Wild Englewood Florida Alligator

Wildlife Conservation

The real conservationist who are they? The answer to this question may surprise you. First let’s define wildlife conservation, one of the best definitions I’ve found is this from Wikipedia; Wild life conservation is the “practice of protecting wild plants and animal species and their habitat.”

So who really cares about the outdoors? Is it the big conservation groups such as, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Peta and The Humane Society of The United States, HSUS? Perhaps it's organizations like B.A.S.S., Respect the Fish and Quail Forever Or is it someone else?

The Humane Society of America of the United States, www.humanesociety.org states that it’s “The nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization.” But are they really that effective? We all see the heart wrenching T.V. commercials about the work they do for rescued dogs and cats. However Humane Watch, www.humanewatch.org, informs us that “HSUS gives less than 1% of money received to local shelters.” HSUS also states that it wants to stop “…inhumane and unsporting hunting practices…”

Many organizations such as The American Forest Association, www.americanfrorest.org believe that “…under proper regulations, hunting should be considered a tool of management…”

One of Quail Forever’s www.quailforever.org main focus is conservation and the group “is dedicated to the conservation of quail, pheasant and other wildlife through habitat improvement, public awareness, education and land management polices and programs.”

One of the biggest and well-known organizations is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA. www.peta.org They are famous for their anti-hunting and fishing stance. Does PETA really want to protect our wildlife and wilderness areas? On their website they state that “…nature will take care of itself…” and hunting and fishing are obsolete. PETA continues, “The delicate balance of ecosystems ensures survival…natural predators will help maintain this balance by killing only the sickest and weakest individuals.” They continue, “Even when unusual natural occurrences cause overpopulation, natural processes work to stabilize the group. Starvation and disease…” ensures “…that the healthy and strong animals survive.”

 What happens if the apex predator in an ecosystem becomes overpopulated and the population is healthy? Two such cases are the black bear population in New Jersey and the Alligator population in Florida. The nuisance bears in New Jersey, are in peoples’ back yards, in their trash and can be a threat to children and adults alike. And the gators in Florida, some of them are so big they are famous. Like my home town alligator at Myakka Pines Golf Club in Englewood, Fl. Goliath, he was a media sensation last year. Over the last few years, there have been several attacks and even some people killed by these massive gators. In both cases, the states have started limited hunting seasons to help control these over populated apex predators.

An April 23, 2013 blog by Nathan J. Winograd on www.huffingtonpost.com, Mr. Winograd wrote that almost 2000 dogs and cats enter PETA’s facilities every year and “…96% in 2011…” were killed. At the time Mr. Winograd wrote this blog, PETA killed “…29,426 dogs, cats, rabbits and other domestic animals.” How many more have been killed, in the last 5 years by this animal rights group?

Then there are groups such as Respect the Fish www.respectthefish.com and B.A.S.S. www.bassmaster.com, Respect the Fish mission is to promote “….education, prevention and sustainability…helping fisherman become responsible and prevention minded anglers.”

It’s been over 45 years since B.A.S.S began their work on clean water and conservation. B.A.S.S. works with “…government agencies to develop sound management policies that protect and enhance…” our natural resources.

Some of these animal rights groups associate poaching and hunting as the same thing. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Ethical sportsman love the land and water that they hunt and fish. Poachers are out for only one thing money, with no regard for laws, the wildlife or the environment. These people are the lowest of the low and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Establishing The United States Forest Service in 1905, and creating 150 national parks, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, 18 national monuments and protected 230 million acres, I’d say that President Theodore Roosevelt was the first wildlife conservationist. In the late 1800’s the President mourned the loss of big game in the American west, and understood how important these animals and their habitat were and

took action, like only an avid sportsman would. Teddy Roosevelt; 26^th President, Rough rider, author, hunter and conservationist.

Ultimately the true conservationist is you. When you buy a fishing or hunting license you pay for conservation. www.fws.gov reminds us that the sale of these “…license, tags and stamps are the primary source of funding for most state wildlife conservation efforts.” The future of our wildlife and its habitats as well as America’s great heritage of hunting and fishing is in your hands. The youth need to learn what it’s like to have a tight line or see a dog lock up on point, to spend hours away from their phones and games and find out what it means to be alive. It is our responsibility to teach our children and grandchildren responsible fishing and hunting practices, so that they can become the next true wildlife conservationist.  

4-5 foot wild American Alligator