| I'm a hunter, and since small game season has | | | | individual states the contribution of hunters is |
| started and large game is right around the corner | | | | more profound because of all the money raised |
| I've justifiably been getting excited. Of course this | | | | from hunting licenses. In New York State those |
| time of year also means that all my anti-hunting | | | | licenses provide 57% of the Department of |
| friends feel the need the lecture me on how bad | | | | Environmental Conservation's budget, which is |
| hunting is and how I shouldn't "kill Bambi." As I'm | | | | huge given that there are only 700,000 hunters in |
| tired of hearing this all the time, I'm going to | | | | a state of 19 million people. To put it in simpler |
| explain why hunting is good. | | | | terms, hunters pay more than 10x as much as |
| First I want to address those people who think it's | | | | non-hunters to fund state lands, and the parks on |
| horrible to kill defenseless animals. Guess what? | | | | them which everyone enjoys. While it's easy for |
| They were probably going to die anyway, and | | | | anti-hunter to drum up support by saying animals |
| here's why. Every acre of land has a carrying | | | | shouldn't be killed, if the general public knew what |
| capacity, which is the population of an animal that | | | | kind of tax increase it would take to make up for |
| can survive on it indefinitely. Governments use | | | | the lost revenue of hunting licenses then I think |
| that number to set hunting quotas so they can | | | | the general public would support it a lot more. |
| make sure that hunters don't lower the population | | | | Finally, one more thing that's important to |
| of a species to less than it would normally go | | | | remember is that animals pose a real threat to |
| from natural causes. If you look at the chart on | | | | drivers and farmers. It's estimated that deer |
| the right you'll see that in general, during the | | | | alone cause hundreds of millions of dollars a year |
| spring and summer there are a lot of animals, and | | | | in damage to crops, and more than that in car |
| during the winter there are a lot less. So basically | | | | accidents. I'm not saying that increased hunting |
| if hunters shoot 100 deer in an area, all that's | | | | would get rid of these problems, but getting rid of |
| happening is that those deer are being shot | | | | hunting would certainly make them much worse. |
| instead of starving to death. I know that this is all | | | | Regardless of all these stats, I'm not trying to |
| based on the land carrying capacity estimates and | | | | say that everyone should hunt or that you're a |
| that people aren't perfect, but each year these | | | | bad person if you dislike hunting. There are plenty |
| things are reevaluated, and if one year too many | | | | of perfectly legitimate things that people do that I |
| animals are taken then the next year the hunting | | | | would never want to, and I don't want anyone |
| permits are decreased. | | | | hassling me to try them. My problem is only with |
| Another thing that anti-hunters don't recognize is | | | | people who don't like hunting and don't want |
| that each year hunters raise a huge amount of | | | | anyone else to be able to do it either. Whether |
| money for conservation. There are federal excise | | | | you're for it or against it, you can't deny the |
| taxes on everything hunters use, from bullets to | | | | environmental and economic benefits of hunting, |
| guns to camouflage jackets, and all that money is | | | | so instead of saying something dumb like "don't |
| used for national parks and conservation. In the | | | | shoot Bambi", from now on just stay quiet. |