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Hunting: Good for the Mind, Body and Spirit and the American Economy
Hunting is much more than putting meat in freezers or a nice mount on the wall. The sport has been around since the beginning of the Earth. Cave men and women hunted as their primary source of food. Hunting is a great way to get outdoors. The sport of hunting is very rewarding. Whether a hunter spends the day alone in the wilderness or spends the day in the company of another hunter, the experience can be a very relaxing and stress relieving adventure. Hunting is good for the mind, body and spirit. Hunting provides many benefits to those who partake. A hunter can walk many miles in pursuit of their game animal. This exercise provides great benefit to the health and well being of the hunter. The benefit of hunting greatly improves the environment in which we inhabit. One of the environmental benefits of hunting is in the way of population management. It provides a balance of wildlife and people. When one species becomes over run, there is a risk of disease and possibly a lack of food resources for the animals. This causes death and devastation for the species and the environment it inhabits. Farmers and ranchers are affected by wildlife management as well. When wildlife is overrun, they begin to turn to crops for food. People rely on these crops as a source of income and when they crops are destroyed by wildlife they have nothing to sell. Controlling the population of these animals can keep the environment healthier and more able to thrive. Fortunately, despite all the efforts from anti-hunting, animal right activist and vegan groups to put a stop to hunting, it is as strong and popular a sport as ever. More and more hunters join the growing family of hunting each year. Hunting is beneficial in so many other ways than just health of the hunter and wildlife conservation. America provides many opportunities for hunting and millions of people take advantage of these opportunities every year. Hunting has a massive economic impact on the American economy. Many people are not even aware of the benefits that hunting provides the economy. Multi-billions of dollars are spent in America every year on hunting. All of this spending provides revenue to be used by consumers. Statistics on spending vary from state to state but hunting related spending continues to grow strongly despite our economic down turns. So just how does hunting benefit the American economy? Hunting benefits the American economy by increased spending on hunting gear and supplies, supporting businesses, and providing jobs to Americans.
Hunting is taken very serious by many people. It is by no means an inexpensive sport. Quality, durable gear and equipment are essential to be successful in harvesting an animal. This costs hunters a great deal of money each season. As much money is spent by hunters every year on gear as other Americans spend on Nike brand shoes and apparel (Baumeister). Depending on what one is hunting depends on the type of gear a hunter needs. Each species hunted may require different firearms which require different ammunition. Bow hunters have significant equipment needs as well. Different types of outdoor gear is needed based on the time of year of them hunt. Some hunters use dogs for their pursuit. Having dogs adds expenses to pay for as well. Most hunters who use dogs do not have just one; they usually have a pack of dogs. Dogs are used for various game animals: cougars, wild hog, raccoon, water fowl, and prairie fowl to name a few. Hunters pay top dollar for a good blood line hunting dog. With a dog comes a cost for dog food, training, kennel supplies, and vet care. Dog training requires the use of a skilled trainer along with specialized equipment to keep the dog safe during the hunt. Dogs require special collars for locating them and for providing cues from the hunter during the hunt. It is important to the hunter to provide top quality kennels to keep their dog safe and comfortable during travel. Hunting dogs require proper vaccination to keep them safe and healthy for being out in the open with wild animals. Many states require that a dog carry different license tags to enter their state. Even for those hunters who cannot afford the pricey equipment, cannot pay to go out of state to hunt, or employ the use of expensive dogs, they still provide benefit. When they harvest a game animal, they have meat for their families. This allows them to support their families and provide the other essential that their family needs. This in turn benefits the local economy because they have additional money that they are not spending on expensive grocery store meat. Food banks benefit from hunting too. Some groups and organizations hunt specifically for the cause of processing and donating meat to needy families. Donation of game meat is highly beneficial to the economy. It helps to provide food to the homeless and to the less fortunate and their families.
