Hunting as Fair Game?

            Recently there was an interesting discussion in class in regards to the moral implications of hunting, particularly hunting as “sport.”  Generally, most people seem willing to accept hunting in so far as it necessary.  That is to say, that if one needs to hunt and kill an animal in order to survive or support one’s family, then it is considered morally permissible to do so.  However, “sport” hunting is considered highly controversial due to the fact that it does not seem to be necessary.  Arguments have been made in regards to hunters’ contributions to maintaining sustainable populations and the like.  However, that is not the aspect of the discussion that caught my attention.

            At one point, it was suggested that hunting (presumably as sport) is wrong because it is not a “fair fight,” the implication being that the wrongness is located in the fact that humans have guns, putting them at a significant advantage.  The question was then raised as to whether or not hunting would be considered more acceptable if humans were forced to hunt with more primitive weapons (or even their bare hands).

            There is of course the argument that humans’ use of technology is perfectly natural, and therefore legitimate in any “contest” between humans and nonhuman animals.  However, I believe this misses the point.  If sport hunting is wrong, it is because it involves the unnecessary killing of an animal, solely for the amusement of the hunter.  In my opinion, the immorality has nothing to do with the fairness of the fight.  If unnecessarily killing wildlife is wrong in and of itself, why should the advanced nature of the technology being used matter, aside from its ability to potentially limit the suffering of the animal being killed?  Would it really be better to hit a deer in the head with a rock, or in the abdomen with a spear, than to execute a relatively clean kill shot with a high-powered rifle, just because it is more challenging?  Advanced hunting technology is morally irrelevant, other than the fact that it clearly provides hunters with the opportunity to be more efficient and limit the suffering involved in the kill.