Sport Hunting Research Paper

Should sport hunt be considered a sport?

Sport hunting is pursuing game for trophy or prize, not for the collection of food or other products. McCarthy, writing in In the Defense of Animals, states that more than 200 million animals are killed every year due to sport hunting. I strongly believe sport hunting shouldn’t be considered a sport because sport hunting creates suffering, causes species to become extinct, is unnecessary for trophy hunters, and hunting is very dangerous.

During hunting, animals, after being shot, suffer too much. For example, E.L. Bradshaw

Trophy hunters hunt because they want to earn trophies, like a deer antler. Sometimes, humans hunt to survive, which is fine. However, trophy hunters don’t kill animals to get food or to survive. In Where The Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, “‘Well, if you can keep the coons out of those big sycamores, you might make a little money,’” (Rawls 91). Because Billy’s family is not very rich and the family lives in the wilderness, Billy is hunting with his coonhounds for survival. That is not trophy hunting because the family needs money to survive. Many trophy hunters don’t use any part of the animal’s body to help themselves and they don’t need the trophies to be put on the wall in their room. Hunting isn’t even necessary for some trophy hunters.

Finally, hunting can lead to accidents during the outing. Specifically, according to Interstate Sportsman, it is estimated that about 700 people die from hunting wounds nationwide in a year Additionally, most average hunters only hunt one of two days in a year. This is why hunting is too dangerous to be held as a sport. When the hunter is looking for game, the hunter might see another hunter, think it’s an animal, and shoot it. Because of all of these accidents, hunting should not be considered a