A brief comparison
So often on social media I see friends who share posts degrading so called 'trophy hunting'. But why does this seem to be a bigger topic than the more common acts of animal cruelty carried out on a much larger scale? While thousands of exotic animals are hunted for sport each year, over a billion farm animals were killed in the UK alone in 2013, and worldwide it equals approximately 22 million animals every day. It doesn't stop at the number of deaths either, it seems the quality of life experienced by animals on a shooting range is far superior to any animal living in a factory farm.
To recreate the hunting experience for punters, these animals are kept in their natural habitat with space to roam and express natural behaviours. Meanwhile, animals in factory farms are kept in dark, overcrowded sheds. Female cows spend their entire lives being forcefully impregnated to produce milk, while hens will often live in one shed with 125,000 other hens. Keeping 20,000 hens in one shed can even be classed as free range, providing they have occasional access to the outside.
Trophy hunting is known as such due to the way hunters will exhibit the animals they have killed. To shoot a zebra in a 'canned' hunting experience will cost you approximately £700, £10,000+ for a lion, and £35,000-£70,000 to shoot a rhino. After paying thousands of pounds these hunters will expect their moment of glory to be with a large, impressive animal. Breeders who wish to sell game to a hunting range will ensure that their animals are in top condition as this will increase their worth. However, when you are selling a £9 steak from a local pub, the customer will have no concern about the condition of the animal before it was killed, cooked and served on a plate. They are not making such a large profit from this animal's life and will therefore spend less cash raising that animal for slaughter.
Additional affects
Slaughterhouses do more than just house and slaughter animals. They are one of the largest causes of deforestation, pollution, and animal cruelty. Trophy hunting also does more harm than good, but the effects of housing billions of animals for food consumption has a much larger impact on the environment. Many people believe trophy hunting has a disastrous affect on endangered species without realising they are bred to be killed, just as farm animals are. In addition to this, their meat is nearly always used and is not wasted. These are not endangered animals being illegally poached. The addax antelope is an example of an animal which was near extinction but has been bred and kept alive by breeding for trophy hunting.
I am in no way condoning hunting for sport, but we live in a society where we take it upon ourselves to judge other people before we look at ourselves. If you can condone the consumption of meat then surely you can not oppose the killing of the animal. Some people may believe that the cruelty of farms is necessary for food, however, in reality the enjoyment from consumption of meat is no more necessary than the thrill of hunting.
