Friday, June 25, 2010

The Economy: Hunters vs Wildlife Watchers

I was doing some research today and came across some interesting information. I stumbled upon The Humane Society's website. They had an article from February 2, 2009
(http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campaigns/wildlife_abuse/hunting_economics.html)
containing data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service most recent report that was published in 2006. This report can be viewed at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/NationalSurvey/nat_survey2006_final.pdf. They made a point to mention wildlife watchers contribute significantly more to the U.S. economy than hunters, including nearly twice as much in 2006 ($46 billion vs. $23 billion). In 2006, there were an estimated 12.5 million hunters and 71 million wildlife watchers. If my numbers are correct, that means each hunter contributed $1,840 to the economy compared to only $648 per wildlife watcher. Although the 2006 indicates the number of hunters may be going down, it also proves hunters still contribute more money to the economy...almost three times more than wildlife watchers. And I would bet the majority of hunters are also wildlife watchers. I know I am.

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