student sample essay
Legal Killing Hunting has been an obsession of mine ever since I was 10 years old. That is part of the reason I am writing this paper on that topic. I guess you could say that I am biased, but I really do not understand why people have a problem with hunting. Is it the taking a life part or just the shooting, whether with a bow or a gun?
Just as the non-hunters are, I am looking out for the animals and the wilderness. Hunting is not just about getting to play with guns or kill little Bambie. I don’t hunt because it makes me feel like more of a man. Contrary to what most non-hunters think, I hunt because it is something I love to do. Hunting is a way I can get away from my problems and get my mind off things in the city, like school or work, for example. This is also a way to spend time with my friends during college. Planning hunting trips is the only way we get to see each other. If we didn’t plan those trips, then we would only get to see each other during school breaks.
Many hunters start out when they are very young. They watch their dads packing up all their gear and throwing it into the back of the truck. Then dad comes back several days later with tons of meat. Kids cannot wait for the day they are old enough to take to the field with their dad. The first time the child is allowed to go out with his dad is one of the most memorable times in his life. Not because he shot a so-called defenseless animal, but because he is getting to spend time with his dad, someone that he looks up to. I think that if that bond is formed early, it will last an entire lifetime.
There is nothing better than waking up at 4:30 in the morning and heading out to a duck blind 11/2 hours away, stopping at a gas station to get some coffee and snacks, then heading out. When we get there and after we’re done setting up, we can just sit back and watch the sun rise in the distance. It is always nice to go home with the bag limit, but that is not what it is all about. When we are done for the day and finally ready to go home, we pack up our gear and head back to town. We leave each time with a new experience and a new story. During the ride home my buddies and I talk about how well our dogs performed that day and what we need to work on.
The truth of the matter is that hunters are the leading conservationists. Each year I spend over $100 just on hunting licenses. A large majority of that money goes to saving the wildlife and building more habitats. What would happen if we were not allowed to hunt? Where would they get the money for conservation?
Another way hunters help out the conservation effort is by joining different hunting organizations. These organizations, like the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Pheasants Forever (PF), Quail Unlimited (QU), Ducks Unlimited (DU), and the National Rifle Association (NRA), all give out memberships each year. With a membership price starting at around $35 and most people belonging to more than just one, that adds up to a lot of money. And where do you think that money goes? Into the pockets of the organizations, administrators and employees? Yes, some of it goes to them, but a large majority of it is going right back into the wildlife. Ducks Unlimited builds wetlands and marshes for duck and geese to stay on their way south. The NWTF has brought back the wild turkey to places where there were none before. The NRA teaches gun safety and respect for the outdoors and wildlife. These are just a few organizations that are working on the conservation problem. So now you can see that hunters are not just interested in going out and killing animals; it is much more than that.
After talking to wildlife biologists, I have learned that if not for hunters many species of animals would get so overpopulated that they would eat themselves out of a home, not just destroying their food supply and habitat, but also that of the other animals living in the forest. In other words, hunters help to keep their numbers in check. Each year the bag limit for animals changes depending on how their numbers compare to the year before. This keeps the hunters from taking too many animals and bringing down their population to dangerously low numbers.
I don’t think that the opinion of some misinformed people should make that much of a difference, especially if those people (the non-hunters) don’t know all the facts and have not taken the time to research what they are fighting against. I guess hunting is something you have to experience to understand where I am coming from. (846)
