Yogithebear
Member
Well, they banned mountain lion hunting in California in 1990 (officially) but since then the state has killed or approved the successful killing via depredation permits of close to the same number of mountain lions. So in answer to your question “do we need to kill” x number of animals, generally, yes. Perhaps if we had not so altered the landscape nature would be able to balance things out on its own, but we have altered the landscape of earth so much we do need to manage everything, from wildlife, to wildfires, because if we don’t, we might lose it permanently.i think anyone who seriously thinks about hunting should have a solid answer to this. IMO there is actually one right answer here.
at least IMO the obvious answer is that of course we don't need to kill them and, generally speaking, nor does the science say we should. we might think it does, we might think we need to manage populations, but i would argue, no not really. a lot of populations objectives are half societal tolerance related, the other say habitat holding capacity related. but i'd find it hard to twist the science into an argument that we NEED to kill them. most particularly the only reason we can is because it can be withstood with science guiding the answer to whether or not it can be withstood.
i mean "need" is a real strong word. to mean require, i would say it means "can't do without". of course we can do without. in some cases might do better without if we're honest.
i think every user group needs to answer this question about the respective hobbies. do the skiers need to ski? the mountain bikers need to bike? the climbers need to climb? the list is nearly endless. of course no one needs to. the ultra spiritual types may say they need to climb the rocks to be a fulfilled fully nurtured spirit living a proper life. but weed out the bullshit and the answer is an obvious no. no one NEEDS to be doing it.
but these are wonderful experiences, all these outdoor hobbies, that can be done responsibly. and so long as they can be done responsibly, they should be allowed.