The High Cost of Animal Rights Rhetoric

A recycled post from this blog circa February 2005.


What would happen if hunting and trapping were eliminated?

Well, your taxes would go up, for starters. In addition, wildlife-car collisions would kill and injure many thousands of Americans every year.

The Potential Costs of Losing Hunting & Trapping was compiled by Southwick Associates for the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in Washington, D.C. Southwick calculates that if hunting and trapping were eliminated, wildlife-auto collisions would result in an additional 50,000 injuries per year and $3.8 billion in additional auto repair costs. Health care and disease control costs would jump by $12.45 billion just for rabies alone and homeowners would see an additional $972 million in damages to homes annually.

Hunters and trappers today provide their wildlife-control services for free to the taxpayer. In the absence of public hunting and trapping, the potential cost of government-run substitutes for hunting and trapping was estimated at $934.2 million to $9.3 billion to control whitetail deer, $132 million to $265 million to control fur-bearers, and $16 million to $32 million annually just to control beaver.

For the complete copy of this report, please visit the Southwick Associates website >> HERE and click on Free Reports and select The Potential Costs of Losing Hunting and Trapping as Wildlife Management Tools (bottom of page).
.