Wildlife Management Importance and Methods

Wildlife Management Application of scientific knowledge and technical skills to protect, conserve, limit, enhance, or create wildlife habitat Includes the implementation of laws regulating the use, kinds and amounts of wildlife people can harvest –Laws that protect existing habitat are considered wildlife management tools Wildlife management should focus on all plant and animal species

Wildlife Population Management Need to match wildlife numbers with available food, cover, and water sources so that healthy populations exists –Healthy populations: have the capability of increasing or maintaining stable numbers –Declining populations: receive no gains, but lose numbers yearly To manage wildlife, on must determine the population status –Number of animals is determined by the difference in birthrate and death rate –Reproductive potential: ability of a population to increase

Wildlife Population Control Reasons: –To mitigate significant economic loss –To control the spread of transmittable diseases –To minimize or prevent severe habitat alteration –To prevent human injury or death –To protect or sustain endangered, threatened, or native species

Ethics of Influencing Wildlife Population Control Conservation Perspective: –Focus is on populations, species and ecosystems –Believes that other species have a “right” to exist –Recognizes dependency of wildlife on their habitats –Recognizes that human intervention is sometimes necessary to sustain species of habitats

Ethics of Influencing Wildlife Population Control Animal Rights Perspective –Focused on individual sentient animals –Species and ecosystems are not morally considerable, but have “inherent value” –Believes that wild animals and ecosystems will survive if we simply “let them be” Animal Welfare Perspecitve –Focus on individual sentient animals –Aimed at preventing cruelty –Believes pain, suffering, and loss of life should be minimized

Methods of Manipulating Wildlife Populations for Management Purposes Legal Methods –Shooting, poisoning, lethal trapping, reintroduction of natural predators Non-lethal methods –Live trapping followed by translocation –Chemical or surgical sterilization –Physical barriers (fences) –Vegetation management –Behavioral deterrents (Scare Devices – dogs, repellents) All methods have benefits and limitations