Elementary and middle-school students listen up. For many years I’ve been helping kids like you with research projects and term papers. Students from rural areas—all their parents and many of their teachers are deer hunters–write and ask me for advice and quotes on why we should hunt deer, and what are the benefits of deer hunting. Here is a white paper I send them. Students, please feel free to use this on your next project! You have permission to use the photographs too.–M.H.
The whitetail deer is the number one game animal in the United States. There are an estimated 30 million whitetails in the U.S., and more than 11 million people buy a deer hunting license each year. Deer hunting has 4 major benefits.
Deer Hunting Funds Wildlife Conservation
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hunters contribute $370 million each year to conservation projects that benefit not only deer but all wildlife and birds. These projects include improving animal habitats and scientific research studies that help all animal and bird populations. The money comes from taxes on guns and ammunition and hunting licenses and permits that deer hunters pay each year.
Deer Hunting is Good for Rural Economies
America’s 11 million deer hunters spend millions of dollars each year on guns, bows, camouflage clothes, tree stands and lots of other gear they need to hunt. Each fall during deer season, hunters buy gas and groceries, pay for hotels, eat out at restaurants, etc. Deer hunting supports small businesses in rural areas, and creates thousands of jobs for people across the country.
Deer Hunting Provides Healthy Food
Deer hunters eat what they kill. Venison tastes great and is an excellent source of organic protein; deer meat is leaner and healthier than steak you buy in a store. Also, every state has some type of venison donation program, like Hunters for the Hungry, that takes in excess meat from deer hunters and distributes venison for free to homeless shelters and other people that desperately need food.
Hunting is the Best Way to Manage Deer Herds
If we did not hunt deer, whitetail herds would multiply and overpopulate the land. In other words, without hunting there would be too many deer in America. Too many deer cause car accidents. Too many deer eat too much corn and too many soybeans, causing damage to farmers’ crops. By shooting their legal limits of deer each year, hunters help to control and manage the deer herds. State and local hunting laws and bag limits are constantly updated to ensure that hunters harvest the correct number of deer—not too many, but enough does and bucks to make sure the herds are healthy without damaging roads, farmlands and the environment.
