Hunting: More than a Sport

In the days of the legendary Alain Quartemain in wild Africa, hunting is what practically makes legends out of people. Quartemain used to search the Black Continent for lost cities and treasures and kills elephants with one shot from a thousand yards. Quartemain was just a product of the author H. Rider Haggard but his exploits inspired aristocrats, nobles even peasants to pursue the joy of the hunt – chasing preys and firing that golden shot that either downs an animal or spoils the whole journey.

These days, hunting is considered a sport. Sport fishing, a form of hunting, is gaining more popularity. Sportsmen with their yachts join fishing events that last for days – sending the “anglers” as what these sportsmen are called – to the open sea and to return with their catch on a designated time. Animal sport hunting is not that popular because of animal welfare activists but is far off cousins having become Olympic sports.

Clay shooting, for one, can be traced by man’s hunt for quails and birds. Since shooters cannot kill birds during sporting events, the “birds” are replaced by clay “pigeons” fired by mechanical slingshots. The shooter that registers the more hits is declared the winner.

In the old days, the shooter who kills animals the farthest is the winner. Hunting packs usually go for expeditions to see who are the best shooter and hunter in the group. However, since animal hunting and killing are also prohibited in sporting events athletes shoot on metal or paper targets to show who is the best shooter among participants.

Hunting is still allowed in some states but only for a limited time. Deer, ducks or bird hunting is allowed as long as hunters are given permits by the government after paying a fee.

For naysayers, hunting is a masochistic sport highlighting nothing but man’s insatiable appetite for the destruction of other species. For the purists, hunting is just a rekindling of the days when primitive man set out to kill animals to bring home to his family in caves. Hunting was not only a mode for sustenance; it is also a means for man to protect himself from animals.

People back then live in caves not only to fight off the cold but to protect themselves from animal predators. Men then launch search expeditions to find these predators and kill them. In some farms in the world today, farmers still band together to hunt foxes and other animals that prey on their livestock.

Whether it is harmful now or just an expression of man’s victory over other equally dangerous species, hunting is already a part of man’s existence. It did not only help protect the human being’s blood lines, but have also contributed to how we look today – thanks to ancient man’s consumption of animal protein and fats.

However, since there is no longer that much of a threat from wandering wolves or elephants crashing into the suburbs, it is also important to regulate hunting as a sport. This way, guns used in the sport will stay in the sport and animals that are hunted during seasons are protected so they will not become extinct.