The Modern-Day Hunter

It seems as if hunters get a bad rap these days and indeed it is understandable why. The world’s human population is stressing the earth’s ecosystems and animals to the brink of extinction. While at the same time, hunters find enjoyment in hunting and killing these same animals for sport and food. This issue of the modern-day hunter is very complex and it is easy to jump to conclusions and quickly take sides on this matter. However, people should hold judgment until they look deeper into the culture of hunting.For the purpose of this article, I am referring to the term “modern-day hunter” as a hunter who doesn’t hunt based on the exclusive need for food, but rather hunts for sport and food.Understanding the motivation to hunt gives insight into the deep culture of hunting and the traditions that have been passed down for generations. Just as young children look up to their parents and mimic their actions, I followed my father into the culture of hunting. Having my father pass down his skills and hunting techniques made it only logical for me to then use these skills myself. I was able to reinforce my ideals of what it was to be a man. In a way you could say that hunting directly affected my masculine identity and reinforced to me what is was to be a man.However, when my father passed down his skills in hunting, he also passed down a whole lot more. He taught me the rules of hunting and what were the right and wrong ways to hunt and he instilled in me an ultimate respect for nature. It seems like this is often the major misconception about hunting: that hunters are not respectful of nature. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, most hunters are very concerned with the protection of wildlife and habitat preservation. A good example of this is the organization Ducks Unlimited, which is dedicated to the preservation of wetlands and other waterfowl habitat. Ducks Unlimited, with over 700,000 members, is funded by hunters who want to keep waterfowl populations healthy and plentiful long into the future. As of 2008, DU has raised over $2.7 billion for waterfowl habitat preservation, restoration and management, demonstrating that hunters do care about nature and its preservation.For these reasons, I feel that hunting is of great benefit and importance to the backbone of this country and should continue to be passed down to the youth of this nation. The tradition of hunting helps instill good characteristics in youth and will ultimately lead to individuals who have a deep appreciation of nature and its preservation. The modern-day hunter is not like the hunters of the past who wiped out the American Bison populations without remorse. The modern-day hunter is of a whole new caliber, one that above all respects the natural world and the pleasures that it provides. Picture Courtesy of : Paeonia http://www.flickr.com/photos/paeonia/1204690011/