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Wildlife management is the management of wildlife to strengthen and help the plants and animals in a world dominated by humans. Wildlife management has brought animals such as the white-tailed deer from near extinction after a period of destruction from European settlers before the 1900's. (Young 10) In Vermont there are not enough predators to control the deer population, so wildlife officials have allowed hunting of white-tailed deer and almost stopped the hunting of predators such as the bobcat and fox. By doing this, they have strengthened not only deer populations but also that of predators, rabbits, and many other species. When one species of animal is over populated, that species will starve, vegetation will suffer, and thus the entire habitat is affected. (Young 7) By managing wildlife we can stop this from happening. Hunting should be regulated to fit the needs of wildlife management.
Yet, is not hunting the opposite of helping wildlife by suppressing their right to live? Shooting a deer for sport is creul and today is not used for a reliable source of food, (Jolma 165) so why kill them? If a deer is shot but not killed, is it morally right for hunters, who are just doing this for the sport, to find it acceptable to let a deer suffer? On the other hand, nature has much more cruel and drastic ways of controlling population. (Howard 111) If hunting was not allowed, then the entire population of deer would suffer. When a deer is shot, it is usually a quick and painless death. Starvation is a slow process of fat depletion and physical weakening. Imagine hundreds of deer who have not eaten in days. They are running off of their last depleting fat cells around their kidneys and intestines. Their coats begin to become looser and more rough, and their bone marrow begins to turn from off-white to red and jelly-like. The deer are now very skinny and weak. They begin to stagger and loose hope, so they curl up and act lethargic, waiting to die. (Young 4) This process can be avoided by careful management of wildlife by allowing more predators to hunt the weak and enough hunters to help balance the ecosystem.
By allowing more predators into their natural habitat the ecosystem becomes stronger. Bobcats, for example, will generally only hunt for deer if the population is weak and/or starving, which generally happens in the winter. The bobcat will seek out the weakest deer and attack and kill it, leaving more food for the other deer. Predators usually don't rely on one source of food, so they balance more than one animal species. If the prey population is getting too small, the population of predators will shrink as well. This does not reliably occur among human hunters. Wildlife managers understand that animal predators are better for ecosystems than human hunters. By allowing them to regulate hunting according to the amount of predators, not only will deer profit but also the predators, other herbivores, and the trees and plants.
If there are not enough predators to regulate the deer and other herbivores, human hunters are necessary; when deer populations get too large negative effects are thrust upon both humans and non-humans. Humans are impacted by deer/vehicle collisions as well as agricultural damage. There were an estimated 57,000 deer/vehicle collisions in New York in 1988 causing about $50,000,000 in property damage. (Young 9) Deer/vehicle collisions can be fatal to both the deer and the people in the vehicle. Farmers are affected when deer resort to feeding on their crops when starvation strengthens among the deer population. Overpopulation among deer also adversely affects wildlife. As hunger increases and food runs out, bark is stripped from trees which makes the trees more susceptible to disease. Vegetation suffers from overbrowsing, thus all animals which would normally feed from the vegetation would suffer. (Young 7) If the deer population had been controlled by hunters or predators, starvation and over browsing would be avoided and potential human lives would have been saved.
Wildlife management should control hunting and allow more predators prey on herbivores such as deer. There is a choice that needs to be made: the deer can starve, vegetation can suffer, and human lives can be put at risk or predators can be allowed in the wild and hunting taken advantage of when necessary to control deer populations. Hunters can help create healthy deer populations; predators are necessary to create a balance among their habitat. When the two are managed by caring people who's primary goal is to help the plants and animals, everyone prospers. The choice seems simple; wildlife management is crucial.