MatthewVanitas
Member
Greetings. I've been pondering the issue of hunting as of late. Being raised in a non-hunting family, I'm not very used to the concept. I've gone dove and duck hunting with friends, thought it was okay. Felt somewhat morally validated that I've shot and eaten things, unlike the many meat eaters who decry "killing cute little animals" while eating factory-slaughtered meat.
Then another moral upside to hunting occurred to me: removing non-native species which threaten native species and disrupt the local ecosystem. Combining environmentalism and firearms sounds awfully appealing.
In any case, is there any good data/articles out there about how hunters can help out the U.S. by depleting non-native species? Given the wide number of critters who've occupied land that isn't theirs, one would think there would be some good karma involved in removing them so that native North American species can prosper.
Off the top of my head: feral pig, feral goat, nutria, wild horse. I'm sure there are many more (not even counting non-huntable critters, fishes, and flora).
Can hunting eradicate non-native species? We seem to have been unfortunately successful wiping out several native species. Does the U.S. have any policy encouraging folks to shwack the heck out of nutria, feral pig, etc? California's "5 pigs for $8" license seems a step in the right direction. Or will hunting just thin out their numbers, allowing them to grab more resources per critter?
If anyone has any good references out there that I should read, I'd be most appreciative. -MV
Then another moral upside to hunting occurred to me: removing non-native species which threaten native species and disrupt the local ecosystem. Combining environmentalism and firearms sounds awfully appealing.
In any case, is there any good data/articles out there about how hunters can help out the U.S. by depleting non-native species? Given the wide number of critters who've occupied land that isn't theirs, one would think there would be some good karma involved in removing them so that native North American species can prosper.
Off the top of my head: feral pig, feral goat, nutria, wild horse. I'm sure there are many more (not even counting non-huntable critters, fishes, and flora).
Can hunting eradicate non-native species? We seem to have been unfortunately successful wiping out several native species. Does the U.S. have any policy encouraging folks to shwack the heck out of nutria, feral pig, etc? California's "5 pigs for $8" license seems a step in the right direction. Or will hunting just thin out their numbers, allowing them to grab more resources per critter?
If anyone has any good references out there that I should read, I'd be most appreciative. -MV