Laaksonen

Firstly, please note that this question is clearly not aimed at the anti-hunting, anti-gun lobby, so please don't answer with such comments.

I am not a hunter myself but I am very interested in the history of hunting and the activity itself.

I would be very grateful if anybody could tell me, in terms a layman could understand, how hunting is not purely a selfish pass-time but also benefits the natural environment and local communities?

Thanks

moosemike

Hi. Was it PETA or the HSUS that sent you?

moosemike

There are few things a man can do that are more noble and upright than hunting and I don't feel the need to defend it.

rather_be_huntin

I'll bite...just in case you are legit. Besides this is what I would say to an anti anyway.

Hunting when done correctly is a conservation activity. Hundreds or thousands of years ago nature could maintain a natural balance with many of the species we hunt. Today man lives on many of wintering and feeding grounds for these animals. As managers of the wildlife we go in and improve habitat, check for diseases, and ensure survival of these species through our activities. Hunting is a tool that we use to achieve that goal. Hunting is really a way to ensure a species does not eat itself out of house and home. By killing a few we ensure the survival of many others.

Hunting isn't just about killing. It's funny because I hear some people talk about preserving nature and the evils of hunting but all they know about nature is what they see on the Discovery channel and their screensavers and maybe a few short hikes while on vacation here and there. If you were to spend two weeks in the wilderness on horseback chasing elk you would experience something that is part of your heritage and ancestory. You would smell some the earths best scents, better than any candle your wife buys. You would see things that would leave you speechless. You would hear nature in it's purest form. None of things will you ever truly experience on a 3 hour hike up a trail just outside the city. You have to spend time there, far from the nearest roads to understand what it's really about. And oh by the way if you come home without an elk it doesn't matter because the experience was never about the kill, it's about the hunt.

I am a member of the Rocky Moutain Elk foundation. We buy land so we can protect it from development and preserve it for the elk and other species. I am a member of the dedicated hunters program in Utah. I donate my time to go out into the wilderness and assist with things like putting up wildlife friendly fencing, and clearing sections of forest so that in the winter the animals will have plenty to eat from grasses that need sunlight to grow.

Hunters, like anything else, are just a cross section of society. There are selfish hunters, there are careless hunters, there are hunters who do not obey the laws and make us all look bad and only care about killing something. But real hunters care about the wildlife and there are many more of us that are genuinely concerned about the species we hunt and preserving them for future generations. I can't tell you how many success stories there are out there where species have recovered or have been reintroduced thanks to hunters and hunter dollars. We are concerned with about how many calves or fawns they have each spring. We care about their habitat and we watch over them year round. Hunters generate more dollars and do more for the good of the species we hunt than all of the anti hunting organizations combined. Hunting generates dollars for many local economies in the way of lodging, meals, and other services. the hunting industry creates jobs for products hunters use and wildlife managers in state and private organizations. Again there are bad apples in the barrel, and usually these guys end up representing all of us on an anti's poster but the REALITY is we do A LOT of good for the species we hunt and nature as a whole.

hunt12ga

Well said. I was going to give my 2cents but you gave them already.

If any of you would like a good book to read, check out "A Hunter's Heart." It's a great collection of stories and memories that explains some of those 'unexplainables' about why we hunt.

rw

salukipv1

How much public land open to hunting is there in Europe?

I know in Africa Elephant hunting has done more to protect the elephant than any anti-poaching campaigns have etc...creating a valuable resource, ie managing game populations so they can be hunted does more to protect those species than anything else. If hunting didn't exist in Africa one could probably argue there would be no game/game reserves for non-hunters to even go on a "photo safari".

I wonder what the human population of Alaska would be if hunting and fishing didn't exist? ie what percent of families in Alaska are tied to fishing and/or hunting?

It always makes me laugh that hunters are not viewed as "animal lovers". I believe most hunters are bigger animal lovers than most.

salukipv1

Do you eat meat? fish?

Wild meat is organic, easily healthier than probably any meat you buy in Whole Foods, or Trader Joes. No need for fish oil pills or Omega 3's etc...when you're getting them naturally through your wild diet. Farm raised fish does not have the omega 3's wild fish do.

Sheridan

It's the circle of life.......................it's participation (truly living) !


If you don't do it, you'll never really know......................!

txhunter58

Fact: I have an instictive, inner drive to hunt that is in my genetics. We would not be here if our anscestors had not hunted, and we have within us a hunter/gatherer instictive drive.

Why do we hunt? Why does a wolf or hawk hunt. Because we are meant to!

So, in that regard, you could make the case that it is "selfish" but so what? We do a lot of selfish things to survive. And yes, we have the ability to eat without hunting: Meat and vegatables with hormones and chemicals. My family eats unadultrated meats.

Fact: As far as conservation. Populations need to live in a balance with their enviroment. Predators or hunting is the only way that balance is maintained. And yes, I am a predator. You are too if you eat any meat. Someone else just does the killing.

Fact: Communities and governments get a LOT of money directly and indirectly from hunting. From hotels and grocery stores, to guns and ammo sales and taxes, hunting generates hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to our economy.

Now, pray tell, why do you ask????

Blackelk

Even a better fact. Sportsmen throughout history are the ones responsible for creating the conservation minded people of the world. Granted that some have took this to means beyond reason. Aka peta, and the nature conservancy. But in truth who's paying the bill for them to have animals and enviroment to fight over? Us the sportsmen of the are paying the bill.

We as sportsmen contribute to well over 80% of ALL FUNDING that supports wildlife re-introductions, endanged species acts, and enviormental habitat enhancements. All these sub organizations that are for the enviorment don't really produce squat. All the game preserves and state wildlife agencies along with numerous other projects are funded off the back of sportsmen and womens hunting tags. These are simple facts that the conservatives seem to forget. Yet they are so vital to the enviorment that without them animals and habitat would be left to defend themselves alone. Where's the bleeding hearts when that time comes to pass? Hunting does keep the wildlife healthy from over population and diseases that form from over populated areas and interbreeding. So do we think hunting benefits the world we like to play in. Yeah just slightly because without us there's no chance of survival for the enviroment. Nothing like turning a National Park into a Shopping plaza.

Don't spout off to these people my fellow sportsmen. Shove the facts straight down their throats.