Conservation Corner: October 18, 1999

What If Hunting Was Banned? - Part 2
by James L. Cummins

It is now 2001. Mortality, poaching and vehicle attrition have reduced the deer herd to one-forth of its 1999 size...800,000 animals. But the problem still increases. Bacteriological and viral infections are rampant and easily spread when deer numbers are high. Deer are bloating in every county. Anthrax is spreading and has now impacted Mississippi's huge cattle industry. Cattle farmers go bankrupt. Several kids playing near sick cattle in Union County have caught the deadly virus.

We are now in 2002. The herd rebounds and grows to 4 million animals. The spring fawn loss is close to 1.4 million animals. Our rural areas are barren and revenue losses total close to $2 billion. Thousands of acres of productive crop and timberland have been irreparable damaged. With no Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, even our fishing is suffering. The stocking of lakes such as Lake Columbia has not occurred in three years. Quail on Black Prairie Wildlife Management Area now cease to exist. The Audubon bird count on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge no longer exists. This is one of the coldest winters of the decade and massive deer die-offs occur. Close to two million animals die; however, the danger is not over. Loss of human life exceeds 4,000. Our farms and urban areas are ravaged.

Biodiversity, the very thing we were trying to protect, is even in danger. Mississippi's coyote population increases but their impact is mainly on small game species like rabbits, turkeys and squirrels. In several counties around Jackson, deer herds have permanently destroyed their habitat. The forest around Ross Barnett Reservoir has a definite browse line. Near the Coast, the deer herd is spreading into Alabama and Louisiana and they are now feeling the impact of the hunting ban.

This hypothetical scenario is not just significant to protect hunting. No state government can afford such a massive revenue loss. The $2 billion loss per year does not include any loss of the agricultural revenue in the Delta or the entire State of Mississippi...a multi-billion dollar per year business.

The results of no wildlife management is devastating. The most effective management tool is sport hunting. This story is based on one told by John Sloan, formerly of Putting People First. I have adapted it to fit Mississippi using current deer population and economic data. For future years, the numbers were projected.

The fact remains that the impact of Mississippi's deer herd and the humans in contact with them would be severe. Today there are more deer in Mississippi than at any other time. This is the result of good wildlife management practices by sportsmen, private landowners and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the deer's ability to adapt to agricultural and suburban areas.

But what if hunting was banned?

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.