‘Hunting is cruel, harms environment’
According to me, animals shouldn’t be hunted and used for selfish needs of man. Hunting of animals should be banned as it creates an imbalance in environment. Example: Extinction in the tiger species. Animals have done nothing to deserve this but still they get killed for no reason. While animals are been hunted they also feel pain, as humans have a nervous system which allows them to feel pain. In today’s day, man has being self centered and greedy. The day is not far when man will realize the ill-effects of hunting animals. Animals are been hunted for thrill but why don’t he understand that a balance in the environment should be maintained for his benefit. Man is the creator of crisis, happening recently in the environment. So I feel that hunting is dangerous for the Environment.
Deepanjali Mishra, IX-F, St. Xavier’s High School, Borivali (E)
A drastic rise in the number of species encoutering extinction has brought us to realize that the preservation ands protection of wildlife is certainly not as easy as we think. One of the major threat to wildlife from us is hunting. Human beings have been using countless hunting methods since the begining. Earlier the main or rather the sole motive was to obtain food for survival. However nowadays hunting is used for incredibly large number of purposes and sadly also for fun. But is it really worth killing the beautiful creation of nature to feed ones agreed? Hunting has brought an end to numerous species and to manipulate the wildlife in such a cruel way is something I consider completely atrocious. Therefore in my opinion hunting is bad for the environment.
Juhi Sawant, Grade 10, Ryan Global School, Andheri
According to me, animal hunting should be banned. It is cruel and I oppose the ignorant and barbaric slaughter of such innocent animals. I cannot stand the thought of killing animals for thrill as it gives pain to the animals just like humans have a nervous system which allows them to feel pain. Also, this causes extinction to the species and it gets declining which creates a imbalance in the environment. E.g.: Cheetah’s face high mortality rates due to inbreeding issues. Hunting is the form of legal mass murder. Now, who is the culprit of this imbalance in environment?
The answer is Man, Who is being self centered, greedy and selfish. It is imperative that man soon comes to his senses and understand that a balance should be maintained in the environment and realize the ill effects of hunting. So, I personally feel that hunting is bad for the environment.
Medini Ghag, IX-D, St. Xavier’s High School, Borivali (E)
I still run into people who think that sport hunting is anti-environmental. Consequently, I want to restate that when the overall picture of wildlife and natural environments is taken collectively from the standpoint of their health and well being, hunters are among the greenest people in the nation today.
Indeed hunters are entering into partnerships with research ecologists, groups interested in wildlife recreation, and organizations that focus on habitat protection. Although the ultimate objectives differ for each, the primary goal of saving or restoring forests and other natural habitats benefits all. Hunters depend on and help maintain sustainable populations of their species of interest. Ironically, their own population is facing a serious decline in numbers. Therefore we come to conclusion that hunting is good for environment for some extent
Neha Bisht, X- B, St. Mary’s School, Mira Road
How can such a question arise in our mind? The answer to this is definitely bad. We have ample of reasons to answer this question. Firstly hunting itself means killing animals. Deer are hunted for deer meat, tigers for skin, elephants for tusks and many more. Hunting endangers thousands of animal species across the world. Many of them are on the verge of extinction. Explaining with example I may say that tiger eats deer, deer eats grass. If tiger is extinct, how will grass grow, what deer will eat and thus food chain is unbalanced. Hunting not only kills animals but the chase injures many them. They die because of injury. Babies of so many are injured. So friends stop hunting and save wild life.
Preksha Bangera, IX-A, St. Francis High School, Vasai
Many environmental and animal advocates see hunting as barbaric, arguing that it is morally wrong to kill animals, regardless of practical considerations. According to Glenn Kirk of the California-based The Animals Voice, hunting causes immense suffering to individual wild animals and is gratuitously cruel because unlike natural predation, hunters kill for pleasure. He adds that, despite hunter claims that hunting keeps wildlife populations in balance, hunter’s license fees are used to manipulate a few game species into overpopulation at the expense of a much larger number of non-game species, resulting in the loss of biological diversity, genetic integrity and ecological balance.
