Hunting and Wildlife Management
Hunting and wildlife management have a long
association. Organized hunters lobbied governments to regulate
hunting in the early 1900s, when many species of game had been driven
nearly to extinction. It was also hunters who supplied the support
and funding for the development of the science of wildlife
biology. Today, hunters through their license fees, donations and
volunteer efforts still make a significant contribution to the support
of wildlife conservation.
Hunting plays an important role in the management of
game species. Each year, populations of game animals produce more
offspring than their habitats can support. The result is an annual
surplus of animals that will die from predation, disease or
starvation. Regulated hunting helps reduce this surplus before the
winter when food resources for these animals are at their lowest levels.
Regulated hunting also helps control the numbers of
species that may be causing problems for farmers, ranchers and indeed,
city residents. For example, each year Alberta Environment
receives complaints from ranchers about deer and elk feeding on stored
hay. Hunting seasons and bag limits in many of our agricultural
areas are set to reduce this damage without threatening the viability of
the deer or elk population.
Collisions between vehicles and deer, elk, and moose
cause thousands of dollars worth of damage and injuries to motorists
each year. Hunting helps reduce these occurrences. As well,
hunted animals are wary of humans and human habitation and are less
likely to cause problems.
Wildlife biologists often call upon hunters to provide
biological samples (for example, teeth or specific organs) of the
animals they bag. The information gleaned from these samples helps
the biologists determine the age, health and reproductive capability of
game populations.
Hunting is a traditional human activity that reconnects
people with the land and the natural environment. Because of their
experiences in the outdoors, hunters have strong commitments to
environmental conservation.
Reprinted from Focus On Wildlife Management (1999) with permission of
Alberta Environment.
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