THE QUESTION: Is hunting for pleasure a cruel sport?
GOVERNOR WILLIAM A. EGAN
Juneau, Alaska
I was an ardent hunter until, at 13, I accidentally shot myself. Today, due to that or maturity I could not shoot animals for pleasure. Personally, I think it's a cruel sport to shoot moose or even the 12-foot Kodiak bears just for pleasure.
WM. ROCKEFELLER
President, ASPCA
Rye, New York
Where the alternative is starvation of thousands of deer in winter, it's more cruel to let them suffer. The timber wolf and mountain lion used to keep the balance in deer herds. Is nature's cruel law of survival preferable to hunting?
ARTHUR GODFREY
Radio and television entertainer
Leesburg, Va.
No. A properly placed shot spells instant and painless death. Proper game management includes regulated hunting lest game areas become overpopulated, which results in disease, starvation and slow, painful death for thousands of animals.
LEWIS COTLOW
Documentary film producer
New York City
Yes. I've hunted for 20 years, but with a camera. I've "shot" all the big animals at very close range. They will not attack unless you provoke them or do something foolish to make them charge, or if they are with their young.
GOVERNOR J. HUGO ARONSON
Helena, Mont.
No. We don't think it is cruel to slaughter our livestock for food. There are more wild animals in Montana than humans. We are trying to get the Governors' Conference for Glacier National Park in 1960. I can promise the best hunting and fishing.
KATHRYN CRAVENS
Author and radio commentator
New York City
No. My ancestors in Texas hunted for the pleasure of survival. The Comanches and most wild beasts are gone, but on my land are wolves, coyotes, rattlesnakes, rats, rabbits, squirrels and great plagues of other destructive varmints.
HAROLD T. THOMAS
President, Rotary International
Auckland, New Zealand
No. I don't think I'm being cruel to hunt animals. When the herds get too large some animals must be shot so the majority can live. Also, all over the world, particularly in Africa, it is the hunters who do most for animal conservation.
S. Q. WONG
Prominent industrialist,
Singapore
In my humble opinion, it is not. There is not the cruelty that those who are opposed to hunting say there is. Shooting tigers, lions, leopards and wild pigs is not considered cruel by the very persons who claim deer hunting is.
NINE PHOTOS