Does Hunting Help With Overpopulation?

Does hunting help with overpopulation? Yes it most certainly does.

Wildlife is a Public Resource

In the old days, anyone could hunt and kill anything, and that meant we might run out of animals to hunt and kill! We don’t want species to go extinct if we can avoid that! Smartly, the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation (NAMWC) was formed. It declared that wildlife is a public resource and is managed by law, among other things. Basically, people decided that there has to be an objective and ethical way to manage wildlife populations. So that’s what has happened since the days when there were no rules.

Hunters and Animal Levels

So what about species like deer, turkey or elk? Do they have enough predators to keep their natural population numbers under control? No, not really… So hunters are doing a good thing hunting these animals. Hunters are keeping their numbers at a reasonable level. After all, would you want to live in a suburban neighborhood overrun by deer in every yard and on every street? Of course not! (Well, maybe if you could freely hunt them there, right?)

Making Sure Populations Are Kept In Check

Hunters are helping to keep animal populations “in check” so they don’t reproduce and multiply to such high levels that they throw off entire ecosystems. There is, after all, a finite amount of land on Earth. Humans and animals need to share the space.

Besides helping control population numbers, hunters are also involved in various conservation efforts, helping keep things like state game and fish departments in operation.

Do you like to hunt? Have you thought about hunting somewhere “new” where you haven’t yet hunted? Why not take a trip to Pennsylvania and explore Tioga Ranch? It’s hundreds of acres full of animals such as boar, turkeys, rams and plenty of different deer. Guided hunts are available; For details, please call Tioga Ranch at 570-835-5341 or check out the “hunts” page, here.