I have tried to stay out of this quasi debate which is timeless and is as likely to be agreed upon as religious beliefs. The above quote is true and false. In nature there is a cycle of things and populations in any species climbs and falls and yes, sometimes go extinct. An example would be how moose are a threat to deer. Many people are like, "Huh?!". Let me explain, in areas in Maine moose have a parasitic worm in them that is harmless to themselves. Deer pickup this parasite from moose dropping and it makes them go insane because it attacks their brains. So over population is not always a concern. Other reasons to hunt would be to control populations so animals do not become so constricted that they die from disease. Most animals like people do not stray to far from where they are born (that is another whole discussion). So contrary to the misconception is that if more land was available overpopulation would not occur. It happens in nature and Mother Nature 'fixes' this by disease. Deer do not have the option of getting a shot or vaccination to protect themselves against disease. Ever notice how Mother Nature throws humanity these same hints over the centuries like the plague. Just a 'natural' cleasing act that is used to maintain balance within the species. So when we fight back against Mother Nature she comes back with something even stronger like HIV. So Game and Wildlife management have to do a balancing act of maintaining a healthy population of all animal species. They have to monitor kills against success/failure rate of licensed hunters. They they have to monitor this to ensure the correct survival rate is available for winter so that enough healthy animals can survive as a food sources to other animals. You also have to remember, most other animals do not want to eat diseased meat. They would rather choose young or weak animals. If Mother nature was left to itself, it is not so kind, so hunting has it purpose whether you agree with it or not, participate or not.
Also looking at that statement I am somewhat confused. Lets see, man causes overpopulation of deer. Got it and agree somewhat to a degree. Mostly new development forces deer into smaller areas. Now overpopulation causes over harvesting of edible ground food to other small animals? Nope, it generally means deer eat all available food and then starve themselves and Mother Nature trims their population 'naturally'. Gee, nature is a bitch at times, eh? Lets go back to the food thing. Squirrels and chipmunks and such, eat seeds from pines and such, no problem there from deer. Maybe rabbits? Matter of fact when there is snow cover rabbits tunnel around and get the lower vegatation that is now unavailable to deer. Lets see, coyotes and fox eat these rabbits. Moose eat food from the ground up and tend to leave very little for deer. So all in all, man needs to play a part in maintaining balance and correcting before 'Nature' does.
Okay, I am rambling but I cannot stand to hear anti-hunting and anti-gun crap. I did hunt and understand the need. I do not anymore and am glad people do because of the benefits it brings. It brings in money to the State with licensing fees. It also reduces our taxes so we do not have to pay the State government to harvest these animals. Also it is a bonding type activity mostly between males. Most of all most of the hunters I know, have the greatest appreciation of the outdoors and try to protect it. Most non-hunters do very little to help animals or land that they feel so strongly about 'saving'. I think that people that do not supporting hunting should help in other ways such as contributing money to organizations that preserve land from development. Then again most do not but are quick to point at 'evil' hunters like they are terrorists slaughtering innocent animals. It is funny too how many anti-hunting people are apt to eat an animal that was raised and slaughtered just to stuff their own gut with flesh and never consider the 'inhumanity' to these animals.
I also know of many people that depend on hunting as a source of food for their famililes. Not all people in the US have the means or income to supplying food for their family year round. So for them it is a matter of survival. For those that have never hunted, it is not as easy as you would think either despite the fact you have a gun or bow. Easy to injury an animal but it takes skill to kill with a single shot. All hunters that I know hate nothing more that to injure and not outright kill the animal. Hence why they practice.
I figure while I am stirring the pot I will mention another pet peeve. I hate it when people say we eat cows. We eat steer. No not bulls, bulls are used to mate with cows. We eat castrated bulls, aka steer. They taste much better without the hormones making their flesh all tough and all to chew. Now if that isnt good enough for you, there is always corn and milk fed veal.
Once again this is just me venting so just ignore me. Enough said by me for now and I will get off my soapbox.
-=GWN=-