Public Speaking

232 CHAPTER 16^ Foundations of Persuasion

Student Speech with Questions

THE BENEFITS OF HUNTING

By Anonymous

Animals, I’m sure, have a place in everyone’s heart. No one would like to see animals live pitiful

lives and die by the hundreds from overpopulation and starvation. Well, this has happened

before, and it could very well happen again if hunting is once again abolished by people who are

uneducated about its true benefits.

If the welfare of animals means anything to you, it is essential that you listen closely to

the biological facts that support hunting as being beneficial to wildlife, for in order to conserve

wildlife, we must preserve hunting.

In the next few minutes, I will tell you about the damages resulting when people’s right to

hunt in certain areas is taken away. I will inform you of the uneducated ideas of animal activists

and, finally, explain the differences between hunters and poachers.

a. What do you think about the use of the phrases “I’m sure,” “everyone,” and “no one”? What

effect does the use of the term “uneducated” have?

b. What is the speaker’s purpose here?

So many people are unaware of the damage that occurs to wildlife when hunting is taken

away from a particular area. The best example of this happened in the state of Massachusetts.

There, an animal rights group rallied and petitioned against deer hunting. Their efforts led to the

banning of hunting in Massachusetts. During the period in which deer hunting was allowed, the

deer population was around 100,000. Within the first year after the law was enacted, the popula-

tion soared to 150,000.

Sounds good? Well, it wasn’t! The overabundance of deer created a famine. Deer began

to eat forest trees, gardens, and roots. They ate down to the foliage, leaving the plants unable

to grow back the next year. Three years after the law went into effect the deer population went

from 150,000 to only 9,000. It took the state ten years to return the deer population to normal.

Eventually, the hunting ban was reversed, and the deer population has remained at its carrying

capacity. I think hunting plays a major role in keeping species from overpopulation.

c. What kind of reasoning is the speaker using? Does it pass the tests? Do you think her

conclusion is obvious? Why or why not?

d. She says in her introduction that she will present biological facts about hunting. Does she

do so to your satisfaction?

People often argue that animals were fine before humans invented guns. However, before

the Europeans came over here with guns, there weren’t sprawling cities like Los Angeles and

Portland to take up most of the animals’ habitat. In those days, there was far more land for the

animals to live on. Today, modernization has pushed the animals into a smaller wildlife area,

leaving them less food and less room for breeding. Therefore, it is easier for the animals to

overpopulate. Hunting has played a major role in keeping the animal population at a normal

number. If hunting is taken away, the animals are sure to overpopulate.

It has been proven that humankind, even in its earliest form, has always hunted animals.

Here in North America, before Europeans and guns came over, Indians hunted animals on a

consistent basis. They killed hundreds of buffalo by herding them over cliffs every year. They

caught school after school of salmon that migrated up the rivers. These hunts have always

played a major role in population management, whether or not you choose to label it as a law

of nature.

e. What argument does the speaker attempt to argue against? Does she do so to your satisfaction?

However, people argue that Indians needed to hunt animals to live, whereas today’s

North Americans don’t need to kill animals to survive. So what if we can survive on fruit and

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