Shooting Birds (1852)

AUTHOR: Alcott, William Andrus

KEYWORDS: animals, Christian morality

SUMMARY (Ridvan Askin, edited Deborah Madsen):

While the article does not touch on dietary veganism, Alcott is concerned with animal welfare, advocating against the shooting of birds for sport, particularly as a pastime for boys. He presents three arguments: first, that the pastime is dangerous because accidents occur rather frequently and boys might accidentally shoot each another. Secondly, the practice is “cruel, and even impolitic” for birds, even those regarded as the source of much “mischief, are after all our very benefactors” and even “brethren.” Third, and most importantly, the practice is “unchristian.” Alcott clarifies: “It hardens the heart. It familiarizes us with cruelty and bloodshed”; in short, it “paves the way, indirectly, for wars and fighting.” Alcott mentions that he himself has only shot one bird in his life and always felt remorse for doing so. He also reports having abandoned “the habit of ensnaring and angling” before he reached age twelve. For Alcott, it is clear that “[n]o Christian will be found, in these days, with a gun in his hand” (124).