As we all know, there are groups of people out there looking to outlaw trapping, hunting, and fishing. As with most activist groups, the thought process going into it is limited. They look at short term victories and totally miss the long term effects of what would happen if they succeed. This week I'm going to present my theory on what would happen if North America were to outlaw sportsmen and women.
So lets say somehow, tomorrow, all game activities were successfully outlawed in all states. The ramifications would begin immediately. Between field guides, bait shops, manufacturers, etc. you have a multi billion dollar industry that you just mortally wounded. In an effort to stay open with what they have left, camping, hiking, and sports, they would be forced to cut their staff in half. Unemployment is now on the rise.
Many state management agencies lose so much funding through the cuts in Pittman-Robertson, Dingle-Johnson, and 0 license sales that wildlife biologists are now looking for work. Nuisance wildlife companies go out of business or refocus on pest control only. Animal Control Officers and Natural Resources Law Enforcement is now called upon to deal with ALL human-wildlife conflicts. Without proper funding, these executive level departments will never keep up with the issues though.
The government steps in and raises taxes in order to pay for the staffing needs. During these conflicts, animals are dispatched and dropped in landfills or incinerated. With the lack of wild caught fish, and people being unable to consume wild game, more agricultural animals are in demand. With the demand comes higher prices.
After a couple of years of being totally unmanaged, prey animals are the first to boost beyond carrying capacity. Here's where some of the main issues start to rise up. The average everyday homeowner starts having issues with squirrels, skunks, raccoons, and other animals damaging their homes and threatening their pets and children. The increase in populations of these animals also brings with it an increase in diseases like rabies, canine distemper, and raccoon roundworm. At extended periods, lesser seen diseases like plague begin resurging.
Beavers begin causing havoc with water supplies. In addition to diverting flows of rivers and streams into our drinking water supplies, they also begin saturating the water itself with giardia. The cost of clean water increases as facilities need to compensate and water departments need to redirect the waterways back into these reservoirs. Local taxes increase to offset these costs.
Smaller predators feeding on these animals begin to increase populations with a more abundant food resource. Foxes, weasels, mink, coyote, and fisher cats begin causing issues on your poultry farms, causing the prices of white meat and eggs to increase. Larger grazing game animals like deer, elk, and bison begin decimating grain fields. Rabbits, woodchucks, and prairie dogs tear up vegetable farms. Increasing these populations lead to an increase in bears, wolves, and large cats. These increases now cause more mortality on beef and dairy cattle. All food prices begin to increase.
People start looking at the government to take action. Taxes increase again as authorities are now hired to manage these problems. More animals are dumped in landfills. Helicopter sniping becomes popular in many states as one of the more effective tools at reducing this damage.
Without funding for wildlife management, no studies are being done to see our impact on wildlife anymore. Invasive species take over landscapes and cause the extinction of native species. As the government focuses more on controlling human/wildlife conflicts, they have less time to focus on habitat management. Industries like forestry, mining, and energy move into sensitive environments and impact the habitats and waters.
Within a few more years, the sage grouse, prairie chicken, new England cottontail, and trout begin to disappear from the landscape. Wildlife diseases begin infecting domestic agriculture animals causing high mortality rates in our only food source. We are no longer able to export or farm products due to disease and with the shortages are now forced to import these goods in order to sustain our own populations.
Within the course of two decades, our entire society would be completely altered. The middle class disappears. Every family becomes a four income family as both parents begin working two full time jobs in order to make ends meet with the heightened taxes and costs of living. Many trappers, hunters, and fishers, no longer able to make that connection to the wild, fall into misery.
Obviously, this is not fact, it's entirely my opinion based on the accumulated information of my lifetime. Nobody can tell what the future will bring, but everyone should be thinking of the long term effects of every vote they make. Our country was founded on the freedom to be different. We don't run around telling everyone that they have to eat wild game or wear furs. Why then, can other folks tell us we cannot extract renewable resources from nature for personal use in a responsible and scientifically managed way?
If we want to head this off, we need to work together. ALL of us. Trappers, hunters, and fishers... we're all in this together. We need to stop fighting amongst ourselves. If someone puts forth a bill to outlaw foothold traps, the bow hunters and long-liners need to be there with the trappers fighting that bill. If the anti's attack the use of hunting dogs, whitetail hunters and bass masters should be standing with duck and lion hunters. We need to bring this to the next generation too. Take someone hunting. Show someone how to put up a coyote set. Bring your neighbor ice fishing. Most importantly though, whether your in the woods, water, mountains, or social media, be ethical, be respectful. Take the high road with facts and reason.
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