Internet causes rift between man and nature

For centuries, a man's worth was determined by the amount of food he could bring home to his family every day by tracking and hunting animals in the wild. Hunting has traditionally been a significant part of society as it has been one of the major ways in which people procured food.

A man of prowess is still a highly-regarded person in society. Look at the rugged characters of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne.

With the advent of the computer age, however, society has lost touch with its once daily ritual of searching for food.

Not only have we been reduced to a society dependent on supermarkets and fast food restaurants to supply us with our daily needs of nourishment and other necessities, but we have reduced our thinking of nature as nothing more than a cold, dark, dangerous place into which we dare not venture.

We are stuck in a generation of children who would rather sit behind a computer and forage for metal in the lavish lands of Ironforge in the game "World of Warcraft," chasing liters of Jolt Cola with Red Bull after Red Bull.

Fortunately for this generation, Texas entrepenuer John Lockwood may have found a way to reconnect this lost generation of computer-dependent, orc-killing agoraphobics to the ancient art of hunting.

In late 2004, Lockwood developed a Web site, Live-shot.com, where people can sign up and shoot live ammunition from a .22 caliber rifle at targets and compare their accuracy to that of others around the world. In April 2005, however, things became a little more serious.

Lockwood decided that targets were not enough. People needed a real thrill, a real adventure. Seeing as how there was no other way to kill animals, Lockwood began bringing different kinds of exotic animals to his San Antonio hunting ranch and mounting his rifles, along with web cams, around the farm. He planned to charge people to hunt and kill animals with only the click of a mouse.

Live-shot.com was quickly shut down and banned by Texas state legislature, and for good reason. Killing animals who are feeding at a trough approximately 40 yards away from a .22 caliber rifle is not sport. I would not even consider it murder - that is too nice of a description for it.

Being raised in a family of hunters, I was taught to respect the animals which were being hunted. The site is now outlawed in 22 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with bills on the docket to make it illegal in Delaware. This virtual hunting nonsense is nothing more than a horrible joke of apathy on the part of our society.

Lockwood - who said the site's idea came from watching nature shows that depicted live animals roaming around the world - should be ashamed of what he has tried to create.

He said one of the main reasons for the online hunting site was to aid disabled hunters who cannot hunt. Even this is something of a joke. The National Rifle Association said in a press release that hunting is meant to be outside and done in wilderness.

Even the great and powerful NRA feels that allowing hunters to hide behind a computer screen is not going to help in the long run.

The best thing for a hunter who has become disabled and still wants to hunt is to go back to the woods and feel all the emotions he felt before, get back a part of the life he lost.

Hunting is about a connection in the wild. Even those who just hunt for sport have to admit there is something exciting about being in nature and experiencing the thrill of the hunt.

Where is that thrill when you sit 40 miles away, at the safety of your computer and shoot a boar that is eating from a trough with no chance to defend itself.

Any person, hunter or not, with a sense of integrity or decency should be ashamed by this concept. Even worse is that others have found it useful and tried to sign up. Live-shot.com is now shut down, but Lockwood said he hopes to find another place where his hunting atrocity can be up and running again.

Let's hope he never does.

Jeff Ruoss is an assistant news editor for The Review. His viewpoints do not necessarily represent those of The Review staff. Please send comments to jru@udel.edu

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