Quote Response

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