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Erin Martin

Professor Lacey

ENGL 111

31 October 2019

Daily Survival

Hunting is a common practice in American culture involving specific animals being

killed for humans’ food, recreation, the removal of dangerous predators, or trading among each

other. The animals being hunted are referred as ‘game’ or ‘prey’ which is usually mammals or

birds. There are several different hunting types in America such as bird hunting, big game, small

game, wild boar, and bait hunting. Hunting can be extremely expensive involving Americans

spending money on different firearms and equipment to be prepared on their adventure of finding

their prey. The top five hunting companies in America are Remington, Ruger, Bushnell, Hoyt,

and Eddie Bauer. These five different hunting companies all offer a different hunting experience.

While hunting in America, hunters use different weapons and methods of killing their prey. For

example, hunters can use firearms such as rifles or shotguns, bows such as a traditional

compound bow or a crossbow, or can use a handgun. Hunters also use different hunting

equipment and hunting gear to be camouflaged while tracking their prey to be invisible for a

clean shot. Hunting is important for survival because the animal provides high protein meat

which is valuable for human nutrition. Also, the animal’s fur can be used as materials for making

blankets, coats, etc. Hank Shaw is an outdoorsman’s who hunts for his food and resources. In

fact, he’s also an American chef and author who explains his experiences while hunting and the

importance of it. In his article, “On Killing Wild Game for Food” he explains the importance of

hunting by describing how Americans can use the meat from the animals for positive reasons. He
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goes further into detail by giving recipes for certain species and proper cooking methods. “I hunt

for a lot of reasons, but for me the endgame is always the table” (Shaw, 2017). There are many

people around the world who think hunting is a crime and should be illegal because hunters are

taking a life by shooting an animal with intent to kill it. But those individuals who think that,

don’t know about the true benefits of hunting wildlife. The three main benefits from hunting

wildlife is economic growth, individual gain which includes both meat and animals’ resources,

and the department of natural resources benefits by protecting wildlife regulating hunters from

poaching animals illegally.

Hunting in America is extremely beneficial for economic gains and a reliable food source

for consumption. The Interior Press wrote an article entitled, “New 5-Year Report Shows 101.6

Million Americans Participated in Hunting, Fishing & Wildlife Activities” which explains the

benefits for economic growth from hunting animals on American land. Ryan Zinke, the U.S

Secretary of Interior, says “Hunting and fishing are a part of the American heritage.” The U.S.

Department of the Interior found compelling data by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that

shows that 101.6 million Americans which is 40 percent of the U.S. population 16 years old and

older participated in wildlife-related activities in 2016, such as hunting, fishing, and wildlife-

watching. (Interior Press, New 5-Year Report Shows 101.6 Million Americans Participated in

Hunting, Fishing & Wildlife Activities) On the other hand, some Americans view hunting as a

crime. Kimberly Turtenwald, environment writer for iWebContent, writes an online article,

“How Does Hunting Affect the Environment?” arguing how hunting creates an imbalance in our

environment because during specific hunting seasons those animals are targeted more than

others. For example, deer hunting season is from October 1 – January 1 which hunters can only

hunt deer, leaving other animals legally protected. This causes a problem within our food chain
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by limiting specific animals in our environment to be hunted which ultimately leads to

overpopulation.

Hunters must follow strict state laws when hunting animals in America. If hunters

disobey the laws set in place, they will be fined for poaching. Poaching is defined by illegal

killing, trapping or capturing animals unlawful during hunter seasons. The state sets these

regulations for the safety of animals and humans. The department of natural resources provides

hunting information for safety tips, buying a license, and seasonal information about hunting

specific animals. A writer for Mlive, Julie Mack, write an online article entitled, “10 things to

know about deer hunting in Michigan” discussing the importance of hunting safety and follow

the state regulations in order to hunt in Michigan. Michigan issued over 620,000 licenses to hunt

deer in 2017 which allowed him to legally hunt in wildlife, forests, and farm fields without being

penaltied by the state of Michigan’s DNR. On the contrarily, some hunters disobey the laws

resulting in poaching. Orietta C. Estrada (2010) writes in an article, entitled, “The Devastating

Effects of Wildlife Poaching” where she argues some hunters will illegally kill animals for

economic growth by selling the animal or personal satisfaction of killing a specific animal.

Wildlife poaching has a negative effect for wildlife populations and the environment, but some

hunters disagree and will not follow the state’s or country’s regulations. Hunters will sell animals

on the black market for positive personal economic growth even though it’s a crime. For

example, hunting rhinoceros in Africa is illegal. Hunters over killed rhinoceros results in them

becoming extinct because they would sell their horns for money, instead of hunting rhinoceros

properly. Another example of poaching is the Sumatran Tiger. Hunters will illegally kill them

because their skin, fur, teeth, and bones can be sold upwards to $5000.
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The state of Michigan follows hunting very closely making sure hunters obey their laws.

