At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.

I read an article yesterday that I find very troubling.  Cabela’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse sponsor “predator derbies” where points are assigned for every animal killed.  You can read more here and here.  This year wolves have been added to the list of animals killed for sport.  I am not a hunter.  I have no desire to hunt, and I don’t understand how it could be enjoyable to kill another living creature.  However, I know people who do hunt, and if done properly (meaning all laws are strictly followed, the animal is killed as humanely as possible, and it is actually put to good use) then I will not presume to tell people that they shouldn’t do it.  I also don’t think a legitimate hunter would support these derbies.  If there is something I am missing about this situation, and my information is inaccurate, please enlighten me.

Just so my position is clear, I personally do not enjoy any situation in which an animal is made to do something that it would not naturally do in the wild for human entertainment.  I have no desire to watch dog or horse racing.  I think things like dog fighting, and running of the bulls are disgusting.  These are my opinions, and I am not asking that everyone agree with me.  I just don’t understand how some people can be so callous.  How can you assign points based upon ending a life?

Even if you aren’t morally opposed to this, you must consider the fact that predators are important to the ecosystem.  They weed out the weak and sick, and ultimately lead to a healthier population.  Hatred is unwarranted, and there are much more mutually beneficial solutions that don’t involve slaughter.  Mass killing doesn’t help anyone.

So in the future, I will not support companies that sponsor these events.  Many of them don’t surprise me, but I wouldn’t have thought Nikon would sponsor events such as these.  I definitely won’t consider patronizing that company in the future.  Even though I am one person, and won’t make a difference on my own, I think that it is very important to support companies that share my values.  One I have in mind is Endangered Species Chocolate.  Valentine’s Day is coming up, and if you are going to buy chocolate, consider getting it from them.  They are a cool company.  They have organic, free trade, even vegan chocolate.  Plus ten percent of their profits go to conservation.  Oh, and they have all kinds of amazing flavors.  I heart them.

Item of the day:  I think these are so cute!  Wellies pretty much never work for me because I have fat (or as Stace likes to say, plus size) feet, but if they did I would totally buy them.

Update:  Nikon has pulled sponsorship from this event.  If you are curious what this looks like, here are some pics.  Warning: They are not pretty.

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