Deadline #4 HW #3 Draft WP#1

Hunting Debate

The hunting debate in America is a controversial issue that will determine the future of hunting. Hunting is a “hate it or love it” subject. There are strong opinions about hunting in America. The two major groups are sportsmen and animal-rights activists. Sportsmen claim hunting is a beloved American tradition, an effective wildlife management tool, conservation tool, and economic impact. Animal-rights activists believe hunting violates animal rights and sportsmen kill animals inhumanely. The goal of both sides is to change the views of the non-hunting community of the American public.

Research Question: Although we know that the hunting controversy is a heated debate. How effective is the hunting community's strategies in swaying the non-hunting majority of the American public.

This topic is controversial because it affects the personal views towards wildlife (animals). Majority of the public have a like for animals because they bring enjoyment to our hearts. Hunting alters these views and causes a bitter debate. The killing of animals creates hatred towards hunting for portion of the public because they believe animals have rights, similar to human rights and deserve to live. While another portion of the public believes animals have many uses, such as a natural resource (food, hunting, management, etc.).
I have numerous personal experiences that support hunting in the debate. On one of my hunting trips in Arizona, my father and I confronted a few animal-rights activists. We were hunting near Bartlett Lake for javelina, when activists appeared with pots and pans. They began shouting and banging the pots and pans trying to scare the wildlife away, so we could not hunt them. In addition, they were trying to make us leave the area. This was frustrating because my father and I spent countless days trying to find javelina, only to be run off the mountain. My father and I were there to help manage the javelina population around that area and to enjoy some father-and-son bonding. It was the irrational, misunderstood actions of activists that ruined our hunt. Another experience was this past fall, where I volunteered for the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. I was working on hunter check stations, where we checked deer and elk harvested by hunters for valuable information on harvest statistics. The harvest statistics were used determine populations of elk and deer in Western Montana and estimate the number of tags to issue next year. During the 62 hours of volunteer work, we were harassed by anti-hunters that droved by. The biologists and I were doing our work for the betterment of elk and deer in Western Montana, only to get harassed by anti-hunters. My personal experiences show the misunderstanding animal-rights activists and anti-hunters have on hunting. I hope my personal experiences are influential on swaying the non-hunting majority.
The purpose of my research paper is to educate and promote hunting in the United States. Ultimately, I want to change the views of the non-hunting majority in favor of hunting. Hunting was been perceived as something bad and it effects not only us, but wildlife. In some areas, wildlife populations are over populated and destroying the ecosystem. Hunting is need as a management tool limit wildlife populations to create healthy ecosystems for many years Hunting needs a place in American society because it is a tradition for numerous families. Anti-hunting groups are doing a good job in stopping hunting rights, such as closing down bear season in California in 1989. It is the hunting community which I am a part of that needs stop these attacks and persuade the non-hunting community that hunting needs to be preserved in America.
My opinion on hunting is that I believe it deserves to stay in America. I have been hunting over nine years and it is my favorite hobby. It frustrates me to see all the negativity that hunting attracts. Hunting has many benefits which I have personally viewed. It is a family tradition of ours and a great father-and-son bonding time. Hunting is a great wildlife management tool. For example, Colorado has an over abundant of elk and they more tags per year to help compensate. The less number of elk benefit other wildlife and improves the ecosystem as a whole. In addition, hunting brings a large amount of revenue to many states. This money is used for conservational use to ensure land and wildlife for many years. Hopefully, hunting will have more positives than negatives.
My audience is the non-hunting community in America. I hope my research and argument provides enough information to make a change in their views. I will present both sides of the argument and show why hunting needs to stay and those animal-rights activists are wrong.
My research plan consists of using electronic sources to find my sources. I will get my information off of the Mesa Community College library database and catalog to retrieve government documents. I will use web search engines such as Google. I will also use web directories, news search sites, and government documents search sites and directories. I am also going to use some print resources, such as magazines and newspapers. I am going to use sources from SCI (Safari Club International) and U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which give pros and cons argument on hunting. My research will provide essential evidence for my audience to convince them that hunting needs to be preserved.
In conclusion, my timeline for the research project is 12 weeks. During the 12 week period, I will continue to do research to get information and hopefully become an expert on my issue. I need to choose at least 8 valuable sources to represent my annotated bibliography. I plan on working on all of the assignments to better understand the research project. After the project is completed, I will construct a portfolio to show what I have learned and evaluate the entire research project process.