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Hunting has been a way of life for humans from the early days and there are many benefits of hunting. Humans learned and perfected the skill of hunting to provide food. Today, we have large-scale agricultural projects which make us less reliant on hunting as our main source of food.
However, many people still hunt as a sport while there is a minority that still hunts to provide meat for consumption. In this article, we share the benefits of hunting. Hunting is an old tradition, not only in the United States but worldwide that is practiced by millions.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Hunting
1. Food Source
Even though humans are not reliant on hunting today like past generations did, most hunters still eat the game animals they hunt. It is a rich and lean source of protein for their families. The animals that you hunt and take home are free-range and “locally grown”.
There are no chemicals, hormones, or antibodies in the meat. They eat green grass, plants, nuts, seeds, fish, herbs, and other animals. Therefore their meat is healthy meat that you and your family can consume; it is 100% organic.
2. Helps The Ecosystem
Hunting also helps to balance the ecosystem. Nature allows for the balancing of the ecosystem as animals eat other animals and plants as food and this helps to maintain the ecosystem. However, hunting is also another way to help and maintain the ecosystem.
As government agencies monitor and study the population growth or demise of animals, birds, fish, and other wildlife, they increase or decrease the quota that can be hunted. This helps to maintain the ecosystem. Hunting regulations allow a species to not go into extinction and also maintain the population of others. Hunting is a major help to this delicate balance. It helps with wildlife population management.
3. Funds Conservation & Wildlife Programs
There are a lot of research, projects, and wildlife programs that are funded by the revenue collected from hunting activities. Some of the revenue from hunting licenses, fees, and taxes on hunting products go toward the funding of many wildlife conservation projects.
This money is to the tune of millions of dollars that regularly help fund wildlife and conservation programs to maintain and improve the wildlife that we all cherish and benefit from.
4. Supports The Economy
Hunting supports not only the local economy but the national economy as well. In 2019 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reported that there were about 15.2 million hunting license holders in the United States.
That translates to 4.7% of the population who paid for a hunting license and doesn’t account for lifetime license holders, multi-year license holders, and people who are in certain states and age brackets who do not require a license. The license fees alone amount to millions of dollars that are used to fund wildlife and conservation programs.
Moreover, it is estimated that all hunting activities in the United States account for about $105 billion to the economy and support over 688,500 jobs.A hunter, on average, will spend $2,000.0 per year on retail hunting-related goods. Additionally, local hotels, motels, restaurants, car rental companies, etc. all benefit from the hunting season.
5. Promotes Healthy Lifestyle
Hunting is physical and tasking. It involves walking in rugged and rough terrain for many miles as you track down game animals. This is good exercise if you are a regular hunter. It helps to improve your physical and mental strengths. Some hunters even step up their physical exercises before the hunting season begins to get in top shape for the hunting season
Getting in good physical condition will only improve your chances of success during the hunting season. Mentally, you get stronger as you learn to not easily give up, focus, learn from your mistakes, and problem-solve. Hunting helps you live a healthy life.
Pros And Cons Of Hunting
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Wildlife Population Control | Safety Risks |
| Promotes Healthy Lifestyle | Encourages Unethical Practices |
| Connect With Nature | May Result In Animal Suffering |
| Supports Economies | |
| Funds Conservation Programs | |
| Develops Your Personality | |
| Strengthens Family Bonds | |
| Participates In Community | |
| Protein Source | |
| Provides Wildlife Data |
6. Connect With Nature
Hunting is a way of escape for many hunters even if they really don’t realize it. Hunting allows you to switch off from the demands of every day and get in tune with nature. It allows you to immerse in nature and enjoy the woods, animals, rivers, creeks, hills, valleys, and sounds of birds, and other animals. You find yourself appreciating nature more and enjoying another way of life that you only enjoy when you come to the woods to hunt.
7. Enhances Your Personality
There are parts of your personality that are enhanced by hunting. Hunting involves a lot of planning, discipline, focus, problem-solving, timing, and body and breath control. Proper hunting involves pre-season scouting in which you scout the area for the game animals you want to hunt during the hunting season. You look for signs of their activities, their travel routes, bedding areas, food sources, etc.
There is a lot of planning involved to have a successful hunting season. Additionally, you improve your discipline when hunting as you have to be up early to get into your hunting spot undetected. Moreover, you have to learn to avoid making noise, control your human scent, learn to be patient and wait for the animal to appear as well as wait for the best shot.
Additionally, you also have to learn how to control your body as most animals have very good eyesight and will spot your body movements before you see them.
8. Improve Family Relations
When hunting, members of your family or friends may join as your hunting partner. This not only helps to improve your security while out in the woods, but also allows you to strengthen the family bond with your spouse, child, sibling, or friend.
Stronger bonds are built when you and your family member spend time involved in other activities like hunting when there may be scenarios in which one of you may have to put more trust in the ability of the other as well as develop more teamwork.
9. Participate In Community Programs
Hunting also allows you to be more involved in community programs. There may be local hunting clubs and organizations that you may be interested in joining to provide help and expertise. Additionally, these groups also have food drives in which they donate some of the animals they got from hunting to a community home.
Additionally, you can also volunteer to teach hunting classes to minors who are interested in hunting and need that help and guidance from a mentor.
10. Provides Data For Research
Hunting plays a major role in the collection of data that wildlife biologists and other professionals use to study the populations, activities, migratory habits and trends, etc. of animals. Most agencies require hunters to get tags and report their animals as a way to collect data and monitor the hunting season. This is an easy way to collect this data for these agencies who use it for more studies and develop plans to prevent extinction.
The Bottom Line
Hunting is a major outdoor activity for millions of people worldwide as it not only provides a source of protein but also a way to interact with nature. There are many benefits of hunting from the economic benefits to the physical and mental benefits. In this article, we shared some of the benefits of hunting to help you understand the unique role it plays in society.
We also wrote articles on how to hunt, how to hunt on public land, how to introduce your kids to hunting, how to hunt with bows, how to hunt with recurve bows, and how to hunt deer at night if you would like to read more hunting articles and get some tips to improve your hunting skills. If you go fishing, you can also read about the benefits of fishing.
