Editing Hunting (section)

==Wildlife management==
[[File:Weisergatter.png|thumb|Control fence to assess the impact of [[Browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] by [[ungulate]]s. Note the lack of natural forest regeneration outside the fencing.]]{{Main|Wildlife management}}
Hunting is claimed to give [[Wildlife management|resource managers]] an important tool<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chardonnet |first1=P |last2=Clers |first2=B |last3=Fischer |first3=J |last4=Gerhold |first4=R |last5=Jori |first5=F |last6=Lamarque |first6=F |year=2002 |title=The Value of Wildlife |url=http://www.uga.edu/scwds/documents/chardonnet2002.pdf |journal=Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz. |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=15–51 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219121043/http://www.uga.edu/scwds/documents/chardonnet2002.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2006|doi=10.20506/rst.21.1.1323 |pmid=11974626 }}, posted by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Accessed 12 December 2006</ref><ref>Herring, Hal. [http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/hunters-conservation ''Today's sportsmen and sportswomen are a powerful force for conservation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722200346/http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/hunters-conservation/ |date=22 July 2015 }}</ref> in managing populations that might exceed the [[carrying capacity]] of their [[habitat]] and threaten the well-being of other species, or, in some instances, damage human health or safety.<ref>The [http://www.fws.gov/hunting/ hunting section of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630212314/http://www.fws.gov/hunting/ |date=30 June 2010 }} site includes articles and statistics relating to wildlife management.</ref>

In some cases, hunting actually can increase the population of predators such as coyotes by removing territorial bounds that would otherwise be established, resulting in excess neighbouring migrations into an area, thus artificially increasing the population.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/hunting-wildlife-population-control-ethical-eating/|title=Hunting for Wildlife Population Control and Ethical Eating?|date=2015-01-14|work=Free From Harm|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-US|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107035932/https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/hunting-wildlife-population-control-ethical-eating/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hunting advocates{{Who|date=June 2012}} assert that hunting reduces [[intraspecific competition]] for food and shelter, reducing mortality among the remaining animals. Some [[environmentalist]]s assert{{Who|date=December 2009}} that (re)introducing [[predator]]s would achieve the same end with greater efficiency and less negative effect, such as introducing significant amounts of free [[lead]] into the environment and [[food chain]].

In the United States, wildlife managers are frequently part of hunting regulatory and licensing bodies, where they help to set rules on the number, manner and conditions in which game may be hunted.

Management agencies sometimes rely on hunting to control specific animal populations, as has been the case with deer in North America. These hunts may sometimes be carried out by professional shooters, although others may include amateur hunters. Many US city and local governments hire professional and amateur hunters each year to reduce populations of animals such as deer that are becoming hazardous in a restricted area, such as neighbourhood parks and [[metropolitan area|metropolitan]] open spaces.

A large part of managing populations involves managing the number and, sometimes, the size or age of animals harvested so as to ensure the sustainability of the population. Tools that are frequently used to control harvest are bag limits and season closures, although gear restrictions such as archery-only seasons are becoming increasingly popular in an effort to reduce hunter success rates in countries that rely on bag limits per hunter instead of per area.<ref name="PLOSONE2021">{{cite journal |last1=Schroeder |first1=Michael A. |last2=Coates |first2=Peter S. |last3=Collins |first3=Gary H. |title=Changes in hunting season regulations (1870s–2019) reduce harvest exposure on greater and Gunnison sage-grouse |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2021 |volume=16 |issue=7 |pages=e0253635 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0253635 |doi-access=free |pmid=34610035 |pmc=8491912 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1653635D }}</ref><ref name="MDWFP">{{cite web |title=Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits |website=Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks |url=https://www.mdwfp.com |accessdate=2024-07-13}}</ref><ref name="HunterEd">{{cite web |title=Wildlife Management Practices |website=Hunter-Ed |url=https://www.hunter-ed.com |accessdate=2024-07-13}}</ref><ref name="OutdoorZia">{{cite web |title=Hunting Season: Dates, Bag Limits And Trapping |website=OutdoorZia |url=https://outdoorzia.com |accessdate=2024-07-13}}</ref>