I find the excuse of 'thinning the herd' to not be a very logical excuse while going out to hunt.
Yes, several animals are 'over-populated' in areas, but so are we. And we don't restrict ourselves to just 3-4 locations like several of these animals do-we are, quite literally, everywhere.
Yet, it is against the law to kill another human. If a person kills someone else, they often find themselves either stuck in jail for the rest of their days or put to death themselves. If someone were to go out to a mall with a hand gun and shoot everyone they saw dead, all the while using the excuse 'I'm just thinning the herd' to make it ok...they'd still end up in prison.
And yet...they're just doing what these hunters are doing. A life is a life. Humans, bears, wolves, rabbits, and moose are all born, breath, go to the bathroom, have families to care for, and die. No living thing is 'above' the others. We are all equal.
Now, I find it hard to believe that any of you would support a hunter who stalked and killed humans, so what makes it 'ok' to do that to another living thing?
The only answer I can give for this question is survival. If you are without food and NEEED to hunt in order to get the food you need in order to survive, then I think that's ok. BUT, we don't. The only people that have any right to do this are those that are either lost or live in the middle of no-where, where no grocery store can be found that provides the meat from animals who are raised for the soul purpose of feeding people.
Also, if the animal is about to kill you itself, then it's ok. You need to be able to defend yourself and if that eventually leads to the death of the thing that threatened you in the first place, then that's ok. Especually after considering that it was either that....or die yourself.
But honestly? If you want to hunt and 'thin the herd' of other animals in this world, then DO NOT start complaining when you hear about the numerous murder stories that are shown on the news every night. Because, honestly? Those people are just doing the exact same thing you are- solving OUR over-population issue.