick and weak. Hunters, however, kill any animal they come across or any animal whose head they think would look good mounted above the fireplace—often the large, healthy animals needed to keep the population strong. And hunting creates the ideal conditions for overpopulation. After hunting season, the abrupt drop in population leads to less competition among survivors, resulting in a higher birth rate.

If we were really concerned about keeping animals from starving, we would not hunt but instead take steps to reduce the animals’ fertility. We would also preserve wolves, mountain lions, coyotes, and other natural predators. Ironically, many deer herds and duck populations are purposely manipulated to produce more and more animals for hunters to kill.

"Hunting fees are a major source of revenue for wildlife management and habitat restoration."
The relatively small fee each hunter pays does not cover the cost of hunting programs or game warden salaries. Hunting fees pay for hunter programs that benefit only hunters, like manipulating animal populations to increase the number of animals available to kill. The public lands that many hunters use are supported by taxpayers, and funds benefiting "nongame" species are scarce.

"Isn’t hunting okay as long as I eat what I kill?"
Did the fact that Jeffrey Dahmer ate his victims justify his crimes? What is done with a corpse after its murder doesn’t lessen the victim’s suffering.

Furthermore, hunters are harming animals other than the ones they kill and take home. Those who don't die outright often suffer disabling injuries. Additionally, the stress that hunting inflicts on animals—the noise, the fear, and the constant chase—severely restricts their ability to eat adequately and store the fat and energy they need to survive the winter.

Hunting also disrupts migration and hibernation. For animals like wolves, who mate for life and have close-knit families, hunting can severely harm entire communities.

"What about people who have to hunt to survive?"
We have no quarrel with subsistence hunters and fishers who truly have no choice in order to survive. However, in this day and age, meat, fur, and leather are not a necessary part of survival for the vast majority of us.

Unfortunately, many "sport" hunters have borrowed from aboriginal tradition and manipulated it into a justification for killing animals for recreation or profit. 

Other FAQs:

Vivisection

Hunting

Vegetarianism