Comment Re:Good grief.. (Score 2, Informative) 942
So based on the inefficiency of eating meat, I presume you would see big game hunting as the ultimate act of ecological conservation?
Actually, I guess it depends on which type of big game you're talking about.
I'm sure you're familiar with white-tail deer. This is an animal which, left unattended, can (and has shown) the ability to quickly multiply to dangerous levels. A large enough herd can (and will) wipe out anything and everything related to foliage in its path (both forest and farmland), in turn causing yet another ecological clusterf*ck. Also, due in no small part to man's encroachment upon the natural habitat of the white-tail, the larger numbers can also cause increasingly recurring disasterous meetings between beast and man (you ever see a collision between a sedan and a 200-lb buck? It's ugly - neither one wins). With few other natural predators around to cull the herd (probably man's fault as well), it's actually up to license-holding deer hunters to cull the herds.
This isn't hyperbole: there's a reason for many states' hunting seasons.