Advantages and disadvantages of hunting

Hunting was one of the primal tasks at the dawn of humanity because our ancestors had to hunt wild animals in order to survive. Nowadays, many people still enjoy hunting as a hobby to relax and unplug from their stressful daily life. One of the biggest advantages of hunting is that it gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge about nature in general. Over time, many hunters not only *observe* and hunt animals, but they also engage in collecting their own food in nature. Consequently, these people will get extensive knowledge about the *habitat* of different animal and plant species. When I think about this advantage, the only person that comes to my mind is a friend of mine, who is the author of numerous books about the wildlife of the Caucasus. He says that hunting has aroused in him a great interest in flora and fauna. Along with the benefits, hunting also has many drawbacks. In my opinion, the extinction of species is currently the biggest issue. Many animals have dropped in population over the past years and if we continue to hunt them as we did in the past, chances are that many species will become endangered or even extinct. A great example is the dodos, which were slightly larger than turkeys, inhabiting the island of Mauritius. As these birds had no fear of humans and were incredibly easy to catch, Dutch sailors constantly hunted them during stops on the island, which eventually led to their extinction. In conclusion, although hunting reduces the population of animals, it greatly broadens our knowledge about nature