"This is contrary to the way we were created. Not to abuse nature, but not to be subservient to it either - to master it."
Haha good one. We evolved along with the other inhabitants of the planet. Besides that, lets put you in a cage with a pissed off lion and no gun (just like you were "created) and see who "masters" who!
I am not a whining environmentalist whining about how bad man is and giving animals and plants the rights of mankind.
No you are an environmental consultant whos job it probably is to make sure whoever hires you gets around laws and regs, and hopefully doesn't destroy the environmetn while walkign off with cart loads of cash.
It is very easy to make the ohter side of your argument look bad when you throw out untrue/strawman arguments. Very few people actually want to give full human rights to animals, really the only right they would need is right to not be exposed to unnecessary suffering. I would also like to meet these "plants rights" advocates you seem to know.
PETA is the big name animal rights organization, so they are easy to pick on. They are also highly hypocritical, which makes them easier to pick on. That does not make the basic premise of their work, that animals deserve to not be used for our gain, incorrect.
Hunting was a necessity hundreds of years ago, and still is in many parts of the world. In the US there is no need, except that you're not manly unless you kill stuff, and you get in a lot less trouble then if you beat your wife.
Most of the hunters on this board have dogs, why? What is the real difference between a dog and some animal you hunt except the arbitrary distinction between pet and not.
And no animal advocate is going to argue that slaughterhouse meat is more humane than hunted meat. Slaughterhouses are f'ing disgusting places, and animals are tortured to provide you food. If the hunted animal has any luck the hunter is a good shot and they die fast. Unfortunately all to many animals are shot and accidentally or very often purposely left to die.
But It is not a matter of more or less humane, the question should be, "is it humane at all"? The answer in both cases is obviously, NO!
And of course hunters have a big part/say in conservation, no one would argue that. The problem is that their interest is not in the animals, it is purely selfish. It comes down to, if they don't save/manage these animals, then how are they supposed to be able to kill them for fun?