Dear Future President,

Every year, more than 100 million animals are reportedly killed due to hunting. This seems like an inevitable practice that happens every day, but what if there was something that you could do to truly make an impact on this atrocious reality? Hunting for pleasure should be restricted because it further threatens endangered species, and it is recklessly wasteful.

First of all, sport hunting needs to be limited because it threatens many species that are already seriously endangered, and hunting them even more poses a risk of countless innocent animal species going extinct, with no way to undo this tragedy. “Elephants, lions, and many other species are on the fast track to extinction due to rampant illegal poaching, habitat loss, and other factors. Yet trophy hunting remains widespread, posing further threats to these magnificent species,” explains Elephants DC of the website, thedodo.com. There is no unlimited supply of wild animals, and the more hunting occurs, the closer these helpless creatures come to extinction, which can’t be undone. The website, whole-systems.org, estimates that, “By 2022, 22% of all species will be extinct if no action is taken.” Evidently, something needs to be done to stop this rapid extinction.

In addition, hunting for pleasure, instead of for food necessity, should be minimized because it is unnecessarily violent and wasteful. According to SUU News’ Sierra Stone, “In prehistoric times, hunting was crucial for human survival...We have surpassed this necessity as a human race, making hunting nothing more than a violent, arbitrary and worthless recreational activity that kills hundreds of millions of animals each year.” It’s one thing to hunt if you need the food to survive, but it’s viciously cruel and barbaric to kill helpless animals just to display them as decorations, when they could still be alive and peaceful in their natural homes. It is indubitable that actions need to be taken to put a stop to this wasteful insensitivity and cruelty towards animals.

Others may argue that there is no truly beneficial way to restrict this unnecessary animal slaughter, because an anti-hunting law would be disregarded due to the difficulty of enforcing it. However, if a reasonable tax was placed on lethal guns as well as trophy animals, many species would be safer from extinction. According to information from Iowa State University, “An excise tax is a tax charged on each unit of a good or service that is sold...one of the typical reasons for excise taxes is to discourage consumption of the good.” This means that taxing the guns and other weapons used for violent hunting would reduce the usage of those items, and taxing trophy animals would reduce the amount of people who invest in those products, therefore lowering sales and practice of the trophy animal business. Plus, the money raised from this proposed “excise tax” could go to a worthy cause, such as animal rescue organizations. It is clear that taxing hunting weapons and display animals would be beneficial.

In conclusion, hunting for sport needs to be restricted because it further threatens species that are already vulnerable to extinction, and it is simply cruel and wasteful to kill animals if not for necessity of food and resources. Placing a tax on lethal guns and display animal products would significantly reduce the negative human impact on animal extinction, and the funds raised from the tax could be used to benefit animal rescue foundations in need. Every day, the looming threat of extinction grows larger for dozens of inculpable animal species, but with your help, this tax can change that.

Congratulations on your esteemed new position, and thank you very much for your time and attention on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Kathryn 

DC, Elephants. "Trophy Hunters Are Driving Animals To Extinction And Here's The Proof." The Dodo. N.p., 30 July 2015. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.

"Delaware Action For Animals - ANIMALS KILLED FOR SPORT/FASHION." Delaware Action For Animals - ANIMALS KILLED FOR SPORT/FASHION. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.

"Diversity and Extinctions." Diversity and Extinctions. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.

"Principles of Microeconomics." (2010): 1-2. Web.

Stone, Sierra. "Opinion: Hunting Is Violent and Destructive." SUU News. Southern Utah University, 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.