Why hunting good for the environment? The answer will widely vary from one person to another. There are tons of people who love hunting, but others think hunting is immoral. Unfortunately, most people believe in this stereotype that hunters love to kill wildlife for enjoyment and don’t care what would happen to the environment.
Like a coin has two sides, hunting also comes with a wide-open difference between both perspectives. It depends upon how you see it. For example, many people are unaware that hunters respect the way animals live and only hunt down for food sources like meat. Likewise, you wouldn’t believe that there is a common misconception that hunting harms the environment, but according to ecological studies, hunters are among the greenest people around the globe.
For instance, hunting helps prevent a wide range of predator species that have proven to be less beneficial for the natural habitat than they do damage. Apart from that, eating wild meat sources is way better than eating processed meat in industrial agriculture. So, here we will look at the important aspects of hunting and how it benefits the environment.
Why Hunting Good For The Environment
Hunting Keeps The Population Under Control
To some people, this might sound like a paradox, but the reality is hunting does help in maintaining the population of many animal species. For example, since the beginning of the 1900s, hunters have improved the population of white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, pronghorn, elk, and ducks. In addition, hunters have helped maintain the natural balance of wildlife by checking the predators’ population.
Apart from this, hunting also maintains the population of deer and other herbivores, where they can take down a wide range of livestock. You must know that the invasion of non-native animals has created a nuisance in local ecosystems. There is only one thing you can do to reset the natural habitat to its original state by hunting.
It will help bring the natural balance in the ecosystem and help keep a constant check on the population through hunting.
Hunting Significantly Reduces The Environmental Harm Of Industrial Agriculture
Industrial agriculture is often engaged in raising livestock for slaughtering and processing the meat, which hurts the environment. Plus, it requires tons of natural resources for raising the animals, like producing one pound of beef requires over 1800 gallons of water and over 7 lbs of animal feed.
Since the land on earth is limited, we often cut down the forest for growing crops and grazing. You must know that fresh water is scarce in many places, and using tons of gallons in producing a few pounds of meat has led to droughts. On the other hand, wild meat uses minimal resources, which ensures its survival. So, think for a moment, hunting down wild animals for eating meat is better for the environment or raising livestock.
Everyone has gone through the first option that protects the environment. Not to mention, wild animals obtain their food through natural forests and those fields that people do not cut down for growing crops. They drink water from natural sources like lakes and rivers. No doubt, industrial agriculture does a significant amount of damage to the environment, like air pollution.
You wouldn’t believe that the amount of methane released by industrial activities has become one of the major causes of environmental changes and is threatening the existence of humans on the earth. So, it is better to eat hunted meat instead of industrialized produced meat that has degraded the standards of quality of lean meat.
Hunters Contribute Their Fair Share To The Economy
Hunters donate loads of money to the economy than non-hunters, and the funds collected are used by environmental government bodies and conservation programs. You might have noticed that some countries organize big hunting games where hunters pay a huge sum for the conservation budget.
Hunters are given a certain number of animals to hunt down. Usually, those animals are past breeding age and the money paid for breeding programs, habitat conservation, and anti-poaching measures. However, recent research by the Fish and Wildlife Service has recorded that there are over 20 million hunters.
Even though a small proportion contributed over 10 billion dollars to the economy used in fishing and gun license fees. You wouldn’t believe that Guns, ammo, and other hunting equipment generate millions of dollars in taxes, which are used for funding national parks and other organizations.
How Does Hunting Help In Maintaining Natural Balance?
As mentioned above, hunting helps in keeping a constant check on predators’ populations, which are non-native and dangerous to the environment, rather than doing any good. You all know that nature needs to be balanced. If the population of predators is reduced, it will eventually increase the population of other animals, which might cause an imbalance in the ecosystem.
But that’s when hunting comes into play, where hunters can hunt down overpopulated species and keep them under control. That way, hunters can save the environment from a lot of damage caused by predators and will offer an opportunity to people who want to observe the wildlife from a distance while staying safe.
Remember, some species are necessary to be hunted as they become a means of disease carriers like locusts and toads. These species spread severe diseases that can affect other animals, plants, and humans. So, hunting down animals that are disease carriers or sick is healthy for the environment. Plus, the animal won’t suffer or remain in pain and become a cause of spreading diseases.
How Does Hunting Prevent The Spread Of Serious Diseases?
Diseases are often spread from animal to animal, and if you can stop the baiting and feeding area, it can stop or slow down the spread of deadly diseases. Hunters have been the major contributor to preventing the spread of deadly diseases by hunting down the species known for spreading dangerous viruses.
Hunting will maintain the natural balance, further reducing the competition among survivors and keeping their population. Recent studies have shown that there are a lot of species, which are known for spreading deadly diseases like toads and locusts. So, eliminating those predators and species known for spreading viruses and diseases must be controlled.
Hunters who hunt in areas where the spread of CWD is serious can also help eliminate the cause of spreading the severe disease to other animals, humans, and plants. Now that you know, hunting can help keep control over the population while supporting the natural habitat and environment.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
- Is Hunting Good For Improving The Environment Compared To Farming?
Wild animals usually feed themselves on the resources available in the forest, which makes hunting to eat far more economical compared to farming them. Wild animals get their food from natural forests and water from natural sources like lakes and rivers.
- Why Do Some People Think Hunting Is Good For The Economy?
Hunting has become a vibrant business that generates over $13 billion in tax revenues annually to local, state, and federal. You would be amazed to know that this business is still growing at a rapid pace. It also ensures natural balance in the wildlife while sustaining their lives.
- Is It Ethical To Hunt For Food?
By all means, yes. If you look at the evolution of humankind, hunting became a necessary means for obtaining food for survival. Even today, some people like to hunt down wild meat. Wild meat is organically grown, cleaned, and prepared by the hunters for their families.
- Is Hunting A Good Practice For Population Control?
Even though the natural food chain works to control the wildlife population, hunting makes an ideal condition to control overpopulation situations. Hunting sessions will drop the rate of population leads and reduce the competition among survivors, which will further lead to a higher birth rate.
- Why Is Hunting Morally Wrong?
Whether hunting for a nutritious dinner, a healthy ecosystem or experiencing the thrill, you should know that the hunted animals go through the same harm every day. Yet, people have objected that hunting is morally permissible only when it comes to hunter’s survival.
Conclusion
Is hunting good for the environment? Like other hot issues, the answer to this question depends upon the person you ask and their perspective. Even though most people naturally assume that hunting is bad for the environment, they fail to see the reality. If you consider the harm done by industrial-scale agriculture, eating wild meat is a far better option as an alternative food source.
Apart from this, hunters are the greatest contributors to conservation funds used to preserve the natural habitat and even protect it from environmental problems or non-native species. This way, hunters keep track of their contribution and know when they have to contribute their efforts for protecting the environment.
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