Is hunting good for the environment?

Answer 1

Deer hunting in an area where predators have been extirpated, man needs to hunt certain animals in order to prevent overpopulation. For example, in Illinois the cougar and the wolf have been gone for well over a century and as a result, the deer population has exploded. The state department of Natural Resources has taken measures to counter this by allowing hunting. Man is the only predator left. If the natural predators had not been removed by man, then this would not be necessary. Furthermore:There also exists the problem of human-wildlife interaction. The above example of Illinois is a great one. Since the predators have been missing for so long, humankind has felt free to expand all over the place. Something that is a natural occurrence in all of the reals of bio geography is that the predators and prey will always rise and fall in their populations, no matter the initial reasons. So humans have lowered the cougar (AKA mountain lion, puma, panther, the name varies by location.) population to the point where the deer population is allowed to explode. Not only do the deer eventually begin to encroach upon human-claimed territory (If that is the way you like to think of it.), but eventually the cougars will return too. This could be tragic, although it is highly unlikely that a human would ever even see a cougar in a residential area (They are very good at not being seen.) much less attacked by one. Still, if you look into population growth, the cougars are returning as the deer population drops (As is the natural result of the rising predator population, the cougars will drop accordingly. But still, there is plenty of food for them to eat.)

Hunting helps halt this by putting a cap on the amount of food there is for a predator. With fewer deer to feed the cougar population, the bloom will not last as long, and the cougars will again retreat to the west where there is more room for them.

Still, it will be interesting to see the amount of human fear involved with the rising cougar population. (Sightings will increase, and of course there is a level of danger attached.) We can only hope that the reaction will not be as horrible as it was when we first domesticated this land. We should be careful not to exterminate them, as we tend to do when we are afraid.

Keeps the animal population down, which allows for the growth of plants and other animal species

I agree with all of the above, but keep in mind that those reasons are to keep the environment in a state that we humans enjoy. Without hunting, there would be a major shift in habitat due to over grazing etc., but the environment would continue. Hunting isn't essential to the environment, it's essential to keep the environment the way we want it.

Answer 2

Hunting is not important in managing the ecosystem. In fact, it has more of a negative impact on flora and fauna in areas where hunting is prevalent than any other activity occurring in the spirit of environmentalism.

Other would disagree...

Answer 3

Your ancestors had to hunt or they would have died. So without hunting, you wouldn't be here. Also, if we didn't hunt, the population of game animals would be so high that they would be everywhere.

When the population of wildlife surpasses the amount of natural forage (food) then starvation occurs. Lack of sufficient nutrients and food leads to disease which causes a mass die off and extreme suffering. This is just an example of one of many reasons why it is so important to hunt, more commonly referred to as "herd management".

Answer 4

Hunting animals that the Government has deemed a pest can be good for the environment because it removes animals that are encroaching on other animals ability to maintain homeostasis/live. However over hunting animals can drastically harm an ecosystem. This is why hunting is strictly regulated by each state's fish and wildlife organization.

Answer 5

it doesn't hurt the environment unless an area is over hunted this could mess up the food chain of the ecosystem..... people that try to argue that it does damage the environment just have nothing better to do.

(added) Actually, hunting helps offset effects on the environment caused by other human activities.

For example, nature controls wildlife populations by starvation, disease and predation.

Predator species in many areas have been virtualy wiped out over (usually unjustified or overstated) concerns that predator species may attack livestock.

Human activities such as farming or even backyard vegetable gardens provide food for some adaptable species, so do garbadge dumps, so starvation as a method of population control is also reduced.

Populations grow too large resulting in more road accidents, other threats to people and their property.

Hunting is a managed way to offset these factors and keep animal populations under control.

B.T.W. in every area for which I have seen statistics, the number one cause of wildlife mortality caused by human activity is loss of habitat to human encroachment. Number two is roadkill and hunting is only number three.

Answer 6

When you take an animal out of the ecosystem, you take away the balance of the food chain. Imagine it as a pair of scales with equal weight on both sides... they are level, balanced. Lets say one side is a bird and the other is the birds food source... beetles? then along comes a hunter and shoots a few of those birds.. only a few right? What's the harm? Those beetles have nothing to eat them then, or another predator can take the birds place. its upsets the balance of the ecosystem.

Answer 7

If the deer population is too high, they damage the environment. Hunting helps keep the deer numbers down and keep them from damaging the environment.