Number Of Hunters In U.S. Declining

Ironically, Fewer Hunters Due To Urbanization May Result In Cuts In Wildlife Conservation

(AP)  Hunters remain a powerful force in American society, as evidenced by the presidential candidates who routinely pay them homage, but their ranks are shrinking dramatically and wildlife agencies worry increasingly about the loss of sorely needed license-fee revenue.

New figures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that the number of hunters 16 and older declined by 10 percent between 1996 and 2006 - from 14 million to about 12.5 million. The drop was most acute in New England, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific states, which lost 400,000 hunters in that span.

The primary reasons, experts say, are the loss of hunting land to urbanization plus a perception by many families that they can't afford the time or costs that hunting entails.

"To recruit new hunters, it takes hunting families," said Gregg Patterson of Ducks Unlimited. "I was introduced to it by my father, he was introduced to it by his father. When you have boys and girls without a hunter in the household, it's tough to give them the experience."

Some animal-welfare activists welcome the trend, noting that it coincides with a 13 percent increase in wildlife watching since 1996. But hunters and state wildlife agencies, as they prepare for the fall hunting season, say the drop is worrisome.

"It's hunters who are the most willing to give their own dollar for wildlife conservation," Patterson said.

Compounding the problem, the number of Americans who fish also has dropped sharply - down 15 percent, from 35.2 million in 1996 to 30 million in 2006, according to the latest version of a national survey that the Fish and Wildlife Service conducts every five years.

Of the 50 state wildlife agencies, most rely on hunting and fishing license fees for the bulk of their revenue, and only a handful receive significant infusions from their state's general fund.

"They're trying to take care of all wildlife and all habitats on a shoestring budget," said Rachel Brittin of the Washington-based Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

In New Hampshire, only multiple fee increases - which produced numerous complaints - have enabled the Fish and Game Department to keep revenues robust. Its ranks of registered hunters has dropped from 83,292 in 1996 to 61,076 last year, according to department spokeswoman Judy Stokes.

"We hear concerns about land access," Stokes said. "People grew up hunting - you went out with your family, your uncle. And now you go back, and there's a shopping plaza or a housing development. Some of your favorite places just aren't available anymore."

National hunting expert Mark Damian Duda, executive director of Virginia-based research firm Responsive Management, says America's increasingly urban and suburban culture makes it less friendly toward the pastime.

"You don't just get up and go hunting one day - your father or father-type figure has to have hunted," Duda said. "In a rural environment, where your friends and family hunt, you feel comfortable with guns, you feel comfortable with killing an animal."

Indeed, hunting remains vibrant in many rural states - 19 percent of residents 16 and older hunted last year in Montana and 17 percent in North Dakota, compared with 1 percent in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Nationally, 5 percent of the 16-and-over population hunted in 2006, down from 7 percent in 1996.

As their ranks dwindle, hunters are far from unified. The often big-spending, wide-traveling trophy hunters of Safari Club International, for example, have different priorities from duck hunters frequenting close-to-home wetlands.

One rift involves hunters disenchanted with the National Rifle Association, which runs major hunting programs and lobbies vigorously against gun control. A Maryland hunter, Ray Schoenke, has formed a new group, the American Hunters and Shooters Association, primarily as a home for hunters who would support some restrictions on gun and ammunition sales.

"The NRA's extreme positions have hurt the hunting movement," Schoenke said. "Soccer moms now believe hunters have made things more dangerous."

Political support for hunting remains strong, though, with several states recently enshrining the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions.

Last month, President Bush ordered all federal agencies that manage public lands to look for more room for hunting. In the 2004 presidential campaign, both Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry courted hunters' and gun owners' votes. A camouflage-jacketed Kerry even toted a shotgun during a goose hunt.

Among the 2008 candidates, Democrat Bill Richardson aired a TV ad showing him hunting, while Republican Mitt Romney was derided for calling himself a lifelong hunter even though he never had state hunting licenses.

