The Morality Of Hunting Among Native Americans

November 11, 2010
English 1010 40191
Morality of Hunting Since the beginning of time hunting has supported mankind. It has shaped our many cultures and woven many different spiritual beliefs. The first Americans that crossed the Bering Strait were nomadic hunters in pursuit of game. Native American Indian tribes relied strongly on hunting not only for food but they used animals parts for knives, bowstrings, and clothing. The early Europeans hunted for the same reasons, as did early peoples from across the globe. People even fought each other over hunting grounds. When the first European settlers arrived in the new world, the native Indians attacked to defend their homeland and hunting grounds. French fur traders soon began to exploit
the wildlife riches of the new world and hunted Beavers for their pelts, which brought a great profit. As manifest destiny enveloped the minds of ambitious Americans, westward expansion brought new reasons for hunting. The hide of buffalo yielded a high price when sold for uses such as clothing. Even today, much controversy exists over hunting and hunting land. Laws have been passed to regulate where and when to hunt as well as the number of animals that can be harvested. Taxes are assessed each year to hunters through licenses and permits for the conservation of habitats. With so much of our past being intertwined in the hunt, the controversy surrounding the issue is a sensitive issue for many. Some oppose hunting and look upon it as cruel and unnecessary. Is it?
Hunting for sustenance satisfies not only our need for food, but at the same time it

is an excellent way to immerse yourself in nature and it provides for a type of entertainment and bonding that exists nowhere else. This should not be misinterpreted that hunting only to kill is right. In Proverbs 12:27 the Bible says “The slothful man roasteth not which he took hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.” This means that hunting is good when a hunter takes and considers his game a precious possession, as he has food for his family’s table, but not when he kills just for the sake of killing. “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison.” (Genesis 27:3 King James Bible) This further proves the divine support of hunting. The Bible also says in Genesis 1:28, “[…] have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” This verse alone, to many, is enough to prove that hunting is righteous. Hunting to obtain food is the only way to guarantee that you are getting 100% organic meat. This is the purest and most sought after kind of meat and hunting is the only way of truly knowing that you have it. Today, many slaughter houses and poultry barns mix steroids or growth hormones into the food that is given to the animals. Steroids cause the animals to grow bigger and faster yielding more meat, however, some of the remains of the steroids can be passed to humans when consumed.
However, despite it being our divine right, some view hunting today as being immoral, unethical, and simply unnecessary. With a grocery store on almost every corner, many people do not see the point in killing animals for food. Some people argue that meat taken from slaughterhouses in the U.S. is taken in a more ethical manner than when taken by hunters. Despite the fact that hunters wield firearms that can yield a quick

death before the animal knows what is happening, the chances of a single shot dropping an animal like a rock is slim. As much as fifty percent of animals shot by hunters will not die instantly. There are even some that are shot but never recovered by hunters.
There is much politics involved with hunting.
The NRA-ILA (National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action) is made up of a team of lobbyists who are constantly fighting to suppress any piece of anti-gun legislation that threatens the 2nd amendment. The 2nd amendment is, for obvious reasons, very important to hunters. It secures the right to gun ownership which is vital to all hunters. The NRA is also actively involved in securing hunting as a legal right, not simply as a privilege. In Oklahoma, the state legislature passed this NRA backed motion with an overwhelming 143-2 vote. The legislature urged voters to go to the polls and they responded with an 80% approval of the motion. Now Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee are working to have the right to hunt written into the state constitutions. This goes to show that an, overwhelming majority of people sympathize with hunters or are hunters themselves and wish for the continuance of their
sport.
However, as with most things there are always those who oppose it. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is one of those groups. They lobby to try to enact any legislation that they can to stop hunting. According to PETA hunting may have been necessary in prehistoric times, but now many hunters only hunt for the sport of killing the animal. They also say that the fees that hunters pay to help conserve habitats and create new places for animals to live only go toward the manipulation of game species populations determining how many may be harvested each year by hunters.

Today hunting is not only beneficial to one’s own family but to many that are in need. Hunters for the Hungry is a charitable organization that collects animals that hunters wish to donate. Last year alone in Tennessee, Hunters for the Hungary collected over 100,000 pounds of venison creating more than 400,000 meals for the hungry. This is a small amount when compaired to what larger states collect. During the 2007-2008 season, Texas hunters donated over 178,000 pounds, or an estimated 714,000 servings, of wild game. Since 1990, Texas hunters have donated over 1.6 million pounds, or 6.5 million servings, of wild game to those in need.
Hunting is the purest form of entertainment when accomplished in a correct and respectful manner.
It brings together old and young generations with a common goal. Being in the woods with your dad or your grandfather or your friends, sitting in silence until one of you sees your quarry is an experience like no other. It is difficult for a non-hunter to grasp this experience. It comes from a lifetime of exposure to hunting and its many trails and tribulations. With these adversities comes reward, this reward consists not only of materialistic value but it comes with wholehearted emotional satisfaction. Having your dad share a beer with you after a long day of hunting, having your grandfather smear the blood of your first kill on your face, and going out hunting with your friends to put to use the knowledge your dad and grandfather taught you as a young boy is immaculate. Within all hunters burns a flame of passion for the outdoors, which is fueled by the excitement of the hunt and no bureaucrat, no lobbyist, and no organization can ever extinguish this flame, it will burn forever within the hearts and souls of those who respect and are awed by the animals they hunt. This is where I take my
stand.

Hunting is and always has been a good thing. It has shaped my life and the lives of those I have grown up around. It is a part of me and I pray that future generations will be able to experience its many rewards.

Sharpe 6

Citations

Sorte, Darren L. "Voters Decide Right to Hunt in Four States." Untitled Page. National Rifle Association, 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2010. .

"Hunting." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. PETA, 15 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Nov. 2010. .

“King James Bible” Genesis 1:28, 27:3, Proverbs 12:27 Thomas Nelson Publishing, Nashville

Tennessee Wildlife Federation. "Hunters Donate 50 Tons of Venison For Hungry Tennesseans." Home. TWF, 3 Mar. 2008. Web. 25 Nov. 2010. .