Public support for hunting, however, is on the rise. A 2007 survey by Responsive Management Inc, a social research firm specializing in natural resource issues, found that 78 percent of Americans support hunting today versus 73 percent in 1995. Eighty percent of respondents agreed that hunting has a legitimate place in modern society, and the percentage of Americans indicating disapproval of hunting declined from 22 percent in 1995 to 16 percent in 2007.
Singh Saurabh Jayprakash, X-B, St. Xavier’s High School, Kashigaon
Hunting has been a way of life for thousands of years. It’s only been over the past 100 years or so that it has brought conflict among people. As long as the human race has been in existence, there has been hunting. Even then there were severe consequences resulting from over hunting a particular species. Hunting may have an effect on the natural predator-prey relationship. It may also have drastic effects on the habitat that is used by other non-targeted species. There are also benefits from hunting. There are many groups that are for and against hunting.
Sharon Levy, the author of ” Hunting Plays a Crucial Role in Maintaining Natural Habitats and the Environment,” says that with proper management hunting can be a good thing. Hunters help to control the population of their prey. When they become overpopulated, the whole eco-system can be drastically affected. Native food sources can be depleted very quickly which can result in extinction.
Govinda Panigrahy, X-A, St. Mary’s High School, Mira
Hunting has been chosen as an activity or sport by Indians since ages. It has been done since the early years for the evolution mankind. It has been continuing ever since even though now its legally band. Hunting has his own cons and flaws but more of flaws. According to me hunting is bad for the environment. There is an imbalance in the environment because the number of animals which are being killed is more than the number of animals produced. Even though animals are used for many purposes, there are many alternatives available. Elephant’s ivory is used for making ornaments. Instead of harming animals, we can just use stones which are provided by the natural environment stones. There are numerous animals being killed which affect the food chain. Rather than hurting and killing animals for our advantage we can used alternative and save our environment and animals live.
Khusbhu Shaikh, Grade 10, Ryan Global School, Andheri
The worst occupation that a person can follow is hunting — it shows that man has lost his precious value of kindness. To hunt poor and defenseless animals is a cruel act. It also shows that man can do anything for his personal interest. Different people hunt animals. Some do it for fun whereas others kill to increase their income. Hunting should be banned as it disturbs the functioning of our ecosystem. Various animals have gone extinct and some are on the verge of extinction. A person has quoted “Man shows his kind act by helping others but his cruel nature by killing poor animals”.
The after effects of hunting are destructive as seen in various parts of India and other countries like Pakistan where pests have increased due to death of frogs. Numerous countries have established laws regarding a ban on hunting but all are ineffective. Hunting leads to destruction of ecosystem and an increase in the population of a particular species of animals. It also leads to an increase in various microorganisms such as fungi, algae etc. Which decompose the dead bodies of plants and animals.
Thus in the end, making laws for ban of hunting aren’t only necessary but to educate people on the bad efforts of hunting is more important.
Mohit Desai, IX-C, Cambridge School, Kandivli (E)
Hunting affects many things, including our own environment. Although generally most of the affects are negative, there are some positive effects to the environment. The positive effects include population control. Hunters kill animals that have large population, and this can cause those animals to die out due to the lack of food. Hunting these animals will help with population control Having said that, there are also many negative affects to hunting, which complete overshadow the positive effects. Hunting affects the biosphere, which is where the living organisms exist, it affects the biosphere because wildlife is directly related to the biosphere and hunting disrupts natural order.
NIMISHA VARGHESE, IX-C, St. Francis High School, Vasai
First, let me define ‘good’ as a situation or activity that maintain wildlife at current levels. In that case, hunting is good for environment because the hunting community ensure that wildlife population of game species is sustainable from one generation to the next. This requires that a diversity of natural habitats. The kept intact, unpopulated and undisturbed. Hunters support all this efforts. So, hunters contributes in a big way to benefiting natural environment but although time sharing may sometime be a problem, a variety of wildlife enthusiasts have a single common vision healthy outdoor ecosystems.
