Hunting is an Enemy to the our Ecosystem; Let us Conserve Wildlife

Hunting is an Enemy to the our Ecosystem; Let us Conserve Wildlife

The book “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold is a well-written book that enlightens one on ecology and widens the critical thinking skills of a reader. It uniquely combines art through scenery painting, philosophy, and history. Leopold had a history of contributing a number of articles to Oxford University Press on hunting and environmental conservation. Leopold’s articles depict his concern about wildlife conservation. He passes his message uniquely by using irony to explain the dangers of using recreation to cover what is termed as conservation in the present day. He also believes that conservation should involve harmony between men and the natural environment. Therefore, his book is an analysis of conservation measures that can be taken and their importance.

Aldo Leopold arranges his book in sections and uses literally devices throughout his book. From the title, his unique style of communicating his message is portrayed right from the title where he uses the term sandy county to refer to sections of the state with sandy soils to imply that they have not been conserved. He further uses rhetorical analysis in the second section of his book where he thematically talks about the farms in Mexico and Canada. He further uses autobiography to explain his childhood experiences of hunting and his experience of witnessing the death of a she-wolf. It is in his second part of his book that he explains the implication of eliminating a species in an ecosystem.

The last section is a series of essays grouped under the title “The Upshot”.  It is at this point that Leopold focuses on measures that are productive and harmful to the conservation of wildlife.  He expounds on the necessity of political support and the dangers accompanying recreational use of wildlife. He concludes by mentioning that there is a need for policy making in conservation, economic reason for conservation, the need for conservation education and the drive of mutual respect among humans for conservation to thrive.

The Tennessee wildlife conservation system closely relates to the message that Leopold passed in his book about the need for conservation education . It has a magazine which is a publication of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and it provides information concerning the state wildlife. The magazine focuses to be not only interesting but also relevant in conservation. People such as hikers, nature enthusiasts, campers, hunters and fishermen form a large percentage of those who read this magazine. Outdoor and nature appreciation themes are incorporated in the magazine. Additionally, photographs to make the articles eye-catching and contributions from other people are welcomed in the magazine. This provides a good platform for people to give their opinions and share their ideas besides gaining knowledge.

Upon observation and inquiry of Tennessee’s involvement of conservation, I discovered that they have a federation called the Tennessee Wildlife Federation . It was formed in 1946 to utilize the outdoor resources of Tennessee, especially wildlife while conserving and managing them well. Apart from this, the federation had other objectives such as maintaining a preserved natural landscape for the residents of Tennessee. This was after the realization of changing climate and the need to proactively protect open spaces for the generations to come. This relates to Leopold’s implication of the ‘sandy counties’ which have a need to be preserved.

Bird watching is a recreational activity that most people enjoy including me. The bird watching sites are mainly located in forest areas with a quiet surrounding. The chirping of the birds in the morning always gives me a sense of happiness and enjoyment. Apart from that, watching how the birds search for food for their young ones and how they look for suitable places to perch their nests is interesting. However, the recreational activity of bird watching has posed a danger to them and rare bird species have a risk of extinction. I observed that those who rare birds capture them using methods that are physically harmful to the birds.

Apart from this, those who rare domestic birds such as pigeon also pose a risk to the population of birds. This is because of pests and epidemics that may spread to the reared birds eventually causing their decrease in population. Monitoring the number of birds reared in a forest can also be difficult since the tragedy will only be realized after the number of birds have decreased significantly. ‘I know so little about birds that I can only speculate onwhy 65290 survived his fellows. A situation like this can occur when those rearing birds either for domestic purposes or recreational purposes are not experienced.

In the past, fishing was an economic activity. However, it is a recreational activity as well as an economic activity. In the countryside, fishing is an activity that most youths like me enjoy doing. When in the countryside, we create bait with my friends then set out for fishing in rivers, dams and lakes. This I doubt if it poses any danger to the fish as much as we do it for recreation. However, those who keep dams for recreational fishing may pose some danger to the ecological environment. Fish are naturally meant to be in naturally existing water bodies. However, some cut down trees just so as to build dams to rear fish. Moreover, they don’t make an effort of planting trees within the dams. Water plants are important to fish and they are rarely found in artificial dams. The plants help the fish in respiration. However, the lack of these plants around and inside artificial water bodies threaten the existence of fish since pollution of atmosphere and water may lead to the death of these creatures.

Hunting in the past was an economic activity. However, with the rearing of domestic animals, hunting has become a recreational activity but still an economic activity for poachers who hunt for skin, fur and tusks. ‘Raw wilderness gives definition and meaning to the human enterprise’. He observed that people were hunting for monetary gain without considering the ecological impact that would occur if the wildlife number would decrease or become extinct. This is evident in the modern day whereby hunting is now considered illegal and termed as poaching due to the threats posed to rare species of wildlife for example the white rhino.

Leopold believes that if humans have respect for nature and wildlife then conservation will thrive in all its aspects. I observed that nature enthusiasts are driven by the passion and respect for nature. If this was the case for majority of the population of the world, then the crisis of lack of conservation would not be there. Almanac emphasizes this by saying that there is no law that obliges one to take care of the environment but the feeling of ecological necessity should be the driving force for conservation.

The Land Ethic which is one of the concluding essays for Leopold has great relevance in conservation. Creative methods of conservation must be employed so that conservation also gains an economic value that can help the state or country. For instance, I observed that North American conservation generates funds and also pushes forward the conservation of species despite its numerous recreational activities of fishing and hunting. This is because of the creative channeling of funds gotten from sportsmen and sportswomen towards enhancing habitats for wildlife. Moreover, the legal system allows wildlife to be owned by citizens rather than the government and in this way more people are involved in wildlife conservation including the sportsmen and women and wildlife enthusiasts.

In conclusion, recreational activities can be moderated by wildlife federations in such a way that the wildlife habitats will be protected and the sportsmen and women will get a good opportunity to enjoy wildlife recreational activities. Together with efficient policy-making agencies in states and the human will to conserve wildlife, habitats will be protected.