by Hafsa Zubair

Created on: June 03, 2009

Just because something is does not mean it should be; one of the clearest examples of this adage is the hunting of animals and birds for pleasure. Just because hunting as a sport has been practiced for centuries and is still practiced in the so-called civilized world of today, does not automatically make it right, or beyond reproach.

There are a great many hunting enthusiasts out there who would sooner shoot themselves in the foot than set aside their rifles, and who vociferously endorse the premise of hunting as a legal and moral right. However, they may well be missing the point. What is sport, and what ought to define sport?

Sport has been an essential and constructive part of living since the earliest days of mankind. Sport is the culmination of the naturally competitive nature of man and has always been a source of pride for people and societies, with its displays of skill and showmanship, its power to inspire and unite masses, and the sheer enjoyment it presents to sportsman and spectator alike.

It is absolutely true that many of the earliest sports were bloody, gruesome affairs that might appall even the most hardened hunter - who can remain unmoved at the thought of Roman arenas where hapless slaves battled for their lives against wild animals while crowds laughed and jeered from above. It was all just sport to them. However, this is exactly the point; as the world progressed through the ages, our idea of civilization and culture evolved and we came to accept certain practices and eschew others. We came to develop a sense of morality extending to all spheres of life, and as citizens of the twenty-first century we understand and widely accept in all sport, the practice of fair play, good sportsmanship, integrity and honor.

Sport should be a challenge between two equally matched opponents vying for first place. Sport should showcase the talents and abilities of gifted and hardworking athletes for the rest of us to appreciate and enjoy. Sport should be a constructive, purposeful and positive activity.

Hunting is none of the above. A peaceful, harmless and non-sentient animal such as a fox or deer does not know why you are choosing to run it down and violently end its life. It is not equal to you with your deadly guns and superior intelligence. And it certainly did not consent to playing your version of 'sport'.

Certainly there is a mastery of skill required in hunting, but many of these skills can be honed to perfection, and appreciated by others, through non-violent means such as shooting contests. And lastly but most importantly, in this day and age of deeply embedded world-wide political, social and economic strife - with genocide and war running rampant, surely we as human beings have a duty to develop a higher purpose than to entertain ourselves by killing off vast numbers of the few remaining peaceful inhabitants of the planet that we constantly plunder and imperil.

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