CASE ANALYSIS: VIRTUE ETHICS
Nearly 16 million Americans purchase hunting licenses each year. Annually,
approximately 200 million animals are killed by hunters; including 25 million rabbits, 22
million squirrels and 5 million deer. Animal rights activists claim that hunters are
bloodthirsty killers who often cripple their victims and leave many young animals
orphaned. They also note that animals aren’t the only victims of hunting; in 1988, for
example, 177 humans were killed and 1,719 injured from hunting accidents. Hunters
reply that they are saving animals from overpopulation, which would result in many more
animals dying of starvation. They often compare hunting to having a pet “put to sleep”:
the animals they kill die a quick and relatively painless death rather than dying slowly of
the disease and starvation that result from overpopulation. Many hunters actually use the
animals for food, and do not simply hunt for “fun”.
Analyze this case using a Virtue Ethics perspective. (That is, is this practice virtuous? Is
it a part of the good life?) You can use any account of the virtues that you want
(Aristotle, Nietzsche, Christianity, etc.) in doing so. Make sure to address the question of
whether hunting should be allowed.