Shooting Birds (1852)
AUTHOR: Alcott, William Andrus
PUBLICATION: “Shooting Birds, &c.” The Independent 29 July 1852. 124 (col. 4). ProQuest, American Periodicals database. Subscription access.
KEYWORDS: animals, blood sport, Christian morality, hunting, war
---. “What the Imps Did”
Alcott, William. Gift Book for Young Ladies
---. "Man His Brother's Keeper"
---. The Young Mother
Anderson, Martha Jane. Mount Lebanon Cedar Boughs
Bergh, Henry. “An Anthropozoonet”
---. “Editor, Forest and Stream”
---. “Pigeon Shooting” (1872)
---. “Pigeon-Shooting” (1875)
---. History of the Philadelphia Bible-Christian Church for the First Century of its Existence
Fowler, Lydia Folger. Familiar Lessons on Physiology and Phrenology
Fowler, Orson Squire. Education and Self-improvement
---. Self Culture and Perfection of Character
Freshel, M. R. L. The Golden Rule Cook Book
---. “Letter”
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Automobile as a Reformer”
Lovell, Mary Frances. “Address on Humane Education”
---. “Cruel Teneriffe”
---. “The Fundamental Need of Humane Education”
---. “Ostrich Plumes”
---. “A Plea for Mercy”
---. “The Wearing of Egret Plumes”
---. “Woman's Responsibility Toward the Animal Creation”
---. High School Ethics
---. The New Ethics
---. “The Unconscious Holocaust”
Neff, Flora Trueblood Bennett. Along Life’s Pathway
---. “Congratulations Mrs. Hayward”
Pillsbury, Parker. “A Sun-Burst Letter”
Smith, Ellen Goodell. Our Educators: For War or Peace - Which?
Trine, Ralph Waldo. Every Living Creature
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 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).