There is a word that is synonymous with hunting, and that word is
conservation.
Hunting is a tool used to preserve the species, it is not a sport to allow gun-toting bipeds to kill indiscriminately. This is not something I wasn't aware of till I took the hunting course recently. You'll be amazed by how much you'll learn about the importance of hunting in any given area.
And this coming from someone that is yet to harm a fly. Or that wouldn't dream of taking the life of such a majestic creature. But guess what: since humanity infringed upon the home of native animals, their ecosystem has changed (for the worst, if you're a quadruped). It is our responsibility to minimize the harm - and wildlife management is in everyone's interest.
Wildlife management is an incredibly important science that takes many accounts into consideration. Poor management in the past (or lack of) has resulted in the suffering of many animals (deer population in some cases fared far worse off without this balance). As a child watching Bambi I grew up with this pessimistic view of what a hunter was: an evil person that killed Bambi's mother for no reason other than self gratification. Now I understand that hunters are far from the evil folk Disney portrait them as being. Hunters are required in order to maintain this delicate balance.
Yes, I was sad to see such a majestic cat being shot and it immediately prompted me to ask who is this Pioneer? Is he hunting for pure sport? Did he even have a license? Well, after reading more on this thread I realized that he is offering us all a service. Wildlife management would not have given him a license if cats in his WMU weren't too high in numbers. They take into account the number of deer and other prey in the area that could be too few to sustain the existing cougar population. And many other aspects that are in place to ensure the population thrives. What one may not realize is that overpopulation of any species for a specific area is the greatest threat they face.
Conservation is a necessity, whether we agree with it or not. Personally I think that a big horn sheep is as majestic as a mountain lion. As is a full sized elk. And a moose. And any of the species of bears. Very diligent people are keeping a close eye on their population and making the best call to ensure their success. Alberta very much respects our wildlife and invest greatly in ensuring their success. I have a great deal of admiration for those that work in wildlife management and how serious they take their jobs.
With all that said, I think that Pioneer could have chosen his words better when referring to those that have expressed their opposing opinions. But this is the divide that hunters face, many are not aware of the importance the role conservation plays.
leadslinger wrote:
Did you really think this was a post about a over 25 year old female?
Man, if you call a 25 year old a cougar, you must be
really young.
Well put Joolz, However wildlife management is totally unnecessary and ineffective at managing population explosion. The more MAN,,,thins a population of animals, the animals produce more larger litters. As the explosion of coyotes in NL and elsewhere have proven. Nature will manage itself. Wildlife management is just the same as replanting trees to keep the stock renewable, so hunters can enjoy hunting and jobs and revenue can be reaped and maintained. Hunting is big business. Just my uninformed opinion.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
News 
Site map 
SitemapIndex 
RSS Feed 
