Against it, in every way.

Why does anyone consider killing something sport? There are reasons why killing an animal might be necessary but for "fun" is not one.

I grew up in a hunting family and my dad, brother and nephew still do. They/we eat what they kill and follow the state laws. In some respects it depends upon your views. Personally I’d rather see a deer (or whatever animal) shot with a bullet that takes only minutes to kill them rather than see them slowly starve to death over winter due to overpopulation.

Sport requires all parties to be willing participants. So hunting is not a sport. I don't have a problem with pest control or hunting for food etc.. but things like Fox hunting are in no way sport. They are vicious pass times, attended by cowardly little bullies.

One problem with this site (and a lot of ideas) is that we look for simple answers to complex questions. For me I could never kill and dress (shouldn't it be undress?) an animal. However, hunters are a prime force in preserving lands. I volunteered, in-house, for the Nature Conservancy for years and a large number of members were hunters who wanted to preserve land and animals for hunting. I live on an island and all the islands are agriculture and don't allow predators. Therefore some species, especially deer, (and rabbits - which eventually get a disease that kills most of them off) are overpopulated and often need to be culled. Otherwise they starve to death or get hit by cars. BTW powered rifles are Not allowed as many of the hunting areas are also trails. Shotguns, muzzle loaders, pistols, bows and crossbows are allowed.

A neighbor had a deer get into her garden. She went to our library and got a book on dressing deer and when the deer returned shot it. She said if it eats my garden I will eat it and she did.

I hunt but I don't consider it a sport, I don't enjoy killing the animal but I can fill my freezer with 60lbs of meat for $0.37. Yes the animal feels pain and is scared after it's shot but that's life we are part of nature just like any other predator. I think it's a little more humane than been ripped to shreds and eaten alive like a lion does to a zebra, or an alligator drowning it's prey. We all have to eat to survive but killing any animal should never be considered a sport. I absolutely hate Fox hunts and bobcat hunts due to the meat is rarely eaten. I'm not a fan of using dogs to Bay hog either I've seen a hog get it's ear ripped off completely before it was dispatched, even though they are invasive and are destroying Florida agriculture they don't deserve a death like that.

It's nothing but blood thirsty killing.

Hunting is not sport for the animals. The next time you see a bird hiding in a bush realize that the bird is in desperate fear for its life. It knows that it could die in great pain at any moment.

Population control hunting isn't sport either. It may have become necessary in some cases because of animal populations -- situations sometimes caused by humans as with many invasive species. We should manage situations intelligently as needed.

Full disclosure: I grew up near the northern border of Arizona and did some hunting as an adolescent but gave up my guns for cameras as a teen. All my immediate family are avid hunters but I'm pretty sure that I'm long past that part of my life.

I do not hunt or fish. I have done both for food, hunted once as a young boy but did not like it. I did catch fish and eat those. If I had to hunt or fish for food, I would. Hunting for sport is wrong, period.

I think shopping is a better alternative and you still get to hunt.

I have often said that if I had to kill my own meat, I'd be a vegetarian. I'm not particularly proud of that, but it's the truth.

Sport? Yeah it takes a real athlete to sit in a tree waiting to ambush an animal they lure in so they can shoot at range? What's the diet for that, doritos or waffles? That's called "ambush" and it's as much a sport as shooting civilians from a bell tower.

If someone hunts for food I don't consider that sport and that's fine by me as I eat meat I don't hunt which is probably treated worse. If someone hunts for trophies, that is a person I don't have much respect for. an actual sport against someone with the same rules if you need a trophy.

It's murder.

If you eat your kills, and realize it is costing you about $30/lb for that meat......

As long as hunters follow the rules, clean up after themselves and respect the animals, I don't see a problem. Population control has done wonderful things for the animals and environment out here in Southeast Az.

Disclaimer: I grew up in a hunting family though I personally don't hunt anymore. Mostly because if I go camping I want to sleep in and just wonder around in nature. Not wake up before the sun and freeze in a bush or blind. I do not own guns anymore. I sold them when I was depressed a long time ago and don't plan on buying any in the future.

Killing for fun?
Killing because one enjoys killing?
Probably a sport best left to postal workers.

I don't like it so I don't do it.

It's not sport is it... An animal is not armed.

I find it sickening, especially when people like King Carlos of Spain shoot elephants for fun.

The more dead cervids, the better. They starve out other wildlife, they eat crops, and they jump out in front of vehicles on the road. Hunting them is really just pest control.

I used to hunt. But then a guess I matured.

Sport requires all parties to be willing participants. So hunting is not a sport. I don't have a problem with pest control or hunting for food etc.. but things like Fox hunting are in no way sport. They are vicious pass times, attended by cowardly little bullies.

Ideally I don't want to kill anything.

From a wildlife biologist;

This thing called "hunting for sport" struck me crosswise one day - sport?
In common vernacular "Sport" usually denotes a probability of "equal opportunity".
Since that thought occurred to me I have searched in vain for a deer, rabbit, squirrel, bear armed with a hunting rifle.

Likewise the use of the word "game". I suspect not many "game" animals have been able to identify a balance of power in the "game". The presidents sons love the sport of killing African game animals; many of which are already endangered species!

However, there are situations where I do endorse hunting. The white tailed deer population in my home state of Indiana Is roughly 4 times what it was when the pioneers arrived. The result is the extirpation of some species of wildflowers such as the trillium family. The deer love 'em! In many woodlands certain species of trillium are disappearing. It's my view that when an overpopulation of one species is causing the demise of another, even if it's a plant species, human intervention is justified. After all it was human intervention that created the imbalance in populations to begin with.

Some may say it's inhumane to shoot them. Others argue that the gun is a more humane instrument of death then were the cougars, wolves and bears of yore, or for that matter the automobile and occasional packs of domestic dogs-gone-wild. Dogs will get on the trail of a pregnant doe who goes totally berserk as a result of pregnancy, and ultimately crashes into a fence. Whereupon the dogs feast on the still live animal. Another control mechanism common in extremely concentrations of a given species whether plant or animal, is disease epidemics. Natures population controls are not pretty.

I will answer that with a quote from a fellow countryman when he commented on the brutalty and stupidity of hunting for sport rather than food...
Oscar Wilde On Fox hunting;

" THE UNTHINKABLE IN PURSUIT OF THE INEDIBLE"

Not my cup of tea