Satam Yogini, VIII A, St. Xavier’s High School, Kashigaon
Still missing my duck hunting buddy
In 1988 my sister Edie was godparent to a litter of Chesapeake Bay retrievers – seven little bundles of energy in dark coats, two with light saw-grass coverings which seemed ideal for hiding in the swale grass of nearby Hopkins Stream, my duck hunting paradise.
Oh, how I wanted one! And I engaged my kids, ages three and six, in the effort to convince wife Linda that we needed one. We visited the pups more than once. I pleaded. She demurred, more strongly. Finally, that magic moment came when a pup looked into Linda’s eyes and she melted. I was ecstatic that it was one of the saw-grass males. I seized the moment and we were home with the pup before Linda had a chance to change her mind.
Dad quickly rehabilitated the old chicken house out back for the puppy’s outdoor recreational needs, and we debated names. Blake Hill Buddy was the final choice (we live on Blake Hill Road), Blake for short. And he really was a bundle of joy and energy.
NOTE: I just read the previous sentence to Linda, and she remembers Blake a bit differently! More about that later.
It was Blake’s energy that got to be a problem. Determined to train Blake myself, I plunged into the training books, including Water Dog by Richard Wolters and How To Be Your Dog’s Best Friend by the Monks of New Skete. Both are excellent.
Blake was a quick study, actually retrieving dummies and duck wings in the water by the time he was four months old, trained to the whistle and holding steady. Cementing that bond between master and dog which is so important, I kept him by my side throughout the day, as much as possible, his leash wrapped around my ankle. We looked quite a sight stumbling around the house and office.
It was when I took the leash off that trouble began. I gave Blake the run of the house and he quickly sensed that this was his domain, and everything in it. This was the period when he bit some rather large chunks out of our new couch, chewed the coffee table a bit, and ate some of the kids’ clothes and toys.
NOTE: Linda says Blake ate a My Child Doll that she had just purchased for Hilary. Linda had made the doll a Christmas nightgown that matched one she’d made for Hilary. Blake ate the face of the doll and tore the nightgown to pieces. “How do you explain that to a three-year old child,” she asked? Hmmmm.
It also became apparent that I had failed to properly potty train Blake. I trained him on paper. Found out later from the Monks of New Skete that this was a grave mistake! So it was off to the Kennel Shop in Augusta for a large kennel, in which Blake was quickly potty trained and settled into an excellent routine (and yes, this is according to my memory, not Linda’s).
Dreaming of Ducks
Sitting in my office that June, I watched ducks barreling into Hopkins Pond and Stream, thinking about all the fun ahead. Sure, Blake had cost more money so far than anticipated. I promised Linda he’d have a light appetite and be a relatively small dog. He ate like a horse and at eight months of age was already huge.
Sure, the furniture he chewed on was new and expensive, and we had to replace some of the kids’ toys and clothes. I know. I know. That kennel was expensive. So were the training books, training paraphernalia, collars, leashes, and those five feeding dishes he destroyed before I turned to a metal bucket.
But when he takes that first plunge into Hopkins Stream to retrieve my downed duck the next fall, I knew it would all be worth it. It really would. That’s what I told Linda. Many times. And always, she responded, “It would have been easier and cheaper to go to the Village Inn in Belgrade Lakes and order their roast duck.” You can’t argue with that kind of logic!
Duck Hunting
Our first year was a challenge, but when the 1989 season arrived, I felt confident that Blake and I were now a team. As I paddled across “my” beaver bog, the handsome Blake sitting in the front seat of our dinghy, a bunch of Black ducks rose to our left out of the weeds, and a cow moose with twins splashed to shore on our right. We passed the huge beaver house as we glided into a small island in the middle of the bog.
