Hunting

[seanc1]

How does big game hunting in north America, Europe and Africa benefit nature and local communities?

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Seriously, Google it? There is a tax on everything hunting related in North America that pays for everything from state forest to wildlife conservation programs. The sale of hunting license also goes to fund these things. I think you will find most hunters in the US are conservationist; we are not just out there killing for fun. Management of game levels is conservation it stops the spread of disease. Think rabies and raccoons no one hunts them anymore so who takes care of it Mother Nature does with disease.
In Africa the 50K you pay to hunt an elephant does not go to the outfitter it goes to the tribe in the area you took the animal and so does the meat

[Abraxas]

Seriously, Google it? There is a tax on everything hunting related in North America that pays for everything from state forest to wildlife conservation programs. The sale of hunting license also goes to fund these things. I think you will find most hunters in the US are conservationist; we are not just out there killing for fun. Management of game levels is conservation it stops the spread of disease. Think rabies and raccoons no one hunts them anymore so who takes care of it Mother Nature does with disease.
In Africa the 50K you pay to hunt an elephant does not go to the outfitter it goes to the tribe in the area you took the animal and so does the meat

Well said. Hunting also helps reduce the damage to crops and property.

[Moltke]

Need information for your 11th grade research paper?

[yellowfin]

Every tool, accessory, and supply (guns, bows, ammo, arrows, clothing, packs, decoys/calls), and other expenditure for hunting (gas, lodging, food, leases, etc.) gives income and employment to all of the people who work in the industries that offer those goods and services. That's several billion dollars per state per year every year. I did an accounting project on it in school and it turned out to be one of the biggest industries in the southeastern states and likely to other states as well.

[NeoNeanderthal]

My degree is in ecology, and one thing i've learned is that all the predators that used to kill large game (small game too) were killed off by us. We've wrecked true hunters like wolves and grizzlies, while black bears and coyotes are thriving. These animals rarely take large game.

Basically, unless we as a species are willing to reintroduce the apex predators that we have killed, it is up to us to in some way cull the prey. Hunting is a good way to go because instead of costing the government or management agencies money it actually makes them money, and people get meat in return.

[yellowfin]

Generally speaking you don't want lots of wolves around in modern society.

[Moltke]

Save the whales... for hunting.

[SHIVAN]

Going completely off the cuff here, but all those nice cushy parks with rangers, and outdoor activities are subsidized in huge part by the taxes and fees paid by hunters.

Without hunters, conservation efforts would be sparse, if present at all. Teddy Roosevelt was an avid hunter; a diehard. He is also considered one of the forefathers of conservationism.

[NeoNeanderthal]

Generally speaking you don't want lots of wolves around in modern society.

Thats one opinion.

Ecologically speaking, wolves (and other apex predators) co-existing with humans is neither good nor bad, they do perform a function though. If they are not there, then hunting can help to partially perform the same function.

Personally i think wolves have been shown to cause more good then harm. Many people might have a bad interaction or two with a predator throughout their entire life and assume that they should be annihilated. They don't see however the constant beneficial effect predators have on the entire ecological system which humans are a part of.

SHIVAN- "Going completely off the cuff here, but all those nice cushy parks with rangers, and outdoor activities are subsidized in huge part by the taxes and fees paid by hunters."

This is absolutely true. Fish and game and other organizations are nearly ENTIRELY dependent on this.

However, people need to remember it's not just the revenue of hunting that helps conserve. The actual act itself when properly managed is an act of conservation. (Killing overpopulated large prey animals when there are no other species to do so.)