Is killing animals limited to only when needed for skins and meat?
Question:
Is there a verse in the Bible says we shouldn't kill God's creatures unless it is for their skins or meat or anything like that? Because in my job I kill moles for money. If there is, would I be doing wrong or a sin if there is a verse like that? I thought I would ask. I know it sounds stupid, but it's been coming to my mind last two weeks, and yes it's been bothering me.
Answer:
God gave men charge of His creation. "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."" (Genesis 1:28). Wanton destruction of what belongs to someone else is not good stewardship.
However, there are times when the killing of animals is permitted. Food, of course, is the most obvious example. "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs" (Genesis 9:3). But there are other reasons as well. An animal which kills a human is also to be killed. "Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man" (Genesis 9:5).
Yet good stewardship also means controlling the population of animals as well. Because of widespread occupation of the world, many regions do not have as many predators as it once did. Without predators, some animal's populations get out of hand. In several places that I've lived people are waking up to the fact that if the deer population is not thinned, the food supply becomes insufficient. The deer then start destroying plants and trees in their area and disease becomes a major issue. Overpopulation is bad for the health of deer.
For similar reasons, there aren't as many bobcats, cougars, foxes, coyotes, and the like to keep the mole population in check. What you do is keep the population within reason. The moles in the wild are still there and are likely healthier because of the reduced competition.
