With so much money pouring in to the national wildlife programs, scientist can focus on ways to keep animal habitats secure without the constant negligent activity from humans. National wildlife foundations could find ways to ban loggers and human who destroy animal ecosystems to allow population to increase in a controlled manner without their homes being destroyed and the risk of endangering the species.
Hunters are a huge contributor in keeping animal populations sustained and not overpopulated. A study conducted by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation found 25 different ways hunting conserved animal populations. “In 1907, only 41,000 elk remained in North America. Thanks to the money and hard work invested by hunters to restore and conserve habitat, today there are more than 1 million” and also “In 1950, only 12,000 pronghorn remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are more than 1.1 million.” (RMEF) Through the conservation efforts, hunters help control prey species such as deer, elk, and bison who might otherwise have population explosions due to reduced predator populations (due to hunters). It’s like a back and forth battle. Hunters help regulate the populations of prey species as the predator species are low due to hunting.
To protect wildlife you also must protect their habitat and ecosystem. Hunters as well as people who love the nature like hikers play a huge role in doing so. Ecosystem is defined as a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. This means to keep populations of wildlife creatures healthy, you must also keep the ecosystem healthy. “Hunting and the ecosystem is tied closely to conservation of land and animals” (SDFGWD). The South Dakota Game & Fishery Department also point out that hunting and ecosystem-based management is the smartest way to manage our wildlife. The idea of ecosystem-based management is that you manage ecosystems rather than specific species or disciplines. As an example, “You do not manage pheasants as much as you manage the ecosystem in which the pheasants live. If the ecosystem is improved, it will produce more pheasants naturally” (SDFGWD).
Through the past 30 years, there's been a massive decline in people who contribute to hunting. A report came out from the University of Georgia that within a 30 year span from 1980 to 2010, the percentage of hunters dropped from 11% to a whopping all-time low of 6% and the number keeps lowering. Reasoning behind this is the younger population of hunters continue to decrease and there aren’t enough older people to keep up with the ever changing society. Younger people are gravitating towards more modern technology and losing the interest of what humans have been doing since the beginning of time. I alone try to get my friends into hunting. I find it to be an experience like no other. Sitting out in the woods from 4AM to 4PM waiting for that one moment.
One of the biggest enemies hunters face are the protesters. They believe that hunting is an act where animals are killed for no reason and they mean no harm. “Cruel and unnecessary” said Phyllis McRae one of the many anti-hunters who campaign about banning hunting from the United States. Anti-hunters believe that the animals hunters hunt are “defenseless” but my argument to this statement is if you feel these animals are defenseless, then what are pigs, chickens, and cows? Are they defenseless? A statistic was pulled by from a group called Animal Equality states that over 56 billion farm animals are slaughtered each year by humans. This doesn’t even include sea creatures like fish. Compare this number to the 100 million animals that are killed by hunters each year. So I say this, which animals are really defenseless and who are more cruel? Hunters who hunt for the sole purpose of meat and conservation? Or the slaughterhouse who breed these animals for the sole purpose of being slaughtered.
Anti-hunters might also say that they know of people who "killed for the thrill." Well these people are not hunters. These people are poachers. The difference between hunters and poachers is hunters kill for the meat, and poachers kill for the antlers of for the fun of it. "Comparing hunters to poachers is like comparing shoppers to shoplifters" (Lapierre).
Anti-hunters only look at hunting in a certain point of view.