Hunters who travel the United States to hunt have travel and lodging expenses in addition to the obvious every day requirements, such as food, and of course firearms and gear. Hunters bring a lot of money into smaller towns especially. Towns from home to destination gain sells in gasoline, sodas, and snacks. Many of the 'mom and pop' stores in these towns depend on hunting season and will live off the revenue they make during hunting season for the remainder of the year until the next season. Without hunters, many of the towns would close up meaning the citizens would be completely out of work and force them to move or otherwise be not existent. Almost $40 million a year is spent on travel, such as dining, room and board, travel and other expenses (Thurman). Many out of state hunters utilize a guide service from the area to bag a trophy game animal. When a hunter is not familiar with the area in which they are hunting, it is of great benefit to have a local show them where the game they are after populate. Guide services do not come cheap and hunters in search of a prized trophy will spend whatever it takes to be successful. Many guides work during the hunting season and make enough money to support them for the rest of the year. Specialty vehicles are another source of spending. Hunters want to be able to access as much hunting land as possible and will spend whatever it takes to have a vehicle to get them there. They will buy pricey four wheel drive trucks and add lift kits and off road tires. These items are quite expensive to add. Wear and tear and regular maintenance on these vehicles is another additional cost. The use of quads and other utility vehicles greatly helps hunters also so they don't mind buying these types of vehicles. These specialty utility vehicles must have off road permits and follow certain environmental guidelines. These all add up and just add to the spending for hunters. Families may have multiple hunters which increases spending further. In addition to travel and gear expenses, there are also meat processing costs. Many hunters do not process their own game meat so they rely on processing facilities, many of which are located in the small towns in which they hunt, to process the meat. Those hunters who wish to keep their game as a trophy pay substantial fees through taxidermists to mount their animal.
Hunters must pay for state hunting licenses, buy game tags, and pay excise taxes on gear and equipment. All of these provide money to state and federal government agencies. The license and game tag fees directly impact the state's revenue. Some states provide richer hunting lands and draw in out of state hunters, so each state is impacted differently from hunting. Out of state hunting can be very costly to the hunter and very profitable to the state in which they are hunting. License fees are greater for out of state hunters and game tag fees can be as much as doubled in some cases compared to in state resident tag fees. The more desirable the game animal, the higher the tag fee will be. But hunters are more than happy to pay these higher prices. Some states set aside a certain number of tags for each hunt specifically for out of state hunters. All of these factors added up greatly benefit a state's revenue. "The impact of the nearly $1 billion in spending by hunters in Arizona during 2001 was shown to have added $58.2 million to Arizona's annual tax revenues" (The Economic Importance of Hunting). Some states offer programs which draw more local hunters in while providing state revenue at the same time. Such programs open private land to the public which in turn provide hunters a better opportunity to harvest an animal. These programs fuel the state's economy by adding revenue from selling more licenses and more game tags. Many states hold auctions for what is called a commissioners tag. These tags are highly desirable and can bring hefty amount of revenue to the state. Another way that a state can benefit even when a hunter isn't drawn is by allowing them to purchase a loyalty point for the desired species they wish to hunt. Loyalty points give the hunter a greater chance of being drawn in subsequent years of not being drawn.
Hunters pay excise taxes on gear and equipment that benefits both state and federal tax revenue. Firearm and ammunition sales alone create sizable tax revenue for example. Some firearms require a tax stamp fee to be paid to the federal government just to own that firearm. These excise taxes for firearms and ammunition are governed by the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax. In addition, Acts such as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act have generated more than $2 billion in Federal excise taxes, which have been matched by more than $500 million in state funds that are raised primarily through the fees for hunting licenses (Brasher). This Act added an excise tax paid on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment and uses it for wildlife management resources to ensure that there is sufficient game to hunt and even helps to grow the number of game to prevent extinction. The taxes paid by hunters provide a benefit to all citizens of the state despite their hunting status or views.
