I realize the FF&G contest is over. I just thought I would post this anyway.
Hunting
By Thomas Irwin
Age 12
My favorite sport is hunting, but for some people this is a very cruel sport. I highly disagree with them. Not only is it fun, but a lot of people learn gun safety, and it is good for the environment. Hunting needs to be better understood by more people.
For me, I like hunting. I have had some of my best times while hunting, in and out of camp. Like when I have hiked to a very high spot. I look down and I see how much I hiked and I feel very proud of myself. I get good exercise from hiking in the woods. I get to see a lot of different animals that are cool, even if I can't harvest them. I have seen bears in their natural environment; I have seen a lot of baby animals, and even weird, endangered lizards. I hunt with friends and family, which is a lot more fun than hunting alone. I also get a lot of practice with lifesaving equipment like compasses and maps. Sometime I get to eat a lot of different foods that we cook on the campfire; the most noticeable being my dads cold goulash that I will never have again.
Many people think that hunting is not safe. To be able to hunt you have to pass a hunting safety class to make sure you are a safe hunter. I think everyone should take this class because it teaches you gun safety. I think that there wouldn't be as many problems with guns in the world if everybody new gun safety. Little kids would know not to touch guns because they might be loaded. Parents would know how to secure guns so that they would hurt no one. Hunters safety also teaches you about hypothermia and what to do about it. Most hunters are very careful and safe. Those are the best types of hunters.
Hunting is good for the environment. It helps keeps animal populations in check. For example, if we stopped hunting deer, the deer would thrive for a few years, but then they would wipe out their food source and starve to death. That has been proven. The government banned deer hunting to see what would happen to the population. That is what happened, they thrived then started to starve when their food started to run out. Right now we have a problem with the cougar population because cougar hunting with hound dogs was banned in the state of Washington. Hunting them with hounds was the most efficient way to hunt them because it is almost impossible to find them without the help of hounds. Now cougars are thriving so much they are coming closer and closer to populated areas. They are also starting to wipe out the deer and elk populations by killing their babies.
I am really glad to be a hunter. I find it especially fun and I know that I am helping the environment. I do wish that I could find more time to help lower the cougar population so that I can help out the deer and elk populations come back to full strength. For they are not doing as well as they could be. I hope more people will notice this problem with cougars and hunt them in a safe manner that they learn at education classes.
Hunting
By Thomas Irwin
Age 12
My favorite sport is hunting, but for some people this is a very cruel sport. I highly disagree with them. Not only is it fun, but a lot of people learn gun safety, and it is good for the environment. Hunting needs to be better understood by more people.
For me, I like hunting. I have had some of my best times while hunting, in and out of camp. Like when I have hiked to a very high spot. I look down and I see how much I hiked and I feel very proud of myself. I get good exercise from hiking in the woods. I get to see a lot of different animals that are cool, even if I can't harvest them. I have seen bears in their natural environment; I have seen a lot of baby animals, and even weird, endangered lizards. I hunt with friends and family, which is a lot more fun than hunting alone. I also get a lot of practice with lifesaving equipment like compasses and maps. Sometime I get to eat a lot of different foods that we cook on the campfire; the most noticeable being my dads cold goulash that I will never have again.
Many people think that hunting is not safe. To be able to hunt you have to pass a hunting safety class to make sure you are a safe hunter. I think everyone should take this class because it teaches you gun safety. I think that there wouldn't be as many problems with guns in the world if everybody new gun safety. Little kids would know not to touch guns because they might be loaded. Parents would know how to secure guns so that they would hurt no one. Hunters safety also teaches you about hypothermia and what to do about it. Most hunters are very careful and safe. Those are the best types of hunters.
Hunting is good for the environment. It helps keeps animal populations in check. For example, if we stopped hunting deer, the deer would thrive for a few years, but then they would wipe out their food source and starve to death. That has been proven. The government banned deer hunting to see what would happen to the population. That is what happened, they thrived then started to starve when their food started to run out. Right now we have a problem with the cougar population because cougar hunting with hound dogs was banned in the state of Washington. Hunting them with hounds was the most efficient way to hunt them because it is almost impossible to find them without the help of hounds. Now cougars are thriving so much they are coming closer and closer to populated areas. They are also starting to wipe out the deer and elk populations by killing their babies.
I am really glad to be a hunter. I find it especially fun and I know that I am helping the environment. I do wish that I could find more time to help lower the cougar population so that I can help out the deer and elk populations come back to full strength. For they are not doing as well as they could be. I hope more people will notice this problem with cougars and hunt them in a safe manner that they learn at education classes.