A startlingly beautiful red sunrise, which could have graced the walls of any art museum, blessed us as we settled into our island blind. Actually, that entire 12 foot by 20 foot island served as our blind, and we wandered about, depending on where the ducks were. They landed all around us.
At first light, the ducks were moving and action was brisk. We quickly downed a Black duck, and Blake bounded into the water to retrieve it. In that instant, as he leaped out of the blind and into the water, I couldn’t imagine a greater hunting thrill. Although I know it comes naturally to this breed of dog, I also believed my training polished Blake’s considerable skills. Oh, if only we could do this every day for the rest of our lives!
Action slowed after the first hour and by 8 o’clock we were enjoying a hot drink and blueberry muffin as an otter paddled past. We could hear the chop, chop, chop of a beaver in the nearby woods. Blake’s ears picked up and a fraction of a second later, goose bumps rose from my forearms. From somewhere over the hill to the east, the haunting honking of a gaggle of geese floated down into our bog. Dropping the drink and muffin, I hunkered down with Blake, praying for a miracle, letting our eyes take only short peaks at the horizon.
Alas, the geese stayed to the east and moved along toward the Maine coast. But we remained thrilled by just the possibility that, as they did once before, the geese would alight all around our tiny island and provide an entree’ for a memorable meal.
At 8:30 we pick up the decoys, startled a beaver returning to his house, and paddled back across the bog. We’d bagged two ducks, our limit on each species, and enjoyed a finestkind of morning. And we’d be back the next morning!
Later that season
The canoe glided along Hopkins Stream, leaving only the slightest of wakes. I dipped the paddle once to skirt past an exposed boulder and we rounded a bend. Blake was on full alert in the front of the canoe. My Remington 12-guage 870 magnum pump was on my lap, loaded with 1 /38 oz. number 2 shot.
The small body of a hen mallard emerged from the reeds just ahead on our right, as I quickly let off the safety and lifted the shotgun to my shoulder. The stream’s current cooperated, tilting the front of the canoe just enough to the left so I was facing the mallard. As the duck lifted off, I had a very easy shot, about 20 yards, straight away. She went down. But I was unprepared for what happened next.
At the sound of my shot, a dozen Black ducks erupted from the reeds beside us. Quickly pumping out my first shell, I had another easy opportunity, only about 15 yards, wings spread, looking about the size of an eagle at that range. Hard to miss. And I didn’t.
At this point, unable to contain himself any longer, Blake bounded out of the canoe to retrieve the first bird. Barishnikov he isn’t, but he managed to jump cleanly over the side of the canoe without dumping me into the stream with him. He quickly brought the first bird to me, still sitting in the canoe mid-stream, and I pointed him back to bird number two, which he also retrieved. Both were dead, part of a string of five successful killing shots I made that morning, a far cry from the previous season when I had real trouble adjusting to the new steel shot requirement.
When Blake tried to get back into the canoe, disaster loomed and I called him off, paddling quickly to shore, where he was able to step in without incident.
A memorable morning, and when it was over, we had our personal limit of ducks and a bag full of new hunting stories. We’d started the day in a quiet beaver bog, and ended it poking around in the flooded alders behind the beaver dam located beside our house.
He’s Gone
After ten memorable years of hunting with Blake, he started limping, eventually finding it hard to stand. The vet said he was suffering a degenerative hip problem, and, on our final visit there, he told me Blake was much worse and needed to be put down.
It was, as you can imagine, a very tough decision, but I agreed, and went outside to stand by my vehicle while Blake was put to sleep. When the vet came out to tell me it was over, I was standing there bawling like a baby. His assurance that Blake’s suffering was over, and I’d done the right thing, helped a little, but I miss my duck hunting buddy still, 18 years after he died.
I tried hunting without a dog the next fall, a very unsatisfying experience, and I stopped duck hunting altogether for a while. Now I make sure I have friends with dogs, so I can get out a few times. I always reminisce about Blake when I am duck hunting, and will never forget him or the good times we enjoyed.
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