Hunting is big business. It is an expensive sport that requires many resources to support its needs. Hunters need specialty equipment as well as your everyday gear. Specialty stores, such as a bow shop, flourish during both the hunting season and the off season. Even when a hunt is not going on, hunters are constantly practicing and upgrading / repairing their equipment in preparation for the next hunt. The spending never stops. Firearm and ammunition manufacturing adds a great number of jobs alone. If hunting were a corporation, it would be named in the Fortune 500. All of the money being spent by hunters has created more jobs than worldwide corporations combined. Spending by hunters helps to provide more job opportunities than the number of people employed by GM, Ford, and Exxon-Mobil combined; sportsmen and women nationwide provide more job resources than the number of employees that work at Wal-Mart, the country's largest corporation (Baumeister). These statistics alone are huge. The more money that is spent by hunters adds that many more jobs to support the needs of the hunter.
Every dollar spent on hunting each year helps to secure jobs for Americans. Hunting supports more than 1 million jobs and contributes over $30 billion to the economy each year (NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action News & Issues). Since hunting is done in urban and rural areas, jobs are supported everywhere. Small towns in rural areas probably are the most benefited. During hunting season many hunters come into these small towns and stay for a week or longer depending on the hunt. Local restaurants are bombarded with camouflage patrons, gas stations sell more fuel and snack items, and the local lodging is booked. These services all provide jobs for waiting tables, a cook, a cashier, a front desk clerk at the lodging, housekeeping for the lodging, gas store clerks and service people for repairs an maintenance on all the listed facilities. Many hunters do not process their own game meat. It is easier and more convenient to use a meat processor. Meat processors depend on these busy hunting seasons to help them make it through the remainder of the year. Game meat processing fills in for the few and far between farm animal processing that they do the remainder of the year. Taxidermists stay busy mounting trophies that hunters wish to keep. One mount takes ten months to one year depending on the extent of the mount. This process involves more than the taxidermist alone. They must send out the hide to be tanned. They must purchase supplies and mounting forms. As mentioned above, many hunters both in state and out of state employ the help of a guide service. These guide services provide jobs for many skilled outdoors men and women and help to support their families. The list goes on and on but each adds to creating a job for someone to be able to supply all of the services needed.
Aside from the environmental and health benefits that hunting provides, in presenting the above information on hunting's positive impact to the American economy, it is in great hopes that it has been shown just how hunting does so much more than just fill freezers. Dollars that are spent on the sport of hunting are highly beneficial to everyone, not just the hunter. Hunting provides billions of dollars of revenue to our federal economy and to our individual state economies. It provides aid to state and federal programs for wildlife conservation efforts. Hunting provides numerous job opportunities which in turn have great economic impact. Filling jobs for the various services that hunters need lowers the unemployment rate and puts food on the table of families. The generosity of hunting groups, hunting organizations and federal aid Acts can put food on the table of those in need. If only anti-hunting groups and animal rights activists could just realize the benefit that hunting has on the environment and the economic impact it provides. Hunting is a lifestyle that people choose to live. Many pay dearly to support that lifestyle. Hunters are extremely passionate about what they do and are more than happy to pay a little more for something to benefit the economy. A hunter's passion is not a selfish one. Hopefully through the research presented, it is enough to convince non-believers that hunting is not just a blood sport and that it really provides great benefit to America's economy.
Works Cited
Baumeister, Thomas. "Hunting and Angling - An Economic Harvest for the United States." 2003. Wildlife Damage Control. Article. 27 February 2014.
Brasher, Karen. "Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries News." 21 October 2010. Mississippi Stae University Office of Agriculural Communications. Article. 27 February 2014.
"NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action News & Issues." 2 March 2004. NRA-ILA. Article. 27 February 2014.
"The Economic Importance of Hunting." 1996. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Article. 27 February 2014.
Thurman, Russ. "Hunting Increases, Impacts Economy." December 2013. Shooting Industry Magazine. Article. 27 February 2014.
