The ethical issues regarding recreational hunting

The ethical issues regarding recreational hunting For well over a century, recreational hunting has been an activity pursued by millions of Americans (Eliason, 2008). Hunting is something that has occupied our young country since we got here. It is an outdoors sport that used to be the only way people acquired their food, and many depended on what hunting offered. In recent years, however, hunting has become a very controversial topic. This is in large part due to the overwhelming gun problem this country is facing. But it is also because many people, today, dont understand why people hunt. They do not see how you could find joy out of it anymore. There are others that believe completely otherwise. Some believe that hunting is a part of our culture, and we should continue to utilize the wildlife like we have for so many years. Hunting has become a very controversial topic, and many are not educated on the topic enough to make a decision one way or the other. Hunting, regarded to humans, is essentially the tracking of a certain animals with intentions on killing the animal. For a person that does not know very much about hunting, they may think that this sounds very cruel. However the hunter, usually, has no intentions on torturing the animal. Hunting is considered a sport to many here in the United Sates. That being said, many also do not consider this a sport. Paul Rodriguez, a Mexican Comedian, had this to say about hunting; Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know theyre in the game. Even though this is a funny spin off of hunting, it is very relevant. For people that disagree with hunting, this would make a lot of sense. The animal obviously has no idea that it is in the game. However pro hunting advocates think that hunting is more than just a sport. They feel that it is our culture, and that people need to hunt to contain the wildlifes numbers. There are many different feelings on hunting, but the main two thought s either disagree or agree with hunting. There was a time when animals were not as domestically friendly as they are now. People often forget the importance animals played in the survival of humans. Hunting was a crucial component of hunter-gatherer societies, and is a theme of stories and myths, as well as many proverbs, aphorisms, adages and metaphors even today (History of Hunting). Many believe that a form of Persistence Hunting was the first type of hunting (History of Hunting). This type of hunting was used before people had any sort of weapons that could kill an animal from long distances. People would have had to stalk their prey for long periods of time, and get immaculately close to the animal in order to take down their prey. Throughout the ages man became more advanced and engineered guns, spears, and bows. These weapons were made in large part to assist in hunting animals, allowing people to gather food much easier. Times have progressed, and so has the view of hunting. It is important for both sides of the hun ting debate to remember that hunting is as old as the human kind. In todays world the hunting community has begun to decrease substantially, due to regulations and animal rights groups advocating for a change against hunters. However these groups often do not look at the consequences if there were no hunters. One of the greatest positives hunters can provide is this idea of Wildlife Management. This is simply keeping the numbers of animals down. Wildlife management would be severely weakened, in terms of economic and social support, with- out hunting (Peterson, 2004). Another important area of Wildlife Management is the safety of humans. A specific animal that is hunted here in the U.S. is the Whitetail deer. Whitetails are one of the most overpopulated animals in America. It is also important to know that this is among one of the most common animals hunted in the United States. Deer can cause a lot of harm to humans. Overpopulation of deer affects their food intake, and when it is low they venture out into areas they should not, one of these being roads and in turn come into contact with cars. Another negative aspect of numerous Whitetail Deer is that they tend to carry Lyme disease. The blacklegged tick has 3 active life stages (larva, nymph and adult)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ most adults feed on white-tailed deer (USDA). If there are too many deer, then there is a greater chance for more widespread amounts of Lyme disease. Hunting is more than just Wildlife Management. For many it is a way of life. People that hunt; feel a certain connectedness to the Wildlife that people who have never hunted could never understand. These are mainly Utilitarianism points of view. They focus on the outcomes, and look at the consequences of the actions. When considering the debate about hunting it is important to understand the ethical dilemmas surrounding the situation. For this specific topic, hunting, there are three concrete ethical categories that can be associated with hunting. These categories that will be examined are; Anthropocentrism, Animal Rights, and Utilitarianism. All three of these ethical categories can be directly related to the hunting issue. All three have their strengths and weaknesses for the argument either against or for hunting. It is important when considering the ethical dilemmas, stemmed by hunting, to look at different ethical categories, because it can provide insight into why people either oppose or support different ethical problems. The first category that will be examined is Anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is the view that the only things valuable in themselves are: human beings; their desires, needs, and purposes; and the satisfaction of those (Donahue, 2010). An Anthropocentric perspective would believe that the only thing in this world that really matters, are humans. In this case, by hunting, we would keep the deer population down and prevent any risks that the deer pose to humans. This principle would suggest that hunting would benefit humans instead of benefiting the natural flow of an ecosystem. In contrast to Animal Rights activists views, an Anthropocentric would say that people hunting animals matters more than the wellbeing of the animals. They would say that if there are an abundance of animals, then they could intrude into the wellbeing of humans. They could harm us with disease, and injury. State Farm Auto Insurance does an annual report on how much damage is done between cars and deer collisio ns. The report says that there is an estimated 2.3 million collisions between deer and vehicles that occurred in the U.S. between July 2008 and June 2010, according to State Farm this was 21 percent more than the five years before. (State Farm) The report states that there is an average property damage amount of about $3 thousand per incident. (State Farm) If you do the math it is roughly $7 billion in property damage over the past two year, which is roughly $3.5 billion a year. The point is, if you did not control deer populations through hunting, deer-auto collisions would skyrocket even