It’s that time of the year. Hunting seasons are open, and people are posting pictures of their hard-earned animals. Like clockwork, however, the anti-hunting world erupts and posts sometimes utterly horrible things. Their detachment from reality is breathtaking. What the hate groups see in almost any wildlife has been shaped by the worst enemy hunting has ever had – Disney. All they see is Bambi and the parade of anthropomorphized cartoon animals. Even with this wave of screamers, there are still people in the middle. It is our responsibility to teach them why hunting matters.
Why Hunting Matters – A Look at the Positive Impact of Hunting
While what most people see in hunting is the search for a trophy, it is much more than that. At its most influential level, hunting is conservation. This is difficult for some people to grasp. However, through specific hunting seasons, gender restrictions, and even age/size guidelines, it helps manage populations.
A few examples of this start with the black bear. In the 1900’s Black bears were nearly extinct in the U.S. Today, there are over 950,000. In the same time period, Whitetail deer populations grew from 500,00 to over 32,000,000. The last one we will touch on is wild turkeys. Their population has grown from 100,000 to over 7,000,000.
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Population Growth
Another major factor in animal population growth has been funding from hunters. Many people don’t realize just how much money hunting puts into biology and animal research projects. Every time a hunter buys a gun, ammunition, or archery equipment, not only is the economy positively impacted, but there is also an additional 11 percent excise tax on those purchases. That money is apportioned to each state’s fish and wildlife agency for wildlife conservation. Since that tax was implemented in 1937, it has generated more than $ 12.5 billion. Those dollars help fund research on everything from migration to disease management.
We see the same with hunting licenses and fees. Hunters pay $796 million annually in this category. That revenue funds state agencies and pays for the salaries of their employees who oversee wildlife conservation. Hunters’ overall impact on the economy is staggering. Hunters generate 5.4 billion dollars in state and local taxes.
Provides Food
The most personal reasons for hunting are tradition and food. The number of people who hunt to feed their families is massive. If hunting were banned and the millions of hunters had to rely on grocery stores to buy meat, it would cripple the agricultural infrastructure.
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According to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in 2018, resident hunters in Wyoming sustainably harvested 25,091 elk. According to a University of Wyoming study, an average bull elk yields 218 pounds of meat, while an average cow elk yields 169 pounds of meat. If you do the math, those hunters acquired approximately 4.6 million pounds of lean protein to feed their families.
Can Feed 12.2 Million
In terms of meals, that is enough to feed 12.2 million people. Add to that whitetail and other species hunted, and the number of meals sustainably produced is incredible. Without this harvest, there would be a food security crisis of epic proportions with shortages and price spikes. This is not fearmongering. It is reality.
The last point is that hunting can be an almost spiritual time. While that may seem dramatic, it is true. Taking off into the woods or mountains away from the rest of the world brings peace that non-hunters will never know. There is a connection between the hunters, the land, and the animal they are hunting.
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Why Hunting Matters
If you have never heard an elk bugle on a cold, crisp morning while alone on a mountainside, you are missing out. The challenge of hunting an animal brings respect and reverence for the wild. I have seen grown men and women cry once they complete a hunt and get the animal they have pursued. It is hard to explain, but once you start hunting, you will see the world differently. This opportunity must be preserved for us and the following generations.
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