6 ms·
One thing i’d genuinely like to see more of in the US is easy and sanely priced access to wild game. Deer populations being what they are, and populations of e
by hprotagonist 8y ago
One thing i’d genuinely like to see more of in the US is easy and sanely priced access to wild game.
Deer populations being what they are, and populations of environmentally troublesome species such as feral
boars being what they are, it seems like a net win.
i would love to be able to get my hands on venison or boar that’s been processed in a USDA-approved way, because the meat’s high quality, the animals had lives entirely free of cages and farms, and we really do kind of need to balance out herd sizes in the northeast.
it is currently a regulatory nightmare to do this at scale, which is why nobody does. I can solve my own problem with a 6 week wait and a slug gun, but it’d be nice to address the conservation need at a more moderate scale.
- Majromax 8y ago> One thing i’d genuinely like to see more of in the US is easy and sanely priced access to wild game. That could pose a problem with Chronic Wasting Disease (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_wasting_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_wasting_disease). Prion illnesses are no joke, so widespread consumption of wild game in North America presents a small but concerning risk of spreading the disease to humans.
- eigenstuff 8y agoChronic wasting disease wouldn't affect wild hogs, though, and wild hogs are destroying the environment in Texas.
- paulcole 8y agoThe people in Texas are doing far more damage to the environment than any number of hogs could.
- steve_adams_86 8y agoThat doesn't make your parent comment wrong, though.
- paulcole 8y agoIf you honestly believe hogs are destroying the environment in Texas, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s about as hyperbolic as it gets.
- hprotagonist 8y agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-plague-of-pigs-in-texas-73769069/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-plague-of-pi...
- paulcole 8y agoDo you honestly believe that hogs are destroying the environment of Texas? If so, then I guess we have different definitions of “destroying the environment.” Some damaged farmland, a few possible fishkills, and some erosion are blips on the radar compared to the damage done by industrial farming, suburban sprawl, oil companies, etc. I guess it is nice to have a scapegoat though — or in this case a scape-hog.
- dec0dedab0de 8y agoThe problem is that if it becomes profitable then the "wild" game will slowly transition into farming.
- hprotagonist 8y agoit’s already happened, but supply is low and prices are correspondingly exorbitant.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- rjf72 8y agoIn most (all?) states in the US selling hunted game, such as deer or boar, is illegal. Conflicted opinions on this. I very strongly support the right to hunt, and also find it vastly more humane for the animals. On top of this I also tend to take a libertarian slant on most things. However, in this specific case you have a textbook tragedy of the commons waiting to happen. The reason game is so widespread is specifically because of these laws. When it was legal to hunt and sell game meat/products we hunted numerous species far beyond sustainability. Maybe one solution would be to offer limited vouchers that enable an individual hunter to market some fixed amount of game -- not all that different from how wild fishing/crabbing/etc is handled. But I think it's clear that without extremely judicious management here you'd likely see over-hunting rapidly take hold, and that's no good for hunter, animal, or society.
- dagw 8y agoDoesn't the US already have hunting seasons and quotas?
- int_19h 8y agoIt does, but we're talking about seriously overpopulated animals which are destroying ecosystems - wild pigs are the biggest concern there. For those, even where there are permits, there usually aren't quotas. And despite no limits, there aren't enough hunters to keep them in check.
- hprotagonist 8y agoit’s not illegal to sell game meat per se, but the hoops you have to jump through are (probably intentionally) prohibitive. it’s illegal to sell anything without a USDA stamp on it, and economy of scale means that it’s not profitable to have an inspected and cleared process and processing facilities just for game. Other perfectly reasonable nations don’t do this—and in part due to the fact that deer are an invasive pest in New Zealand, you can buy wild game meat pies in gas stations for about 3 bucks there.
- jtms 8y agoDeer and pig populations are indeed out of control in many places due to a lack of predators. More hunters are needed. An intriguing example of pest control was a series of videos of wild hog hunting in the most Texan way possible: from a helicopter. Exterminating 80-100 hogs per flight! Hopefully something is being done with all of that pork, but I do imagine regulation makes it very very hard to sell.
- barsonme 8y agoI know some folks give it to charities. Others eat it. But a lot gets wasted. Ultimately they're pests, so wanton waste doesn't apply.
- labster 8y agoThis seems like a problem that could be easily solved by reintroducing wolves. Of course, then you have two problems.
- bluedino 8y agoWolves tend to leave people alone. Bears on the other hand...
- labster 8y agoWolves are the classic problem in ecology because while they have clear and obvious benefits to the ecosystem, people are really freaked out by them. And ranchers tend to think of any livestock theft as deserving of capital punishment. It's almost impossible to have a rational discussion about any of our fellow apex predators.
- lemming 8y agoI live in New Zealand, and I recently switched basically entirely over to wild game for red meat. I can buy it in my local supermarket, it's more expensive than cheap meat but actually less than the high-welfare farmed meat that I bought previously. It's also very tasty. I'll probably start ordering directly from the provider (http://www.game-meats.co.nz/ http://www.game-meats.co.nz/) soon since they offer a much wider range of products than the supermarket has. Here in New Zealand there's an additional bonus that deer and boar are invasive introduced species which are considered noxious pests, so I like supporting an industry which controls them.
- solidsnack9000 8y agoWhat a coincidence. In the US they are also pests, often regulated under relaxed hunting laws. Them and certain varieties of rabbits.
- bluedino 8y agoArby’s has done venison sandwiches but of course it’s farmed meat. Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin hunters take 300,000 deer each season, each state probably has 4-5 times that total population. To put that into perspective, the USA slaughters something like 40 million cattle per year.
- JimmyAustin 8y agoFrom my understanding many fast food chains shy away from using hunted meat for supply chain reasons.