9 Things No One Told You About Hunting

Hunters make up many excuses to justify their pastime. However, cruel, unnecessary killing—which is what hunting is—has no justification.

1. REAL sports involve competition between consenting parties and don’t end with the deliberate death of one unwilling participant.

2. Wildlife departments often cull majestic predators, such as wolves, bears, and coyotes, to prevent predation on elk, caribou, and deer so that hunters will have more animals to gun down.

3. Natural phenomena such as predators, starvation, and disease kill primarily the sickest and weakest individuals. Hunters, on the other hand, strive to kill the larger, stronger animals because they want to hang their heads on a wall, and this weakens the remaining population.

4. Most hunting occurs on private land, where laws that protect wildlife are often ignored or difficult to enforce.

5. When animals are killed, families are broken up, often leaving young animals to perish of starvation or attacks by other animals. For animals such as wolves, who mate for life and live in close-knit family units, hunting can devastate entire communities.

6. Hunters often accidentally injure and kill animals other than the ones who are being hunted, including horses, cows, dogs, and cats. Sometimes hunters even injure or kill themselves or other humans, such as hikers and other hunters.

7. Dogs used for hunting are often kept chained or penned and are denied routine veterinary care. Some dogs are lost during hunts, and others are turned loose at the end of hunting season to fend for themselves.

8. Hunted animals often don’t die painlessly or quickly. Many animals must be shot multiple times. A British study found that some wounded deer suffered for more than 15 minutes before dying.

9. When injured animals escape from hunters, they usually endure prolonged, painful deaths as a result of predation, shock, or exposure.

Millions of animals are killed by hunters each year. Stop the bloodshed by refusing to go hunting and by sharing this page and educating people about hunting.