Widely distributed research has indicated that a vast majority of Americans support hunting in general. However, when the conversation turns to values and ethics, or animal welfare, opinions can vary as much as that of a politician who wants a vote. And, when one mixes in mind boggling technological advancements in bows, arrows, firearms, optics, and the like, hunting can seem downright unfair to some.
Now, I’m not considering canned shoots (referred erroneously as hunts), whereby game animals are killed in some type of confined area. The concept lacks fair chase, and thus is not fair and isn’t really hunting at all.
In addition, I’m not going to attempt to justify hunting to the anti-hunting crowd that attempts to hide from their very own heritage of successful hunters. That’s right! If you haven’t found them on your family tree, you just haven’t looked back far enough.
The question is this: Can technology make hunting unfair? Hunters often debate this issue among themselves and sometimes purposely make hunting more difficult. They’ll use longbows in place of modern compound bows or crossbows for the shear challenge.
Muzzleloading hunters may opt for more traditional firearms with smoothbores, round balls, black powder, and open sights. They also like the challenge and tradition of doing it the old-fashioned way.
Others may hunt with a pistol with open sights. They know they’ll have to get close to their quarry and that the degree of difficulty is increased because of their methods.
However, with each self-imposed restriction, we raise the degree of difficulty. If, for example, we choose not to carry a laser rangefinder, we may misjudge distances. And, by so doing, we run the risk of a bad shot – one that wounds an animal – just because we didn’t use common technology available to today’s hunters.
Let’s face it. Unless a hunter is throwing rocks, he’s adapted his hunting style with some form of hunting advancement. He has chosen a certain level of technology that someone invented and passed on. And, as long as hunters become proficient with their chosen tools and techniques, more power to them.
However, fairness must still be defined by how effectively and efficiently a given hunter can kill his quarry. An instantaneous kill, which is a calculated combination of tools and techniques, is the essence of fairness. In fact, if done correctly, an experienced hunter can kill an animal before it is able to hear the sound of the shot. Even Mother Nature can’t do that!
Oh, I know that when a pack of coyotes bites away at a deer until it is weakened and bleeding to death and finally succumbs in the midst of pain (eventually shock), that it is “all natural”. Tell that to the deer.
Humans have the ability to do better and, as long as man has evolved, he’s gobbled up “new and improved.” Fairness: It’s your call.
