Hunting on the Web

In last Sunday's New York Times Magazine (3/11/07) there was an article entitled, "Should Killing Be Merely a Mouse Click Away?". You may not have heard of this, but some enterprising individuals have developed a way of hunting--literally hunting--from your sofa. John Lockwood, an entrepreneur, began a website where anyone subscribing could, with a high speed computer connection, shoot wild pigs, antelope, and other game on his 220 acre farm in San Antonio, Texas. A computer operates a rifle and a web camera mounted onto a remote controlled rig which a subscriber could operate from the comfort of his or her own home. When the game appears on the screen and within range a mere click of the mouse will fire the weapon. If desired, Lockwood would send to you the head of the animal you had just killed.

Thankfully, Texas outlawed this business before it got off the ground. Many states are following Texas in making this kind of hunting illegal. Even most hunters find this practice repugnant if not unethical. Lockwood, however, is concerned about those who have disabilities or servicemen overseas who are not able to hunt.

It seems to me that this is another example of the blurring between fantasy and reality. On the one hand you could say that this is just another evolutionary step beyond the violent video games. You shoot an animal and never see it, the struggle, the blood, unless of course you have the head sent to you. At least you have a memento that something died. This without even addressing the ethics of shooting animals for sport, without any intention of using the meat for food or the skins for clothing, etc.

I shudder to think about the next evolutionary step after remotely killing animals...