President Donald Trump is making it easier for his sons to go big game hunting on wildlife refuges in the United States by opening up millions of acres of public lands to hunters through a new rule announced by the Interior Department.
Hunting is part of the culture of the United States, but over-hunting has put a strain on many species, especially migratory birds and some bigger animals such as bears, wolves, and mountain lions.
The reason why America has set up wildlife refuges is that these lands are supposed to serve as sanctuaries where animals can thrive and be enjoyed by Americans who enjoy camping, hiking, photography and observing animals in their natural habitats.
Trump’s sons Don Jr. and Eric also hunt, and they would certainly love to start killing animals in places that are more restricted.
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And now they can, because the Interior Department released a statement expanding hunting and fishing at 97 wildlife refuges across the country.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt announced today a historic proposal for new and expanded hunting and fishing opportunities across more than 2.3 million acres at 97 national wildlife refuges and 9 national fish hatcheries. This proposed rule is the single largest expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in history.”
“America’s hunters and anglers now have something significant to look forward to in the fall as we plan to open and expand hunting and fishing opportunities across more acreage nationwide than the entire state of Delaware,” Bernhardt said. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hunt Fish Chiefs have been instrumental in our effort over the past two years to streamline our regulations and identify new opportunities for sportsmen and women like no other previous administration.”
The decision is apparently part of Trump’s plan to “celebrate” the eventual end of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 16,000 Americans.
“Once the Trump Administration’s effort to eliminate the threat of COVID-19 has been successful, there will be no better way to celebrate than to get out and enjoy increased access for hunting and fishing on our public lands,” Service Director Aurelia Skipwith said. “I deeply appreciate everything sportswomen and men do for conservation and our economy, so I am delighted when we can do something to expand opportunities for them. I hope it will help encourage the next generation of hunters and anglers to continue on this rich American tradition.”
Yeah, except that future generations won’t be able to enjoy animals at all if they are all dead.
Again, wildlife refuges should be properly managed, but over-hunting could easily wipe out many species. And how many Americans will want to experience our public lands knowing they could be shot from any direction by a trigger-happy hunter? Of course, hunting groups are praising the decision and insist that hunting helps “conserve” species.
Living in Missouri, I know that hunting is a good way to keep animal populations under control, but that’s when the population is already strong in the first place. If there’s only 10,000 white-tailed deer in the state, the population won’t last long, especially since hunters killed 178,000 deer in this state in 2019 alone. Considering Trump’s disdain for the Endangered Species Act, it’s not going to matter whether a population of a species is strong or not.
Many of the species in wildlife refuges are vulnerable. That’s why wildlife refuges exist.
Featured image via screen capture
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