Dannielle Fory
BIO-220 Environmental Science
May 4, 2013
Steven Lenk
Hunting
Hunting has been a way of life for thousands of years. As long as humans have been on earth, they have been hunting to provide food for their families. For many decades now, hunting has started to cause conflict among people. One of the main issues that have cause conflict has been overharvesting. Overharvesting can also cause issues with habitat and may put a strain on the relationship between the predator and the prey. While there may be issues, there are also benefits of hunting. Hunting controls the population of certain species. Hunting is one of the long time traditional ways of controlling the population of animas such as the white tailed deer. (Kilgo, Labis & Fitzen) The money that hunters spend annually on hunting helps support the economy in many areas around the world. Many supporters are for and against hunting. The question seems to be whether hunting is good for our environment or is it destructive. The consequences of continuing or eliminating the long time practices of hunting could have a detrimental effect on the environment. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, overharvesting can cause issues with the habitat of animals in the area and may also put a strain on the relationship between the predator and the prey. Studies have shown that the behaviors of the deer are different between the hunting and nonhunting season. The female deer tend to stay away from roads and highways and are less active during hunting season. The deer instead, choose areas with more cover such as trees. Deer also become nocturnal during hunting season. This makes the life of a predator much easier because the deer wonder into their territory and move during prime hunting time for predators. An example of this relationship is the Florida deer and panther relationship. Human hunting