Actually, it was comedian Paul Rodriquez who is quoted as saying, “Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they’re in the game.” Amusing and, on the surface, seems true. I mean, here I am with a shotgun in a tree stand and a poor innocent deer has no idea I’m looking for a venison burger. Mean and cruel, right? He’s not aware he’s being hunted. Wrong!
Here’s why this quote is wrong: every animal on the planet knows every single day of their life that they are in a fight for survival. Every animal, that is, except us humans. Seriously, think about it. Even that little squirrel or bunny poking around your backyard right now knows it’s being hunted. “No,” you say, “who’s hunting the bunny in my yard?” Well, that could be the rat snake in the bushes, the neighbor’s dog, a fox, a hawk – need I go on?
Now, while I’m sure Paul Rodriguez was just being funny and not trying to philosophize or protest the NRA, people do jump on phrases like that and hold on tight to make a case against hunting. Honestly, though, it’s a ridiculous argument. Nature is all about the hunter and the prey. From the seas, to the sky, to the prairies and the jungles – every living creature has something above it in the food chain. As humans, we just forget that 99.9% of the time. Mainly because we’re not in the natural food chain most of the time. Maybe if you’re on safari or swimming the coast we might think about being eaten, but the rest of the time, we don’t.
So, while in today’s civilized culture, hunting is not a necessity to most of us, it certainly is a right and most definitely should be considered a sport. Is it abused? No doubt. I won’t argue that for one second. I’m sickened by endangered animals killed just for sport, or worse, to make a coat for a rich lady or a pair of boots or a rug. But, that’s a different topic. This is a simple rebuttal to a quote I heard and wanted to share my two cents on. We’ll talk endangered species and over-hunting another time.
