Deadline #9 HW #4 Toulmin Method

Claim/Thesis: Hunting needs to stay in America.

I. Reason 1: Hunting is an effective wildlife-management tool.
A. Warrant: Hunters keep wildlife populations in check.
B. Evidence: Deer become traffic hazards (overpopulation), motor vehicles nationwide kill more than 350,000 deer and about 100 drivers and passengers each year.
C. Evidence: Hunters harvest surplus animals to optimize herds. (anterless seasons "doe"). Limiting does will lessen the population to reasonable numbers and create a healthy ration of doe to buck.
D. Evidence: Hunters eliminate starvation of deer (overpopulation) and regain equilibrium throughout ecosystems.
E. In January of 1990 Santa Catalina Island Conservancy issued hunters to limit the wild goat population on the island to give native grasses, shrubs, and animals a chance to flourish.
II. Reason 2: Hunters contribute money to conservation for the benefit of wildlife.
A. Warrant: Hunters are a main source of money for conservation programs.
B. Evidence: Hunters contribute more than $1 billion a year to wildlife conservation groups.
C. Evidence: 550,000 pro-hunting members of Ducks Unlimited raise money to protect wetlands in Canada and the United States used by migratory waterfowl and other species.
D. 16 million Americans purchase hunting licenses, contributing $500 million to wildlife conservation efforts.
E. Evidence: The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (pro-hunting) has opened over 500,000 acres for public access and raised over14 million dollars and invests thousands of volunteer hours across more than 400 projects annually. Their work has enhanced millions of acres, improving wildlife habitat across North America.
III. Reason 3: Hunters educate the public about the importance of hunting and how it is not bad.
A. Warrant: Education will teach people about the roles of hunters positively (conservation).
B. Evidence: NRA (National Rifle Association) testing program for students of Canada and United States focuses on knowledge of rifles, shotguns, archery, and wildlife. Goal of the NRA program is to make hunters aware of their role in conservation.
C. Evidence: Game and Fish Departments offer classes and programs to educate hunting (Arizona Game and Fish: Junior Hunts, Colorado Division of Wildlife: Hunter Outreach, and hunter-ed classes).
Objection: Natural predators help maintain this balance by killing only the sickest and weakest individuals. Hunters, however, kill any animal whom they would like to hang over the fireplace—including large, healthy animals who are needed to keep the population strong.
Refutation: Once large predators are no longer in strong numbers or even extinct. Hunters are needed to control populations because coyotes, bears, and mountain lions cannot do it alone. States issue tags specifically for does "female" deer to limit populations. Each hunter have their own definition of a "trophy". A trophy could be a doe, a spike, or a big buck. Not everyone is trying to shoot a "wall hanger". Natural predators need hunter's help. For example, hunters prevent whitetail deer from multiplying beyond capacity of its habitat to sustain the species. Without hunters, natural predators would be unable to keep the deer population in check, and there is a possibility the population would "crash".