How Wildlife Meat And Hunting Privileges Jeopardize Wildlife
The market for wildlife meat and parts jeopardizes the North American system of wildlife conservation by undermining the three fundamental policies that underlie the most successful conservation systems, including the denial of economic value to dead wildlife, the allocation of surplus wildlife by law, and non-frivolous use of wildlife.
Historically, North American wildlife conservation has been based on three primary policies:
- Absence of market in meat, parts, and products of game animals and birds.
- Allocation of material benefits of wildlife by law, not by market, birth, land, or social position.
- Prohibition on the frivolous killing of wildlife.
These three policies brought about the return of wildlife and created the most successful system of wildlife conservation as illustrated by:
- The recovery of wildlife.
- A large manufacturing industry that increased the economic return from wildlife.
- A system of management and conservation based on state-employed wildlife managers, along with the growing study of wildlife management.
- Growth in numbers of conservation societies.
- American taxation on behalf of wildlife.
- The creation of an extensive system of protective areas for wildlife.
- The negotiation of international treaties to protect wildlife.
- The protection of large predators.
- A complex system of wildlife protection that allows wildlife to recover.
However, dangers to North American conservation also exist, which include game ranching, consumer markets for meat from wildlife (which encourages hunting), and sport hunting. In conclusion, this author states that public debate is vital to ensure public access to wildlife to either support wildlife on private land or to work toward increasing public land holdings.
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