Monday letters: Respect role of all creatures on earth

I nearly choked on my cereal when I picked up the Sept. 23 State to see “Lake Murray yields a scaly prize: a 755-pound alligator” on the front page and “Hilton Head father, son land 9-foot tiger shark” on the local front.

I would understand if these so-called hunters were consuming their hunts, but these are merely trophy kills. Those animals have a role in balancing the ecosystem. Humans should help this process, but instead we condone these wrongful slayings. Hunting like this affects the biosphere, which ultimately disrupts the natural order.

Instead of using our free will and intelligence to hunt and kill animals for no purpose, why don’t we respect and aid other species? We should be promoting more compassionate activities that show how helping our fellow earth dwellers will create for a healthier environment.

Let us remember what the Native Americans said: The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth.

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 4:47 PM.