Fewer Americans are hunting and fishing. 5YrSurvey
With the upcoming influx of Third World border jumpers about to arrive
this trend may be reversed - hide Kitty and Rover![8D]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19262063/site/newsweek/
June 16, 2007 - If you're a squirrel or a trout, we've got some good news for you: Americans are hunting and fishing less. Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts together a massive survey of outdoor recreation, and the 2006 preliminary numbers were released today. They show ominous trends, depending on your worldview-or species. The number of anglers has dropped 12 percent since 2001; the hunter count has fallen off by 4 percent during the same five-year period. This doesn't mean Americans aren't spending time outdoors or interacting with wild animals; "wildlife watching" is up 8 percent since 2001. They're just choosing not to kill them so much.
Though the final report won't be available until November of this year, the preliminary findings reveal a downward pattern that worries many sportsmen: over the last 15 years or so, millions fewer people have been hunting and fishing in a country with a rapidly expanding population. There are countless reasons for the trend, chief among them urbanization and changes in America's rural culture. Video games and cable television vie for the attention of young kids, and their parents can't find the time or gain access as readily to the nation's rapidly disappearing hunting fields and fishing holes.
Mark Damian Duda of the outdoor research group Responsive Management in Harrisonburg, Va., says he was especially surprised by the sharp drop in fishing, but understands it: "We just have less time overall for recreation, and there's a lot more competition for the time we do have." Another problem: traditions are not being passed down. Duda says 90 percent of the kids who hunt grow up in a hunting family, and starting from scratch is difficult. Duda is optimistic about the long haul, because states are noticing the trends and working hard to stop the slide. Another reason he's hopeful: "The old image of the hunter and fisher as Teddy Roosevelt burns deep in the American psyche."
That may prove true down the road, but the 2006 survey shows that the number of migratory bird hunters dropped a whopping 22 percent in just five years; while small-game stalkers fell by 12 percent. The number of big-game hunters has remained relatively stable over the last half decade, falling only 2 percent.
Still, 12.5 million people over the age of 16 went hunting in 2006, down from about 13 million in 2001, and they dropped $23 billion on the stuff it takes to get out in the field (roughly the same amount of money spent on hunting five years ago).
So everyone needs to get out there and start killing something.
[:D]
this trend may be reversed - hide Kitty and Rover![8D]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19262063/site/newsweek/
June 16, 2007 - If you're a squirrel or a trout, we've got some good news for you: Americans are hunting and fishing less. Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts together a massive survey of outdoor recreation, and the 2006 preliminary numbers were released today. They show ominous trends, depending on your worldview-or species. The number of anglers has dropped 12 percent since 2001; the hunter count has fallen off by 4 percent during the same five-year period. This doesn't mean Americans aren't spending time outdoors or interacting with wild animals; "wildlife watching" is up 8 percent since 2001. They're just choosing not to kill them so much.
Though the final report won't be available until November of this year, the preliminary findings reveal a downward pattern that worries many sportsmen: over the last 15 years or so, millions fewer people have been hunting and fishing in a country with a rapidly expanding population. There are countless reasons for the trend, chief among them urbanization and changes in America's rural culture. Video games and cable television vie for the attention of young kids, and their parents can't find the time or gain access as readily to the nation's rapidly disappearing hunting fields and fishing holes.
Mark Damian Duda of the outdoor research group Responsive Management in Harrisonburg, Va., says he was especially surprised by the sharp drop in fishing, but understands it: "We just have less time overall for recreation, and there's a lot more competition for the time we do have." Another problem: traditions are not being passed down. Duda says 90 percent of the kids who hunt grow up in a hunting family, and starting from scratch is difficult. Duda is optimistic about the long haul, because states are noticing the trends and working hard to stop the slide. Another reason he's hopeful: "The old image of the hunter and fisher as Teddy Roosevelt burns deep in the American psyche."
That may prove true down the road, but the 2006 survey shows that the number of migratory bird hunters dropped a whopping 22 percent in just five years; while small-game stalkers fell by 12 percent. The number of big-game hunters has remained relatively stable over the last half decade, falling only 2 percent.
Still, 12.5 million people over the age of 16 went hunting in 2006, down from about 13 million in 2001, and they dropped $23 billion on the stuff it takes to get out in the field (roughly the same amount of money spent on hunting five years ago).
So everyone needs to get out there and start killing something.
[:D]
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i see this as brady ammunition, "see guys it's working!!! our gun bans are making people stop hunting and stuff. let's see what else we can ban!!!" 0 -
Fewer Americans are hunting and fishing... mainly 'cause the fish are toxic and the amount of land you can hunt on has dropped drastically.
I'm sure this data surprises no one... but hey, tons of folks wanted more development for the big wigs to make money off of and fewer environmental controls for industry... don't come cryin' to me if there's less land to hunt on and fewer clean rivers to fish in. They wanted it, they got it. Boo-frickin'-hoo.0 -
who needs to hunt? the developers destroyed the land so much, the wild animals come to us in our back yards.[8][V] 0 -
This was the subject of my term paper last class. The reasons for the decline surround several areas, including:
1. No time to hunt. Vacation time is very limited and there are too many demands competing for this vacation time.
2. No place to hunt (lack of access to private lands, too crowded public lands).
3. No one has taught them to hunt (fathers not passing along traditions to children).0 -
I have taken my boys hunting, shooting and fishing since they were very young. They are 16 and 19 now and both enjoy all three activities.
Get those young ones out there with you when you go...Some of the best days of my life has including days in the woods hunting, fishing or camping with my boys.0 -
I think (though I have no way to prove it) that recreational shooting is up, while hunting is down. Rimfire BR, shilouet shooting, etc, seem to be gaining strength. No need to clean and store the game, own a huge freezer, etc. 0
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