Hunting for sport is in my opinion a waste of money, a waste of time, and a waste of natrual resources. I like to see a little wild life when I go to the woods, the fields or where ever. It makes the experience all the more enrichning. Hunting for food, if the eco-system can support a limited amount to ensure that the population doesnt exceed the lands ability to sustain it, is a good thing. It keeps deer out of the grill on my truck, puts meat far healthier and superior tasting on my table, isnt genetically modified, isnt pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones or any of that other crap that you get from the store bought food. Spending one afternoon at a slaughter house and meat processing plant is a good motivator for becoming a vegitarian, trust me on that one! Its a major reason why wild game makes up such a large portion of my diet.
Fishing...again for sport is such a waste. Dont get me wrong...there is nothing quiet as exciting as doing the "Hot Tuna Dance" around the boat with a "gorilla" (Tuna over 100 lbs). Now that is a work out and a half! But everything I dont release back into the water goes right to my freezer in no uncertain terms. I normally keep only what I will use even if the legal limits exceed what I want to keep. I have caught a couple dozen Billfish and all have been tagged and released except the one that got into the prop. All of my fish "mounts" are reproductions from measurements and photos taken of the fish I have caught. So once again if your not going to eat it or release it then it shouldnt be kept.
Hunting and fishing bring millions of dollars to our state and national parks and recreation areas and fund to a very large extent studies, conservation programs and such so that even those that dont hunt or fish can take in all that our wildlife resources have to offer. There are many organizations thataquire large tracts of land, to facilitate the preservation of wild life and recreational uses as well such as Ducks Unlimited and many others. These were started buy sportsmen and Sportswomen and are still largely supported by them to date as opposed to tax dollars. Dont get me wrong there are some tax dollars in the mix but not as much as you might think. Then there is all of the jobs these two sports bring to the table, that help keep this economy rolling along. So I whole heartedly support both Hunting and Fishing. I dont support hunting for "Trophies" or fishing for "Tophies" as they serve no real purpose in my eyes.
Cockfighting..., I am from the south and even I oppose this just as I oppose dog fighting. I think both should be outlawed and stay outlawed as its serves no useful purpose, and is a cruel demise for the particapants that do the "combat". I wished it were enforced more strictly and that the penalties were much more severe for those caught supporting it in ANY form, fashion or manor!
JMHO....