Hunting: Good for the Mind, Body and Spirit and the American Economy
Hunting is much more than putting meat in freezers or a nice mount on the wall. The sport has been around since the beginning of the Earth. Cave men and women hunted as their primary source of food. Hunting is a great way to get outdoors. The sport of hunting is very rewarding. Whether a hunter spends the day alone in the wilderness or spends the day in the company of another hunter, the experience can be a very relaxing and stress relieving adventure. Hunting is good for the mind, body and spirit. Hunting provides many benefits to those who partake. A hunter can walk many miles in pursuit of their game animal. This exercise provides great benefit to the health and well being of the hunter. The benefit of hunting greatly improves the environment in which we inhabit. One of the environmental benefits of hunting is in the way of population management. It provides a balance of wildlife and people. When one species becomes over run, there is a risk of disease and possibly a lack of food resources for the animals. This causes death and devastation for the species and the environment it inhabits. Farmers and ranchers are affected by wildlife management as well. When wildlife is overrun, they begin to turn to crops for food. People rely on these crops as a source of income and when they crops are destroyed by wildlife they have nothing to sell. Controlling the population of these animals can keep the environment healthier and more able to thrive. Fortunately, despite all the efforts from anti-hunting, animal right activist and vegan groups to put a stop to hunting, it is as strong and popular a sport as ever. More and more hunters join the growing family of hunting each year. Hunting is beneficial in so many other ways than just health of the hunter and wildlife conservation. America provides many opportunities for hunting and millions of people take advantage of these opportunities every year. Hunting has a massive economic impact on the American economy. Many people are not even aware of the benefits that hunting provides the economy. Multi-billions of dollars are spent in America every year on hunting. All of this spending provides revenue to be used by consumers. Statistics on spending vary from state to state but hunting related spending continues to grow strongly despite our economic down turns. So just how does hunting benefit the American economy? Hunting benefits the American economy by increased spending on hunting gear and supplies, supporting businesses, and providing jobs to Americans.
Hunting is taken very serious by many people. It is by no means an inexpensive sport. Quality, durable gear and equipment are essential to be successful in harvesting an animal. This costs hunters a great deal of money each season. As much money is spent by hunters every year on gear as other Americans spend on Nike brand shoes and apparel (Baumeister). Depending on what one is hunting depends on the type of gear a hunter needs. Each species hunted may require different firearms which require different ammunition. Bow hunters have significant equipment needs as well. Different types of outdoor gear is needed based on the time of year of them hunt. Some hunters use dogs for their pursuit. Having dogs adds expenses to pay for as well. Most hunters who use dogs do not have just one; they usually have a pack of dogs. Dogs are used for various game animals: cougars, wild hog, raccoon, water fowl, and prairie fowl to name a few. Hunters pay top dollar for a good blood line hunting dog. With a dog comes a cost for dog food, training, kennel supplies, and vet care. Dog training requires the use of a skilled trainer along with specialized equipment to keep the dog safe during the hunt. Dogs require special collars for locating them and for providing cues from the hunter during the hunt. It is important to the hunter to provide top quality kennels to keep their dog safe and comfortable during travel. Hunting dogs require proper vaccination to keep them safe and healthy for being out in the open with wild animals. Many states require that a dog carry different license tags to enter their state. Even for those hunters who cannot afford the pricey equipment, cannot pay to go out of state to hunt, or employ the use of expensive dogs, they still provide benefit. When they harvest a game animal, they have meat for their families. This allows them to support their families and provide the other essential that their family needs. This in turn benefits the local economy because they have additional money that they are not spending on expensive grocery store meat. Food banks benefit from hunting too. Some groups and organizations hunt specifically for the cause of processing and donating meat to needy families. Donation of game meat is highly beneficial to the economy. It helps to provide food to the homeless and to the less fortunate and their families.
