16: Sustainable use of wildlife (conservation hunting)

Question 1

Example of hunting as a social-cultural activity

Answer 1

Fox hunting
- control foxes as livestock/poultry pests
- killing was replaced by thrill of the chase

Question 2

Is hunting acceptable or offensive?

Answer 2

When a wildlife population is threatened, deliberate killing of individuals seems perverse
Some argue well-related hunting benefits wildlife populations, and may be the only way to ensure their persistence

Question 3

Success stories of conservation measures with substantial regulated harvests

Answer 3

Beaver, white-tailed deer, wild turkey

Question 4

Is fox hunting cruelty?

Answer 4

Hunters say fox is either killed relatively quickly or escapes uninjured
3,000 foxes/year
Hunt supporters say it is more humane to kill foxes than allow them to suffer malnourishment and mange

Question 5

What are the three social benchmarks for judging extractive use

Answer 5

1. Leopold criteria (does it promote biodiv)
2. Time frame (sustainable out to at least 5 future gens)
3. Social acceptability (acceptable to a reasonable portion of the public?)

Question 6

What are the cornerstones of consumptive wildlife use in North America***

Answer 6

1. Public ownership and access to wildlife
2. No market for wild-killed game
3. Regulation of harvest within constraints of conservation
4. Wildlife is not allocated on social status or wealth
5. Sustainable use; management & data

Question 7

What is the egg of sustainability

Answer 7

People are part of the ecosystem: stressed and benefits flow both ways

Question 8

What is the happy planet index

Answer 8

Experienced wellbeing x life expectancy of a country divided by ecological footprint

Question 9

What was contemporary conservation related to hunting

Answer 9

19th century colonial sports hunting
but hunters alarmed at unregulated destruction of game habitats and populations
Establishment of parks and reserves in the US

Question 10

What is modern conservation

Answer 10

Reducing extinction risks, maintaining essential ecological processes, sustainable use of species and ecosystems

Question 11

What is sport hunting

Answer 11

Primarily for leisure (thrill of chase)
Commercial element - hunters willing to pay for it (guns, boats, outfitting)
Subsistence element - kill for food
Cultural and spiritual importance for some people

Question 12

How can sport hunting benefit local communities?

Answer 12

Local employment, traditional skills, meat donation, outfitting

Question 13

Social and biological problems with shooting farms

Answer 13

Bad image, disease, habitat fragmentation

Question 14

Four case studies

Answer 14

1. Botswama Safari hunting
2. Yukon Wood Bison Community Development
3. Fenced elk harvest
4. Nunavut polar bear harvest quotas

Question 15

The question of ‘is hunting acceptable’ needs to deal with whether… and not…

Answer 15

Whether hunting can aid wildlife at the population level, and not with the important but different question of whether hunting has welfare implications for individual animals

Question 16

What is the Alberta Land and Wildlife Stewardship Project?

Answer 16

develop recommendations for wildlife management programs in AB that:
- enhance + values of wildlife to private landowners
- provide incentives and rewards to private landowners for wildlife on their lands

Question 17

Potential direct and indirect negative effects of wildlife watching

Answer 17

Direct: feeding patterns, social structure (e.g. mother abandons cub), communication (e.g. noise pollution in whales)

Indirect: species introductions, roads/facilities, pollution

Question 18

How is hunting beneficial in controlling bison numbers

Answer 18

Bison compete with moose and woodland caribou for habitat and food
Growing at fast rate so harvest some to slow down rate
Change predator-prey relationships

Question 19

How many polar bears killed each year? What percent killed by Inuit hunters? How much do polar bear tags cost? How much does a polar bear hunt cost?

Answer 19

Around 480
85-95% killed by inuit
tags cost $1400
hunt costs $20,000-80,000

Question 20

How do polar bear hunts benefit local people?

Answer 20

Must be guided by inuit (outfitters), meat stays in community
54% of money goes to guides, helpers, tag holders