more, causing more property damage and more injuries and deaths. Anthropocentrism views would see this report and the statistics of it, as extremely harmful to humans. On the other end of the spectrum there are the people that disagree with hunting. In 1991 an animal rights activist, Wayne Pacelle, said Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting. This is the category of Animal Rights. In the past few years, there has been an increasing amount of pressure from animal rights activists to stop hunting. Many feel that it is a form of animal cruelty. Hunting is increasingly viewed as an antisocial act in contemporary society (Eliason, 2008). Many animal activists work to reduce the amounts of hunting in the country; they also strive to explain to the people whose main concern is not hunting why they should oppose it as well. Animal movement activists seek to stigmatize and mark as deviant what many people perceive as normal, legitimate, mainstream activities such asà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦hunting wild animals for pleasure or profit.(Munro, 1999) Some major animal rights groups include: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), ASPCA, People for Animal Liberation, and many others. Animal Rights activists feel that killing any animal for food or recreation is wrong. It shouldnt matter if the animal is a deer, cow, or chicken. Animal Rights activists considered hunting to be unethical because the human and deer conflict is not the fault of the deer. However it is the fault of humans for taking the habitat away from deer. Animal Rights activists have also advocated for non-lethal methods in animal control. Most notable is Birth Control for deer. Animal Rights advocates believe that it is possible to somehow inject deer with birth control, and in turn they are not as easily able to reproduce. The last ethical category to observe is Utilitarianism. A Utilitarian would believe that hunting offers three benefits. One benefit would be that killing deer for their meat would benefit those who eat venison. Venison is also thought, by many, to be leaner and better for you than beef. It is also important to note that many living in rural areas of the United States need hunting in order to survive. In this tough economy many have expressed that they have lost their jobs, and they have to hunt deer and other wildlife in order to provide for their families. Throughout history hunting deer and other animals is what humans have had to do in order to survive. Another benefit would be that by limiting the population of deer the environment benefits. Overpopulation of deer can create overgrazing, crop reduction, and generally barren land. Utilitarianism would support hunting if it was used for, preserving stability and integrity of biotic communities (Peterson, 2004). Overpopulation of an imals, especially deer, can be very damaging to the ecosystem. With large numbers of deer and other animals, the environment could possibly be damaged by overgrazing. Lastly, a Utilitarian would see a benefit in the fact that deer harbor many diseases. By limiting the amounts of deer, would decrease the amounts of diseases that could possibly be spread to humans. Examining the background of hunting, the pros and cons of it, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the topic; I believe that hunting should not only be allowed but be encouraged. Hunting does not only benefit the environment, but it also benefits humans. Not all hunting is just for bagging a big buck it is also about the relationship a hunter can acquire with nature. In the hunting world there is also a lot of camaraderie that comes with hunting in the outdoors. It can change the lives of people through spiritual, physiological, and physical means. My father is considered a pro-hunter, so I have some bias for the sport. I have seen how the sport has not only benefited him, but it has grown to be a part of our family. One of the most important things to note about hunting is the fact that these animals were put on Earth for a reason. It is even possible to look at this ethical dilemma in terms of Religious Ethics. As the Bible says in Genesis 9: 2, The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. (Genesis 9:2). Being a Christian, this is a pretty hard statement to ignore when looking at the hunting dilemma. We have to realize that these animals were put here for a reason, and if we continue to advocate against hunting then we are not using the resources that God has provided us with. Even if you agree with hunting and participate in the hunting of animals, you are still able to understand why some disagree with hunting and what it entails. However many of these disagreements come from people being uneducated with the forms of responsible hunting. Somebody who goes out and hunts for deer and participates in other legal forms of hunting would agree with animal rights views that are against poaching and illegal forms of killing animals. But the fact remains that responsible hunting has more pros than cons. Nobody can deny that the deer population in America is able to grow at an unbelievable rate. The main reason for this is because Deer can adapt to any environment, this is why we see them in our neighborhoods, and in towns. It is also undeniable that overpopulation such as this can be a problem for the environment, and be a potential danger to humans. Responsible hunters can help solve many of these issues. Another thing to note is that in most cases hunting does not inflict any sort of torture on the animal. Animal rights activists have every right to try and defend animals; however they need to make the clear distinction between responsible and irresponsible forms of hunting. Many people are under the impression that hunting is only for red necks out to hurt animals. This could not be further from the truth. Hunting creates a form of camaraderie that some will never be able to understand. When looking at the ethical dilemmas, regarding hunting, it is easy to see why this has turned into such a controversial issue. With the heightened amount of Animal Rights groups, and hunters or supporters of hunters feeling the pressure from these groups there is an inevitable debate. Looking at Anthropocentrism, Animal Rights and Utilitarianism, each category brings something different to the debate. The idea of hunting will never go away. As long as there are people who disagree and agree with this issue, debates will continue to happen regarding hunting. It will also be hard for this debate to go away, because both sides of the spectrum feel very strongly about this particular issue. I will be a firm supporter of hunting until I die, because I have a firsthand take on how positively it can affect the people that participate in hunting. The debate on hunting has many sub sections such as, poaching and gun control. However if you just merely look at hunting and what it can offer hu mans and the environment, it is easy to see how useful hunting can be. As my dad says, I will do all I can to  sustain and grow our  blood sport  until I walk  the  deer woods no longer. (Mikehanback.com)