Hunters who travel the United States to hunt have travel and lodging expenses in addition to the obvious every day requirements, such as food, and of course firearms and gear. Hunters bring a lot of money into smaller towns especially. Towns from home to destination gain sells in gasoline, sodas, and snacks. Many of the 'mom and pop' stores in these towns depend on hunting season and will live off the revenue they make during hunting season for the remainder of the year until the next season. Without hunters, many of the towns would close up meaning the citizens would be completely out of work and force them to move or otherwise be not existent. Almost $40 million a year is spent on travel, such as dining, room and board, travel and other expenses (Thurman). Many out of state hunters utilize a guide service from the area to bag a trophy game animal. When a hunter is not familiar with the area in which they are hunting, it is of great benefit to have a local show them where the game they are after populate. Guide services do not come cheap and hunters in search of a prized trophy will spend whatever it takes to be successful. Many guides work during the hunting season and make enough money to support them for the rest of the year. Specialty vehicles are another source of spending. Hunters want to be able to access as much hunting land as possible and will spend whatever it takes to have a vehicle to get them there. They will buy pricey four wheel drive trucks and add lift kits and off road tires. These items are quite expensive to add. Wear and tear and regular maintenance on these vehicles is another additional cost. The use of quads and other utility vehicles greatly helps hunters also so they don't mind buying these types of vehicles. These specialty utility vehicles must have off road permits and follow certain environmental guidelines. These all add up and just add to the spending for hunters. Families may have multiple hunters which increases spending further. In addition to travel and gear expenses, there are also meat processing costs. Many hunters do not process their own game meat so they rely on processing facilities, many of which are located in the small towns in which they hunt, to process the meat. Those hunters who wish to keep their game as a trophy pay substantial fees through taxidermists to mount their animal.
Hunters must pay for state hunting licenses, buy game tags, and pay excise taxes on gear and equipment. All of these provide money to state and federal government agencies. The license and game tag fees directly impact the state's revenue. Some states provide richer hunting lands and draw in out of state hunters, so each state is impacted differently from hunting. Out of state hunting can be very costly to the hunter and very profitable to the state in which they are hunting. License fees are greater for out of state hunters and game tag fees can be as much as doubled in some cases compared to in state resident tag fees. The more desirable the game animal, the higher the tag fee will be. But hunters are more than happy to pay these higher prices. Some states set aside a certain number of tags for each hunt specifically for out of state hunters. All of these factors added up greatly benefit a state's revenue. "The impact of the nearly $1 billion in spending by hunters in Arizona during 2001 was shown to have added $58.2 million to Arizona's annual tax revenues" (The Economic Importance of Hunting). Some states offer programs which draw more local hunters in while providing state revenue at the same time. Such programs open private land to the public which in turn provide hunters a better opportunity to harvest an animal. These programs fuel the state's economy by adding revenue from selling more licenses and more game tags. Many states hold auctions for what is called a commissioners tag. These tags are highly desirable and can bring hefty amount of revenue to the state. Another way that a state can benefit even when a hunter isn't drawn is by allowing them to purchase a loyalty point for the desired species they wish to hunt. Loyalty points give the hunter a greater chance of being drawn in subsequent years of not being drawn.
Hunters pay excise taxes on gear and equipment that benefits both state and federal tax revenue. Firearm and ammunition sales alone create sizable tax revenue for example. Some firearms require a tax stamp fee to be paid to the federal government just to own that firearm. These excise taxes for firearms and ammunition are governed by the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax. In addition, Acts such as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act have generated more than $2 billion in Federal excise taxes, which have been matched by more than $500 million in state funds that are raised primarily through the fees for hunting licenses (Brasher). This Act added an excise tax paid on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment and uses it for wildlife management resources to ensure that there is sufficient game to hunt and even helps to grow the number of game to prevent extinction. The taxes paid by hunters provide a benefit to all citizens of the state despite their hunting status or views.
