Posted on 02/03/2020 6:45:21 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
snip: But today, that symbiosis is off kilter: Americans interest in hunting is on the decline, cutting into funding for conservation, which stems largely from hunting licenses, permits and taxes on firearms, bows and other equipment.
Even as more people are engaging in outdoor activities, hunting license sales have fallen from a peak of about 17 million in the early 80s to 15 million last year, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data. The agencys 2016 survey suggested a steeper decline to 11.5 million Americans who say they hunt, down more than 2 million from five years earlier.
The downward trends are clear, said Samantha Pedder of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, which works to increase the diversity of hunters.
The resulting financial shortfall is hitting many state wildlife agencies.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
They need more hunting especially of deer. Too many deer are killing off the local vegetation.
Gun sales are through the roof. Hunting licenses are down.
The media still talks about gun control in terms of deer hunting. “No one needs an AR-15 to hunt deer”. More and more it becomes clear that gun ownership is for other purposes. As the Founders intended.
No short fall in Wisconsin. Plus you are allowed to kill almost all the deer you want.
Hunting has saved more land and more species than all the SJW feel good programs combined.
Many fathers these days have no tradition of hunting. The schools are turning our young men into spineless wimps. The influx of foreigners who have no tradition of hunting.
I have a small acreage, but enough to hunt.
I enjoy hunting but hate gutting and butchering. So I don’t hunt any more.
I let a couple of friends deer hunt with the condition I get a quarter.
Last year they got two, so almost half a deer for me (traded some for some wild hog baby pork chops; yum!).
I think one of the biggest setbacks is how many hunters can’t find hunting land without big dollars to join some club.
There are so many land owners around me with no trespassing signs. I can’t say I blame them. It is what it is.
The Left hates guns and hates hunters (except Biden’s) so they got a bunch of fees and taxes passed associated with hunting licenses so now that hunting is declining, the media mourns that governments aren’t generating enough tax revenue! Same story when it came to smoking.
Liberals fail to understand cause and effect.
It is very sad.
Wildlife needs to be culled.
Deer are very common in my neighborhood. We have overgrown areas for them so they can move through them or bed down in them. But deer are dangerous.
Funny you say that. The friends that hunt the most on my property are two brothers from Laos.
You could say the Laotians are the Hillbillies of Vietnam.
Here in Alabama they fit right in with us country folk.
I wish there were more of them.
Washington state used to have one hunting season. Now we have more hunting seasons than you count. Its so convoluted you can’t keep up. Same with fishing.
You better read and understand all the regulations before getting your license or you could find yourself in deep deer shit.
100 for many decades, finally had to quit because of my health. I loved duck hunting especially. The biggest obstacle I always encountered, was access to suitable access to properties and water. That’s usually as big a problem as anything.
In a few years, I think we’ll learn that circuses did more for elephant conservation than anything else in the last hundred years.
Hunting is slowly dying off in the same way that making your own clothes slowly died off. Buying rather than providing it yourself is both cheaper and easier. Both were reduced to “hobby” status in the 20th century.
I guess they haven’t been around Texas on the Opening Day of deer season.
Same hunting club has been leasing our land for 30+ years. It has been a wonderful relationship. They also help keep people from dumping trash on the property. Without hunters, the deer reproduce until they starve themselves and die miserably.
“The schools are turning our young men into spineless wimps”.
When I was in High School, some of the boys would take a teacher out to the car or pickup to show them a new rifle. But that was over 50 years ago.
By the time we were 15 me and my brothers had shot our first deer.
I agree with your sentiments 100%.
I really don’t care for the wild meat. You pay for processing (cut and wrap) and then it stays in your freezer until it gets freezer burned.
The long term prospects of hunting as a sport is not good. Young people today are not taking to the woods as my father took me. When they are adults/parents, I seriously doubt they are going to take their children out.
My family has a ranch in SE Colorado and the hunting prospects are not good unless one wants to deal with public hunting. The cost for hunts is terrible! Where I used to hunt deer in Southern Kansas 30 years ago for free (I knew the family and they afforded me the privilege to hunt) is now outfitter controlled.... @ $5,500 per hunt.
Sarah Palin was always my poster girl for hunting. Brought back some pretty good eating, as well as several notable trophies.
Ww need you, Sarah. If only as a mentor for this generation.
Four car accident involving deer near me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.