Remember the titans Informal Roles of Characters Essay -- essays resea

Remember The Titans was a movie that was set in a very hostile time in our country. We were in the middle of what I like to call a civil war. Although there were no battles or gunfights our country was torn in half. There was an issue dealing with race in the United States. The movie, Remember the Titans is based on actual events that occurred in the year 1971. Mainly on the integration of a school called TC Williams High School. When the school was integrated the old football coach, Coach Yoast, was let go and a black coach Herman Boone was hired on. The main plot of this movie is regarding the coaching change in the school and the 1971 football season the TC Williams Titans have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the movie we see that each of the people that we meet establish certain...

The Ripple Effect of Smoking

The Ripple Effect of Smoking It has become common knowledge that smoking is bad for people’s health, nonetheless people continue to smoke. To be honest, that is fine. If people want to endanger themselves by smoking then I wish them a swift and peaceful end (though most smokers die a slow and agonizing death). What is not acceptable is the effect that smoke has on non-smokers who have almost no way of getting away from smoke unless they want to stay in their house. Smokers affect everyone around them for the worse. Smoking should be restricted or banned from all public places because the health of non-smokers should not be jeopardized by secondhand smoke. As stated before, almost everyone knows and accepts the fact that smoking is unhealthy. For those who don’t know, Phillip Morris, one of the leading tobacco manufacturers, must tell them that very fact. As part of a settlement agreement with the government, Philip Morris must publish that they â€Å"agrees with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema (where the lungs basically break down), and other serious diseases inn smokers† (Philip Morris U. S. A. 1). Yet some don’t know how bad smoking actually is for people, both for the smokers and non-smokers alike. According to Michele Late, author for The Nation’s Health, published by the American Public Health Association, â€Å"A new report by the U. S. urgeon general found that smoking causes disease in almost every organ of the human body. † So aside from common knowledge that smoking causes lung cancer as well as other respiratory problems and diseases, people need to know that it also causes cancer in almost every other part of the body. Among those diseases are, â€Å"leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia as well as cancers of th e pancreas, cervix, and kidneys† (Late). According to the surgeon general’s report, â€Å"Other complications linked to smoking included diabetes complications, hip fractures and reproductive complications† (Late). Why anyone would want to smoke with the knowledge that smoking causes these problems is beyond reason. Ultimately though, it is a person’s choice as to whether they want to cause harm to themselves by smoking or not. Although people may choose to smoke, it is unfair of them to inflict the consequences of their choice upon others. The smoke that smokers put out into the air is nearly as harmful as what they take in to their own systems. When non- smokers happen to be in the vicinity of a smoker they inhale what the smoker puts out. This is called secondhand smoke. A definition from Philip Morris U. S. A. ’s website states that, â€Å"Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke or ETS, is a combination of the smoke coming from the lit end of a cigarette plus the smoke exhaled by a person smoking† (Philip Morris U. S. A2). Secondhand smoke is almost as harmful to the non-smoker as the firsthand smoke is to the smoker. According to William V. Corr, the executive director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, â€Å"Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals and 69 known carcinogens, including formaldehyde, cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane, benzene, and radioactive polonium 210. With all these known cancer causing products in secondhand smoke, it is not surprising that, â€Å"secondhand smoke is proven to cause lung cancer and serious respiratory illnesses† (Corr). Secondhand smoke also causes, â€Å"asthma, respiratory infections, cough, wheeze, otitis media (middle ear infection) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,† (Philip Mor ris U. S. A. 2) in children. According to Donna Halvorsen, writer for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, â€Å"The CDC (The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke each year. An additional 35,000 die of heart disease also from secondhand