Hunting is big business. It is an expensive sport that requires many resources to support its needs. Hunters need specialty equipment as well as your everyday gear. Specialty stores, such as a bow shop, flourish during both the hunting season and the off season. Even when a hunt is not going on, hunters are constantly practicing and upgrading / repairing their equipment in preparation for the next hunt. The spending never stops. Firearm and ammunition manufacturing adds a great number of jobs alone. If hunting were a corporation, it would be named in the Fortune 500. All of the money being spent by hunters has created more jobs than worldwide corporations combined. Spending by hunters helps to provide more job opportunities than the number of people employed by GM, Ford, and Exxon-Mobil combined; sportsmen and women nationwide provide more job resources than the number of employees that work at Wal-Mart, the country's largest corporation (Baumeister). These statistics alone are huge. The more money that is spent by hunters adds that many more jobs to support the needs of the hunter.
Every dollar spent on hunting each year helps to secure jobs for Americans. Hunting supports more than 1 million jobs and contributes over $30 billion to the economy each year (NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action News & Issues). Since hunting is done in urban and rural areas, jobs are supported everywhere. Small towns in rural areas probably are the most benefited. During hunting season many hunters come into these small towns and stay for a week or longer depending on the hunt. Local restaurants are bombarded with camouflage patrons, gas stations sell more fuel and snack items, and the local lodging is booked. These services all provide jobs for waiting tables, a cook, a cashier, a front desk clerk at the lodging, housekeeping for the lodging, gas store clerks and service people for repairs an maintenance on all the listed facilities. Many hunters do not process their own game meat. It is easier and more convenient to use a meat processor. Meat processors depend on these busy hunting seasons to help them make it through the remainder of the year. Game meat processing fills in for the few and far between farm animal processing that they do the remainder of the year. Taxidermists stay busy mounting trophies that hunters wish to keep. One mount takes ten months to one year depending on the extent of the mount. This process involves more than the taxidermist alone. They must send out the hide to be tanned. They must purchase supplies and mounting forms. As mentioned above, many hunters both in state and out of state employ the help of a guide service. These guide services provide jobs for many skilled outdoors men and women and help to support their families. The list goes on and on but each adds to creating a job for someone to be able to supply all of the services needed.
Aside from the environmental and health benefits that hunting provides, in presenting the above information on hunting's positive impact to the American economy, it is in great hopes that it has been shown just how hunting does so much more than just fill freezers. Dollars that are spent on the sport of hunting are highly beneficial to everyone, not just the hunter. Hunting provides billions of dollars of revenue to our federal economy and to our individual state economies. It provides aid to state and federal programs for wildlife conservation efforts. Hunting provides numerous job opportunities which in turn have great economic impact. Filling jobs for the various services that hunters need lowers the unemployment rate and puts food on the table of families. The generosity of hunting groups, hunting organizations and federal aid Acts can put food on the table of those in need. If only anti-hunting groups and animal rights activists could just realize the benefit that hunting has on the environment and the economic impact it provides. Hunting is a lifestyle that people choose to live. Many pay dearly to support that lifestyle. Hunters are extremely passionate about what they do and are more than happy to pay a little more for something to benefit the economy. A hunter's passion is not a selfish one. Hopefully through the research presented, it is enough to convince non-believers that hunting is not just a blood sport and that it really provides great benefit to America's economy.
Works Cited
Baumeister, Thomas. "Hunting and Angling - An Economic Harvest for the United States." 2003. Wildlife Damage Control. Article. 27 February 2014.
Brasher, Karen. "Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries News." 21 October 2010. Mississippi Stae University Office of Agriculural Communications. Article. 27 February 2014.
"NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action News & Issues." 2 March 2004. NRA-ILA. Article. 27 February 2014.
"The Economic Importance of Hunting." 1996. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Article. 27 February 2014.
Thurman, Russ. "Hunting Increases, Impacts Economy." December 2013. Shooting Industry Magazine. Article. 27 February 2014.