[d1windwalker]

Unfortunately, the reporters are talking to the people from the agencies. They are not talking to those of us that have chosen not to spend the money on license fees anymore. They''re getting the figures, but not the facts behind the figures.

When I was a kid, we could fish in any lake, and take home up to 20 walleyes. Then along came "INDIAN SPEAR-FISHING". A U S SENATOR got involved in a study of the fish population, and the finding was that the SPEARFISHING did not affect the fish population in any of the lakes. Yet, one lake, the limit is two fish. The next lake, the limit is one fish. The third lake you can not catch any. So, why have the limits been so drastically reduced? I believe we are being LIED to. And, as long as that continues, I will not spend the money of any license fees. I have not been fishing or hunting in the last ten years. We have a government agency that ensures TRUTH IN ADVERTISING. How about TRUTH IN FINDINGS? To only be allowed to catch one or two walleye a day, it does not pay to go fishing anymore. You want to control the deer population? Put more cars on the roads. You want me to go fishing? Let me catch enough fish so that a family of five can all eat fish. Either that, or STOP LYING TO US.

[gunownerdan]

Humans have been hunting and eating animals for well over a million years and we sure aren''t going to stop anytime soon.
There is no better way to get fresh and natural meat than hunting and fishing.
It''s as simple as that!

[kaiyo4u]

Haven''t heard anything from Agnim in a few hours. Must have slipped into a coma from lack of essential proteins...lol

[Krazcarl]

COOL

[kaiyo4u]

Posted by crzmeat at 11:15 PM : Sep 04, 2007

Naw, I''m just messing with him... it sure is fun when they aren''t rational.

[Krazcarl]

kayio4uat I see your on a heavenly mission to save agmin or do you think his stash is better than yours.

[kaiyo4u]

And for your information, I neither would kill nor scavenge the carcass of dead animals. I leave such acts for the more beastly.
Posted by Agnim at 09:38 PM : Sep 04, 2007

So I am a beast... I am not residing in the ethereal, but here in a very material world. Else I would not need the sustenance that is provided by the earth.
I am not a ruminant either. I have incisors, canines, and molars to eat with. By that very fact makes me at the least an omnivore.
Were I only visiting here in an ethereal body, I would not have to sustain myself with "fleshly" foods.
My body is only a temporary visage while here and it needs to be sustained. By the very things on this earth.
So please look outside yourself and truly see what there is to see. You might be surprised...

[Krazcarl]

Agmin Try downers this crack is making you look like the village idiot I never met a man that was so public about being stupid.

[kaiyo4u]

Posted by Agnim at 09:38 PM : Sep 04, 2007
You didn''t answer my questions, are you vegan or a member of PETA or both?

Since you are surely very worked up about this article.
So, pray tell, what is it that you do eat?
Do you dine on the blood of humans? After the sun sets?

Are you trying to tell me they have consciousness as we do?

Please tell me where you are coming from so I can understand your position.

Right now you''re like a rabid dog, frothing at the mouth in a rage. With such incoherentness, it is difficult to understand your saintly leanings.

[Krazcarl]

Agmin what is wrong with you take another hit off that pipe we all see your a drug addicted idiot. I dought if Vic would want a moroon like you in his corner your rants just make him look worse.

[agnim]

"Yes, I kill for sustenance, not for sport.
Next time you bite into that hamburger, porkchop, or chicken, think about that creatures life, will you?
Posted by kaiyo4u at 05:34 PM : Sep 04, 2007"

Killing for sustenance or for sport makes NO difference to the animals being killed!
How would you like to be killed for sustenance?

And for your information, I neither would kill nor scavenge the carcass of dead animals. I leave such acts for the more beastly.

[agnim]

"Would you have preferred Vick eat those dogs? You know dog and cat are considered delicacies in the orient? What he did was inhumane and it has no bearing on hunting.
Posted by kaiyo4u at 05:34 PM : Sep 04, 2007"

First dumb statement -- ''inhumane'' to define the state of an animal.

Second, who cares what scavenger use the carcass of a dead creaure? The DEAD CREATURE CANNOT CARE!
A creature can only care about its body when it is alive.

