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CONSERVATION CORNER
(For the week of November 16, 2009)
What If Hunting Was Banned? - Part 2
by James L. Cummins

In this week’s article, I will be continuing with our hypothetical situation if hunting was banned in Mississippi.

It is now 2011. Mortality, poaching and vehicle attrition have reduced the deer herd to one fourth of its 2009 size – 425,000 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 are going bankrupt. Several children have contracted the virus while playing near sick cattle in Union County.

We are now in 2012. The herd has rebounded and grown 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 suffered irreparable damage. 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 3 years. Quail on the Black Prairie Wildlife Management Area cease to exist. This is one of the coldest winters of the decade and massive deer die-offs occur. Close to 2 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 has increased but their impact is mainly on small game species like rabbits, turkeys and squirrels. In several counties around the City of 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 has spreading into Alabama and Louisiana and they are now feeling the impact of the hunting ban.

This hypothetical scenario is not just important to the protection of hunting. No state government can afford such a massive revenue loss. The $1.3 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 result of no wildlife management is devastating. The most effective 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 and the deer's ability to adapt to agricultural and suburban areas.

But what if hunting was banned?