By Angela Briggs
Sport is defined as any activity or experience that gives enjoyment or recreation. For a long time there has been some controversy about hunting from activist groups, vegetarians, and others. Some call it inhumane, cruelty to animals, killing, or whatever else they may consider. I call it a sport. It is becoming that time of year when men and women dress up in camouflage, get their hunting tags, and head out into the wilderness for the sport of hunting.
I grew up with hunters in my family. Every year my dad and uncles take long hunting trips to the UP, Canada, and Colorado just to bag the big healthy animals for trophies and meat. Those hunters that go out on opening day and spend hours waiting out in the woods get great enjoyment from the sport of hunting. They spend long mornings in the cold, wind, rain, or snow just for the hunt. They are hanging in trees or sitting in little plywood shacks covered in brush clanking antlers together to draw in the deer. Some hunters spend thousands of dollars on hunting equipment, all the camouflage and bright orange gear, the boots, the guns, the ammo, the licenses and of course the beer.
I know that many men and women are out there for the enjoyment of the kill. My dad called it "the sport of being outside." He loves the outdoors just like every other hunter. He likes to listen to the nature and wildlife in the woods. He said hunting is his way of "sneaking up on nature."
The percentage of hunters that go out into the woods and actually shoot something is quite low considering just how many hunters are in the woods during the season. "Sure it's great to shoot something, but I like to go out and not shoot anything," my dad told me. "I like to see how close I can get to the animal and how quiet I can be." My mom calls hunters "big kids, it's like they are out there playing a game." They go out and are as quiet as they can, patiently waiting for an animal to cross their path, kind of similar to the childhood game of hide and seek. My dad stated, "I go hunting all the time and seldom kill anything. If you're lucky enough to have something walk by to shoot then that's a bonus. It's my gambling."
After all, hunting is part of nature. Predator animals living in a natural environment hunt. It is natural to hunt to obtain food. Predation is a healthy and normal relationship that some species have with others. So there is no problem with the hunting of animals by humans. Nearly all the hunters keep their meat for their families and share it with friends. If hunters did not shoot these animals there would be an over population of these animals in the wild, running out in front of our cars and eating our gardens. If it were not necessary for these animals to be hunted, then the state would not issue licenses in different townships and town zones for hunting. Also, they would not give farmers a permit to shoot as many deer as necessary to keep their crops from being eaten up.
Hunters are the athletes of the wilderness. They are people trained in the sport of hunting, which requires physical strength, skill, and stamina. They keep the deer population down. They gain bragging rights when they shoot a big buck. They bear all weather conditions, walk miles into the woods, wearing the 'scent' of a doe and bang antlers together to draw in their pray. Hunting is a true definition of sport and an example of real athleticism.
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