smoke†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It is unfair to make those who choose not to smoke be damaged by the secondhand smoke of a smoker. What is the solution to this problem? The most effective solution is to ban smoking in all public places. If people who want to smoke then they can do so in the privacy of their own homes, where they can only hurt themselves and their loved ones. California has taken the first step by banning smoking in most indoor establishments. Yet more has to be done. It needs to be banned outdoors in public as well. Though the theory that outdoors smoke dissipates has some validity, if you are within 20 feet of a smoker, you are still affected. Other atmospheric conditions can cause you to be affected from farther away. There will be arguments against this solution, the main one being personal freedom. Opponents will say that their personal freedom to smoke is being violated. Though right now, smokers are violating millions of people’s rights. A non-smoker’s right to live in an uncontaminated and healthy environment is being violated by the smoker who chooses to engage in this repulsive habit. A non-smoker’s right to a longer, pain free life is being taken away by the diseases they get from inhaling secondhand smoke. This solution, though the most effective, is also the most extreme. Until we reach an ideal society where smoking is nonexistent, there are ways to help alleviate the problems posed by secondhand smoke. One is to have separate rooms in public places with high quality air filters. They have started doing this in airports. A new renovation is smokeless cigarettes. A U. S. company that makes this product is Longherb Health Products, Inc. According to them, â€Å"This smokeless product, which consists of a menthol or cinnamon-flavored filter material – like that used in a cigarette filter – looks and feels like a cigarette, but contains no tobacco or nicotine, and does not burn. The smokers simply draw or inhale on Smoker's Option Cigarettes whenever they have the desire to smoke cigarettes. † Unfortunately there is the problem that cigarettes are addictive. Some who are addicted to cigarettes need one every hour. An addiction causes physical pain when you don’t have your addictive substance. To help people quit there are many different solutions. They range from patches, to gum, to medication. Philip Morris U. S. A. has links on their website that can help you quit smoking, one being QuitAssistâ„ ¢. The information for quit assist was written by and is maintained by Cheryl K. Olson, Sc. D. of Harvard Medical School, as well as a review board. Secondhand smoke is a problem that must be dealt with. There are alternatives to smoking and ways to deal with secondhand smoke. Smoking must be banned or severely restricted in public for the well being of the multitudes of innocent non-smokers.

My First Year Of High School Softball - 868 Words

‘’Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game’’ (Babe Ruth) .These words are always in my head while playing. A great lesson I learned from playing softball was when you show that you are defeated, that’s when you know that you are truly defeated. I have had many failures in my life but my junior year in high school was my worst. Growing up in a family that always played softball led me into the game that shaped my life. I have always had a gift for playing, and it came easy to me. Years of practice, and money spent on travel ball teams steered me into a life filled with softball. Softball was involved with my life all through my childhood and into high school. My first high school experience in softball was overwhelmed with fear. Going into practice I was afraid to mess up in front of all of the seniors and the rest of the team. Finishing my first year of high school softball, became more comfortable with playing and I succeed ed on my JV team. With the highest batting average, and pitching strikeouts I was in a good spot to be taken up to varsity my sophomore year. Unfortunately, due to the lack of girls coming in my sophomore year I was required to stay on JV. I was upset, but I focused on winning so I could prove to my coach that he should bring me up. Sophomore year was also when I developed an inflammation in my forearm for pitching too much. Knowing I had to pitch for my JV team to win league I continued to pitch on my hurt arm. Successfully,Show MoreRelatedDiscourse And Narrative Of Sports1627 Words   |  7 Pagessaying as a motivational speech for their sports team, including my softball coaches. As a softball player you face a lot of adversity in the sport. There are times when you are in a hitting slump and can not hit a ball for 3 straight games, or even times when you make routine mistakes on the field. 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