Dear Editor:

Some people believe that hunting is bad because hunters kill animals. Well, other people are killing them, too. If there wasn’t hunting, animals such as deer and elk would overpopulate and their food all would be eaten. Last, they all would starve to death. So with hunting, hunters keep the animals from starving to death.

Hunters also support the animals more than others realize. Our license money goes to Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help support the animals. Parks and Wildlife will go help the needy animals by feeding them and giving them water.

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Since 1934, hunters have paid more than $700 million for federal duck stamps. These are stamps to hunt ducks. The money has paid for 5.2 million acres for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

A lot of people think that the hunters hate the animals and kill them. But hunters love the animals and want to keep them alive. That is why we hunt. The animals’ food would disappear, and they all would die. That is why we hunt.

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In the early 1990s, in Aspen, there were not any bears. The Division of Wildlife (now Parks and Wildlife) decided to cut off spring bear hunting one spring. Then all of the sudden, there were bears all over town. You know why? The Division of Wildlife cut spring bear hunting. Now bears are all over town today.

In Iowa, the money from hunting licenses go to the Division of Natural Resources’ trust fund, which gives 41 percent and, adding fishing licenses, adds up to 54 percent. Together, they go to fishery and wildlife management, wildlife research, habitat development and many other things that help the environment. So if we didn’t have hunting, we wouldn’t have wildlife protection. Which also will lead to the wildlife habitat having more buildings than it needs.

Hunting is a family tradition, as we eat what we kill. It is not to waste the time at the grocery store. No! You can go out and enjoy the environment by hunting!

Take a stand for hunting. Now you know most of the benefits to hunting. It is a wonderful thing to do.

Ethan Linn

Sixth-grade student, Aspen Middle School