Is it wrong to hunt wild animals?

After reading 'The Stag' by Steven Storer the Avengers evaluated the claim 'It is wrong to hunt wild animals'.

Past and present, hunting in New Zealand has been a popular activity for gathering food and for sport. Many people come to New Zealand to hunt wild animals for example

“Large animals hunted include several types of deer (including red, fallow and sika), chamois, tahr, pigs, wallabies and goats, all of which were introduced to New Zealand. In most cases hunting in New Zealand helps keep numbers in check and benefits the environment” (tourism.net.nz). In the Stag by Steven Storer a family goes on a hunting trip and shoots a stag. Were these people right to hunt and kill a wild animal?

Some people believe that hunting wild animals is right because when camping you may need to hunt to get food, just like our ancestors who hunted to collect resources such as hide.  Hunting can also be a bonding activity e.g Uncle Willy, Steve, Simon and John spent time together hunting. The New Zealand government encourages hunting to help control the population of animals.

On the other hand excessive hunting of native animals may lead to extinction such as the moa. Many people agree that it is upsetting and sad to see an animal slowly die, such as Steve who “hoped they hadn’t seen the tears in his eyes” after seeing the stag. Hunting may also damage the food chain meaning other animals may die due to a lack of food. Hunting for stags is also seen as a dangerous activity as people may get shot by accident.

Overall the majority of us believe that we should hunt wild animals because it is a tradition, we often use the resources from the animals and it controls the number of pest animals in New Zealand. Do you agree with us?