revenues
that are used to fund wildlife management programs throughout the nation.
Wildlife
managers say budgets could not be increased enough to recoup the loss of
hunting and trapping as management tools. State and local taxes would have
to be raised significantly to cover the loss of revenue provided by the
hunter and trapper. So view how losing hunting and trapping could affect
us.
THE
HIGHWAY…
According
to national statistics in 2001, deer-automobile accidents result in over
$1 billion annually. If we should lose hunting and trapping, an additional
50,000 injuries per year would result from wildlife-auto collisions. This
would result in $3.8 billion in auto repair after such collisions. In
addition, reports show an estimated 200 lives are lost annually to animal
related accidents.
THE FARM…
People
living in our nation’s suburban and urban regions generally do not think
of problems faced by the farmer. These people never think how negative
impacts to farmers directly affect prices paid by everyone.
In
2001, the USDA estimated, based on 12,000 agriculture producers, wildlife
destroyed $619 million in field crops. Losses to livestock and poultry
totaled $178 million. Producers of vegetables, fruits and nuts within this
margin received loss of $146 million. When we add these figures, we see an
economic loss of $944 million.
State
wildlife agencies estimate if the loss of hunting and trapping should
occur, wildlife damage to agricultural would increase on average by 221
percent. This increase would occur during the course of a few years.
Therefore, based on this increase, we would find the loss reaching over $3
billion. This loss could put many marginal producers out of business.
HOME
SWEET HOME…
According
to research conducted by the Utah State University during the mid-1990s,
metropolitan households nationally incurred over $4 billion dollars in
wildlife related damages. In most instances, these damages occurred in
suburban and urban neighborhoods.
Findings
state almost half the homes incurring damage spent an average of $38 in
often unsuccessful attempts to ameliorate the problem. Often as not, the
damage was being created by a non-game status animal such as woodpeckers
that could not be legally harmed. Therefore, the homeowner is suddenly
faced with a dilemma. The culprit must be halted without harming it. In
most situations like this, the use of a live trap is applied and the
culprit is relocated. However, if hunting and trapping does not exist as a
management tool, what then? How is a homeowner going to protect his or her
home from unwanted guests? Speaking of unwanted guests, many people are
discovering their homelands are being greatly affected by one, the beaver.
The
beaver is a natural engineer and its numbers are growing. Beaver
populations are healthy and well established across North America.
State
wildlife agencies are also discovering as beaver populations increase so
does the number of complaints from farmers, home-owners, and communities
– all of which report some degree of economic loss due to the beaver.
Beaver
damage to roads has become a widespread problem through much of the
nation. When beavers occupy roadside areas they often plug culverts or
construct dams that can result in flooding the road. Beavers also cause
millions of dollars in other types of infrastructure such as dams, water
drainage systems and railroad lines.
Southerners
are finding the beaver is the primary critter that causes an estimated
$1.1 billion loss annually to the southern economy. This is due to not
only flooding hundreds of thousands of acres but also gnawing on valuable
commercial and residential trees.
Homeowner
pocketbooks are being affected not only by the beaver cutting trees, but
also by stopping up sewer systems. This in turn can result in flooding
cellars, basements and driveways. Trapping has proven the most effective
means as a management tool for beaver control. According to Alabama
Department of Conservation the beaver is winning the population growth
race compared to deer and bear. Beaver populations have increased by 10
percent over the past five years. Wonder what the numbers will be three or
four years from
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