Hunting doesn’t seem sporting

It is in the wee hours of the morning that they do it.  They sit in tree stands dressed in camouflage awaiting, “the kill.”

Who is this strange breed?  And more importantly, why do they do this? These are questions that often cross my mind.  

The phone rings and I am informed that my nephew has yet assured that there will be one less deer in the world. I congratulate him knowing this is supposed to be a victory, however, the celebration eludes me as a picture of Bambi runs through my mind screaming, “Mamma!”  O.k., so perhaps this is a bit dramatic, but you get the point.  

It has been said that hunting is a necessity, a natural way to thin out the deer population.  Wait — hunting isn’t only deer.  So I guess it is a grand attempt to control the populations of rabbit, duck, deer, antelope and moose? Out of all the nuisances in the world, we have chosen to “thin out” the wildlife?

If we are so concerned with overpopulation why are we breeding these animals for the purposes of being hunted?  Something about that doesn’t seem sporty to me.

I am not a conservationist; however have we not been hearing for decades that the modernization of man has driven the animals out of the forest as they are cut down to build concrete jungles?  I am confused, is this part of some sort of ‘Bama conservation program?  

Some will make the argument that hunting still serves as a means to feed a family.  It is difficult for me to understand how one is able to spend thousands of dollars on equipment yet cannot afford to buy a $5 package of meat at the supermarket. It would be like Donald Trump standing on the corner by Wal-Mart with a sign, “will work for food.”