Hunting and Conservation Go Hand In Hand
My favorite comments of all time are the ones raging about an animal that was harvested by an outdoorsmen/women. Holy cow the amount of people that are mad about something they know very little about is astonishing. It's okay to ask the question "why" before assuming. I'm very passionate about the outdoors and I am not trying to persuade everyone into picking up a fishing pole or a bow and arrow.. I want to enlighten people on how there is so much more beyond the picture or video someone is seeing. I think it is hard for people who haven't been exposed to hunting or fishing to know what they do for conservation.
Hunting/fishing is a funding source for conservation. These funds come from in-state and out-of-state licenses/tags, stamps, taxes, etc. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources approved of nearly one million dollars in funding for seven habitat projects just for 2021. On 1/25/2021 the IDNR stated,
"The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced the approval of $958,096 in grants for seven wildlife habitat projects through the Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program.
The program provides for enhancing game and non-game wildlife habitat through projects developed by not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. Funding for the Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program comes from the sale of Habitat Stamps."
Hunting/fishing is essential for population control. That does not mean we can kill off as many deer or native species as we would like. Laws are in place to ensure that outdoorsmen/women are tagging and harvesting these animals legally. After the harvest, depending on the state and animal, hunters must call in their animal to the DNR in order for the state to record population numbers and the size of their harvests.
An important species to bring to light would be snow geese. People will see pictures of hunters sitting next to a giant pile of these geese and freak out. Snow geese are completely destroying the tundra. Without population control habitats will be completely wiped out and there will be no going back. I could go into this population further, but instead I will save it for another time.
Long story short, this is just a glimpse of how outdoorsmen/women are conservationists and how they play such a crucial role in the world today. Our love for animals goes far beyond the hunt.