In today’s day and age, hunting is often overlooked by many Americans as a practice that is useful and beneficial to modern society. We have factory farming, supermarkets, and supply chains, why would anyone still need to hunt for their food?
Despite the complex agricultural methods we have today, hunting remains a timeless method of not only procuring meat, medicine, and fur, but conservation as well. Maintaining wildlife populations within specific thresholds is crucial to any balanced ecosystem, as a surplus in individuals in any one species can lead to catastrophic die-offs in other animals and plants within the same biome. Hunting is the primary method of keeping this from happening. With this in mind, students at the University of Chicago met on the evening of October 24 to partake in their own school-friendly hunting expedition.
Club leader Christopher Phillips began the meeting by surveying everyone in attendance regarding their experience with hunting. Surprisingly for a university nestled deep within one of America’s largest cities, everyone there reported having some experience with either hunting, fishing, or even crabbing. According to Chris, “two had hunted, six had fished, and five had crabbed.”
After a short presentation on the merits of proper hunting practices and their importance in conservation efforts, students were encouraged to take turns taking shots with a nerf gun at a cardboard deer target. Participants competed to see who could get the cleanest shots by aiming for the “vital organs” section of the deer (marked by the darker cardboard coloration). Creatively, they even used the tissue paper used to ship them the event materials to represent grass around the target!
Thanks to CFACT Collegians’ efforts, everyone had a great time and learned something new. By licensing citizens to hunt specific animals during specific times of year, conservation experts can not only keep populations from breeding out of control but are able to raise funds to continue protecting the environment for future generations. According to Chris, “The event was a great success. Now, all the students in attendance can say that they, in some capacity, have tried their hand at hunting! Thanks once again to CFACT for the fantastic experience.”
