LETTER: Do anti-hunters support habitat, conservation?

From Tom Benson
Hutchinson
To all my anti-hunting friends, you are missing the point if you think hunting is just about the killing of game.

It is obvious you have just looked at this sport from afar. You have never taken a close look and seen it for all the items and skills involved. Hunters donate hundreds if not thousands of dollars to organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Turkey Federation, deer hunters associations, just to name a few. These organizations provide habitat for all wildlife, not just game animals. What have these anti-hunting groups dollars done lately for habitat and conservation?

Hunting is far from just the kill. On a lovely November day as I sat in my deer stand, I got to thinking of all the skills involved in hunting. Yes, there is the obvious shooting skill. There are many more such as how to read the clouds for upcoming weather, how to use a compass and a map before you get lost, and first aid and survival skills in the event of accident. And skills such as reading an animal’s track to tell when the track was made, what kind of animal and which way it is going and how fast; animal identification: what sex is it, how big is it, how old is it, just for starters.

Now once you have harvested that animal you need to dress and clean it for cooking. Now cooking, there is a skill. Sharing stories with good friends and family over a meal of wild game is truly the best part. Hunters do not lust for the kill — they are passionate about the hunt and all the skills that go with it.

Lastly to my non-hunting friends, hunting is not for everyone and I do not expect you to understand. If you want to improving habitat for wildlife game and non-game, get involved with your local conservation club.