Quote: "Whenever I see a photograph of some sportsman
grinning over his kill, I am always impressed by the striking moral and aesthetic
superiority of the dead animal to the live one."
By: Edward Abbey, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Edward Abbey was a noteworthy
American environmentalist, author, and activist. I truly admire these words of
his, as they accurately embody my views on the contentious issue of hunting for
sport. Although I am totally against the murder of animals for recreational
activities, I consent with the hunting of animals for food. Thousands of years
ago, humans were predatory animals whose very existence depended upon the
hunting of animals. This rings true in almost every civilization in history,
such as the Native Americans and Canadians, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the
Inca, and indigenous African peoples. However, the people of these
civilizations had to hunt. It was their only method of survival. Once they had
killed enough to satiate their hunger, never more than what was needed, they
would give thanks to Mother Earth and to the animals for supplying them with a meal.
By giving thanks and abiding by the laws of nature, humans lived in harmony
with the earth and maintained equilibrium with their environment. The laws of
nature that humans once abided by apply to the animal kingdom as well. When a
tiger has gorged itself on the flesh of a deer and an animal of prey happens to
cross paths with the big cat, the tiger will not even bat an eye. This is
because it is satisfied and does not need more. It is aware that if it were to
kill its prey for no reason, the balance in nature would be upset. It seems as
if we have forgotten these laws as we have become more inclined towards
technology and material goods. We are creating an artificial reality, one where
Mother Earth and her laws do not exist, which is severely damaging our earth
beyond repair.
Another thing I admire about
Abbey’s words is how he describes the dead animal as superior, both morally and
aesthetically. The way in which he has worded the quote makes it sound as if
the dead animal has won the battle. What the battle is, I am not quite sure of.
Perhaps Abbey is speaking of the battle to be virtuous, as the sport hunter does
not embody this trait at all. He is willing to bring death to innocent animals,
and yet when the mere possibility of his own death is apparent, he cowers in
fear. By causing the unnecessary death of an innocent being, the hunter is no
longer pure. His karma is malevolent. On the contrary, the murdered animal is
innocent and its karma is pure.
Abbey says that the dead animal is
more “aesthetic” than the hunter. I thought this was a rather humorous way of
describing the dead animal. Although it is a strange word to describe a dead
body, I find it to be surprisingly true. Human beings are a disgusting species.
We have close-set eyes, protruding noses, long and lanky limbs, and our
appearances are overall rather unnatural. On the other hand, animals are
beautiful. They are elegant and graceful; Mother Nature’s works of art that
have been perfected over millennia. They are the embodiment of nature. Perhaps
if we had lived accordingly to Mother Earth’s laws of nature, we would have
been rewarded with the same natural grace as animals.
Word count: 540
