How does big game hunting in north America, Europe and Africa benefit nature and local communities?
Wildlife management officials, unlike most other governmental agencies, usually do their jobs well. They use hunting licenses and limits on hunters to control and maintain healthy game populations and provide for other wild species as well. If allowed to over-populate, many grazing species will cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and have ripple effects through the food chain leading to possible soil erosion and even the extinction of competing species. Fees from hunting and fishing provide valuable funding for these wildlife programs. In areas rich in game, entire economies are created that support and service these hunters. Many rural areas rely completely on the guides, outfitters, lodging and transportation around hunting and fishing. In many areas, the only alternative economy to agriculture is the hunting and fishing tourism economy. The products of harvesting wild game provide healthy, valuable, alternative food sources than the mass produced supermarket food.