Hunting/killing/slaughtering animals IS ALL THE SAME TO THE ANIMALS, whether they be cows, deers, pigs, dogs, chicken, rabbits, whatever!

It can only be ignorance and hypocrisy when we make specious distinction between KILLING ANIMALS/USING THEME FOR SPORT!

[michellem99-2009]

crzmeat,Dear Thank you. I use to live at the blind center in Portland when it was there. So that cow,hog.etc to killed in them meat plants,clean no .. The TV did stories on sick animals that make it to table here in WA state. They kill or did sick animals in plants than they ship that meat to stores and people unaware bought. True if yer hunt an animal yer got no idea of what ye might eat due to what he/she ate.
The meat ye take from field yer got no idea what it has ate. None. If they kill the animals in the plants they are raised for that and soppose to be free of sickless. The vets are suppose to check that animals'' health . But they use growth hormones. I eat as little meat as I can. I was born/am legally blind. There are meat recalls no matter where one lives. Don''t say that deer is safe it may not be. A Manier in Seattle.

[Krazcarl]

Hwy71Soat. I''m pro hunting but this asumption that game is more healthy than market meat is flawed that means not true. toxins are dumped in the woods and waterways they have had no vet care some are diseased some ridden with paracites you have no idea what the creature has eaten or licked. If you ever spent any time in the woods you''d have seen this The woman mentioned she was blind hunting is not a option and was honest.. I''d say you owe her an apology...

[kaiyo4u]

So if we make noise for the beastly dogs, we might as well MAKE NOISE FOR ALL ANIMALS BEING KILLED in order to appear sensible and credible!
Posted by Agnim at 05:17 PM : Sep 04, 2007

Would you have preferred Vick eat those dogs? You know dog and cat are considered delicacies in the orient? What he did was inhumane and it has no bearing on hunting.

Would you rather those animals died a slow lingering death of starvation, disease, or being eaten alive by a predator. Yes, a lot of prey are still alive when the predator starts eating. The Native Americans had it right. They managed this land for 1000''s of years before the Europeans arrived and they did a fine job. Game was bountiful and nature was unspoiled.
Get off your high horse and look at things in a realistic manner. I suppose you are a vegan? A member of PETA?

Yes, I kill for sustenance, not for sport.
Next time you bite into that hamburger, porkchop, or chicken, think about that creatures life, will you?

[agnim]

"Agnim, take your meds and relax. Yes there are a lot of abuses out there associated with hunting, but there are abuses associated with everything in daily life.
Posted by kaiyo4u at 01:16 PM : Sep 04, 2007"

What a cop out!
Anyway, hopefully you were not one of the bigoted white supremacists persecuting Vick for things you admit doing -- KILLING ANIMALS!

A DEAD creature could careless what happens to its carcass, or which scavenger devours it -- human or animal.

The animals can only care about their killing! And no excuse is going to be good enough for the creature being killed!

So whether it is killing cows, deers, dogs, hogs, chicken, etc, etc THE EFFECT IS STILL THE SAME FOR THE ANIMAL BEING KILLED!

So if we make noise for the beastly dogs, we might as well MAKE NOISE FOR ALL ANIMALS BEING KILLED in order to appear sensible and credible!

[ianlou]

Instead of hunting, why don''t we control the deer population through a federally funded birth control program for deer, this would be far more human and it shouldn''t cost that much!:)

[boldwin223]

"Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort."
-- President John F. Kennedy, January 29, 1961

Some how I don''t think JFK had "shooting a little deer with an AK47" in mind when he made this statement.

[boldwin223]

"They''re trying to take care of all wildlife and all habitats on a shoestring budget," said Rachel Brittin of the Washington-based Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies."

Looking for money from non-hunting and non-fishing tax payers.

[gunownerdan]

Maybe more and more hunters are just not getting licenses anymore.
You don''t need a license to hunt on private property and I know several people who hunt deer with a bow and arrow in the middle of a neighborhood with no license or anything.
Butcher them yourself and save $60!