Do Virginian hunters really help conservation efforts? That is the question I am seeking to find answers for. In the grand scheme of things you can argue that hunters help the environment more than hurt it. Why is that though? Hunters pay over 800 million dollars in licensing and fees annually. These funds are then donated to conservation organizations. However, while you can look at the federally taxes and licenses that hunters must pay yearly, what you can’t look at is the amount of illegal hunting and over tagging that goes on in the area.
I live in a rural area where hunting and fishing are a part of the majority of the people who live here. Most of my friends growing up have always hunted, however it was never my thing as I found it lacking and sometimes grotusque. When I used to work at Walmart I would register dozens of people a week for legal hunting licenses and I got to see first hand the pricing and procedure on how one obtains a hunting license. It is super simple and only certain licenses are objectively pricey.
Using my status of multiple cases of hunters, I can argue that while it is easy to obtain a hunting license, many hunters that I know or knew didn’t buy them. Most would be for federal state hunter seasons (i.e. turkey, deer, duck), but that didn’t stop them from over tagging or failing to tag in the first place. The main reason I bring this up is this will be my main argument, because if I know dozens of people who don’t follow the rules, just imagine how many do it worldwide, and if no one follows the rules, then hunting will hurt the environment. Because of this fascinating dilemma that I have put onto myself, this will be the question I seek after.