Proponents of hunting often use the arguments that “We eat what we kill, so therefore it is OK to kill animals for fun,” or “Unless you are a vegan, you cannot argue against hunting, because you eat animal products.”

These statements have quite a lot of power in putting off people who are appalled that in the 21st century, people are still actually taking pleasure out of killing animals. And they are astounded that our government is actively promoting this cruel pastime as fun for the whole family.

But these are the key words: pleasure and fun.

What can possibly be fun or pleasurable about killing a beautiful animal? Getting out in the wilderness and experiencing nature, on the other hand, is a great activity and good for the health, too. So wouldn’t it be great if all pleasure hunters suddenly put their guns down, bought a camera, and got their trophies by taking the animals’ pictures, instead of taking their gratification at the expense of an animal’s life (and very possibly subjecting its cubs to an agonizing death by starvation, having lost their mother?) That way, the newly enlightened hunters wouldn’t upset the balance of nature by killing the healthy and strong instead of the old, weak or sick, and they could still get their kicks by shooting something.

We can always dream.