They achieve this by hiring employees of the department of natural resources to scout lands and

river systems for proper hunters and hunting techniques. The Department of Natural Resources

wrote an article, “Michigan angler over the limit – by 1,400 panfish” which discusses the

importance of hunting lawful and the consequences of hunters disobeying. Local DNR received

multiple tips of local anglers about people overfishing in Gladwin County in Michigan on Lake

Laner. Conversation Officer Mark Papineau says, “The angler’s vehicle often was spotted in the

parking lot of a private boat launch and the angler himself was witnessed fishing Lake Lancer

several times per day” (DNR, 2019). His determination to protect wildlife environment led him

to solve illegally fishing in Michigan. He later found over a suspect who possessed over 1,400

panfish inside his freezer located in his garage. The 67 year old Gladwin suspect was fined for

illegally over fishing Lake Lancer (Jones, S. S., & Lalley, J. S, 2013).

Some hunters disagree with the department of natural resources’ laws and try fighting

them. Beth LeBlanc, a writer for Detroit News, writes an article, “Ted Nugent blasts Michigan

DNR as 'stupid' over deer, elk baiting ban” where she describes Ted Nugent arguing to the press

about hunting laws and unfair techniques. Ted Nugent, a hunter in Michigan, believes baiting

deer should be allowed in Michigan, but the DNR values baiting as poaching animals by luring

them in purposely to kill them. He continues to argue against the laws by commenting, “Don’t

you ever take our money and hire someone to shoot our deer? Should I hire someone to play a

guitar for you?” He mentions this because the Department of Natural Resources generates over

83.5 billion from hunting and fishing fees from licensees resulting in Ted Nugent hatred towards

the laws set in place.

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In conclusion, hunting animals in America is very widespread by many Americans in the

United States. Three main benefits from hunting wildlife economic growth, individual gain

which includes both meat and animals’ resources, and the department of natural resources

benefits by protecting wildlife regulating hunters from poaching animals illegally. Hunting is

very prosperous for personal food and economic growth. When the economic growth is

constantly increasing in America, people are more willing to spend money which leads to them

being satisfied and happy. When hunting, hunters will kill certain animals for specific meats. For

example, whitetail deer meat which is called venison can create steaks, hamburger, and jerky

sticks. These different types of processed meats from the deer will be able to feed a whole family

though the winter without worrying about going hungry. Families rely on hunting each winter of

every year for families, it’s what most Americans live off to survive. Killing this one whitetail

deer will save a family lots of money from continuously spending money at the grocery store for

protein meats. Hunters create economic growth by buying equipment and licenses to properly

hunt. When hunters buy firearms and equipment, they support local business which create more

jobs within the United States and helps the GDP. Overall when people have extra money, they

tend to spend it at businesses, which helps almost everything in America flourish. Even though

hunters are educated on safety and knowledgeable about laws, some still continue to disobey.

This creates the problem many hunters argue over. The problem doesn’t get solved if nothing

legally changes by departments of this area in the Federal government. The problem leads that

they feel they can hunt whatever animals they choose and gives them the right to posse their

materials. If that was the case, there would be wildlife population environmentally problems

leading to imbalances of specific animals which would affect the food chain and consuming food

from grocery stores meat department.

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References

DNR, M. (2019, August 26). Michigan angler over the limit – by 1,400 panfish. Retrieved from

https://www.outdoornews.com/2019/08/26/michigan-angler-over-the-limit-by-1400-panfish/.

Estrada, O. C. (2019, January 25). The Devastating Effects of Wildlife Poaching. Retrieved from

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-devastating-effects-of-wildlife-poaching/.

Jones, S. S., & Lalley, J. S. (2013, September). African Journal for Physical, Health Education,

Recreation & Dance. Retrieved from

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=112a5aca-8a4d-4e89-9f9e-

ba85dbb90593@sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=91575851&db=s3h

LeBlanc, B. (2019, September 17). Ted Nugent blasts Michigan DNR as 'stupid' over deer, elk

baiting ban. Retrieved from https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/17/ted-

nugent-blasts-michigan-dnr-stupid-over-deer-elk-baiting-ban/2350295001/.

Mack, J. (2018, September 10). 10 things to know about deer hunting in Michigan. Retrieved from

https://www.mlive.com/news/erry-2018/09/127f4051478387/10-things-to-know-about-deer-

h.html.

New 5-Year Report Shows 101.6 Million Americans Participated in Hunting, Fishing & Wildlife

Activities. (2017, September 7). Retrieved from https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/new-5-year-

report-shows-1016-million-americans-participated-hunting-fishing-wildlife.

Season Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-

79119_79147_82106---,00.html.

Shaw, H., Tomales Bay Ecological Reserve, & Intrepid Pioneer. (2017, January 31). On Killing

Wild Game for Food. Retrieved from https://honest-food.net/on-killing/.

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Turtenwald, K. (2019, March 2). How Does Hunting Affect the Environment? Retrieved from

https://sciencing.com/hunting-affect-environment-11369486.html.