JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

January 1988

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your question concerning hunting and killing animals.

In the beginning, God gave man dominion over the fish, the birds, and game of the earth (Gen. 1:28). David, one of God's servants, was a hunter and killed game. The disciples were fishermen, and Jesus Himself helped them catch fish on occasion (Luke 5:1-9).

God also inspired scriptures to tell us which kinds of animals, fish, and fowl He created to be eaten by humans. Notice that game animals are included (Lev. 11; Deut. 14:3-21). We can conclude, therefore, that it is not against God's will to catch, kill, and use animals for food. Nor is it wrong to kill predators. David killed a lion and a bear which were menacing his sheep (I Sam. 17:34-36).

Of course, this is not to say that game should be killed indiscriminately or recklessly. And, it is repulsive to see some hunters kill merely for the sake of gaining a trophy, the antlers of a deer or an elk, for example, and leave the rest of the carcass to rot. Such irresponsible actions are wrong.

Nevertheless, the idea that it is wrong to kill any animals whatsoever is not supported by the Bible. If it were, God would not have bothered to tell man which animals to eat. He would simply have instructed man not to eat any of them.

We hope you will let us know whenever we can assist you further with your study of the Bible. It is our pleasure to serve you.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT