Hunters and anglers are America’s top conservationists. Period. I get so tired of listening to animal rightists’ blah blah blah about all they do for wildlife and habitat. If they’re so committed, why don’t they, for example, advocate for a tax being placed on all binoculars and other optics with the resulting funds going to wildlife habitat, as hunters and anglers did with the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts?
The self-imposed tax and federal aid for fish restoration, respectively, have, so far, raised billions of dollars -- that’s billions, with a Big B -- dedicated expressly for wildlife habitat. When’s the last time Wayne Pacelle, leader of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), actually did something tangible to save wildlife and habitat?
According to Charity Navigator in fiscal year 2015, HSUS raised $133,322,929. Virtually none of that money goes to animal shelters, by the way. Still, Pacelle drew a $392,107 salary plus a tidy benefits package and expense account, and spent 19.3 percent of these funds on fundraising expenses. If you want to learn more about who these hucksters really are, check this out: protecttheharvest.com/hsus-exposed/.
This is but one example of the difference between sportsmen and so-called, animal-rights groups. And so, last week I listed 10 reason why hunting is conservation, which can be viewed HERE. Here are another 10.
10) Three out of four Americans approve of hunting, partly because hunters are America’s greatest positive force for conservation.
9) Every single day U.S. sportsmen contribute $8 million to conservation.
8) Hunting funds conservation and the economy, generating $38 billion a year in retail spending.
7) Female participation in hunting (3.35 million) is on the rise thanks to a 10 percent increase from 2008-2012.
6) More people hunt (19.3 million) each year than play soccer (13.7 million), tennis (13.6 million) or baseball (12.1 million).
A California Conservation Corps crew hard at work on the Stanislaus National Forest. Photo: USDA
5) A wildlife management tool, hunting helps balance wildlife populations with what the land can support, limits crop damage and curtails disease outbreaks.
4) Hunters help manage growing numbers of predators such as cougars, bears, coyotes and wolves. Our government spends millions to control predators and varmints while hunters have proven more than willing to pay for that opportunity.
3) Hunters provide for conservation -- and for their families. Hunting is a healthy way to connect with nature and eat the world’s most organic, lean, free-range meat.
2) Hunting supports 680,000 jobs, from game wardens to waitresses, biologists to motel clerks.
1) As society loses its ties to wildlife and conservation, the bonds with nature formed by hunting are the greatest hope for creating the next generation of true conservationists.
Drop me a note at brobb@grandviewmedia.com and let me know what you think.
Featured image: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Prepares to Release a Fisher for Reintroduction. (Credit: Wildlife Management Institute)
