Sunday, April 7, 2013

Duck Hunting Conservation

By Chris Lapp


Duck hunting is one of the most popular hunting sports in the world. It is as much a social calling as it is a hunt, in fact, representing a whole set of cultural standards and etiquette rules that many people do not even consider.



It has a whole culture all its own, from a proper dress code to duck hunting dogs and assistants. The world of duck hunting is ripe with cultural significance, but is also has a dark side and represents a less than desirable aspect of human nature. Regardless of the point of view, there is something to be learned about duck hunting that may shed some light on either side of the ethical quandary.

Duck hunting is mainly a sporting activity worldwide now, as commercial duck hunting has since been prohibited in most of the established countries. Duck hunting is, in reality, as old as time itself. There are early indications that ducks and geese were in some way hunted throughout the Ice Age. Cave drawings suggest that duck hunting was a sound practice early on in human existence, paving the way to ducks and swans appearing on cave paintings in Ice Age Europe. There is also evidence of duck hunting in Egypt, as a mural on the burial place of Khum-Hotpe shows a man capturing ducks in a stream. Ducks were likewise likely hunted by early guy in the Americas, as early Peruvian art shows.

With this international history, duck hunting delights in an appeal that spreads around the world. It is specifically preferred in North America, where the largest number of localized ducks could be found.

Many ducks utilize the Mississippi River as a migratory guide, so many duck hunts take place along the river to use it as a guide for finding ducks. Arkansas is a significant hotbed of duck hunting, with Stuttgart being considered the "duck hunting capital of the globe".

Duck hunting is often considered popular because of its simplicity. The tools of the trade are simplistic enough, from a decoy set to a shotgun and duck call. The essence of duck hunting is based around the trickery of using the decoy and the duck call in tandem to lure the ducks out and into the air towards the decoy. After this takes place, the ducks are in open range for the hunt and the firing begins. These hunts take place around rivers, streams, lakes and any other bodies of water where ducks can be found.

Most marsh and wetland areas are shrinking at tremendous rates, except where duck hunters and their license fees and conservation efforts, albeit in their own interest, are growing duck and waterfowl habitat. However, there are several out of touch organizations that constantly spar with duck hunters, despite the facts.

One conservation organization supported by hunters is the popular Ducks Unlimited. Ducks Unlimited is an international organization that stands as the leader in non-profit marshland protection and the protection of waterfowl. Ducks Unlimited sometimes works with hunters to protect the marshlands and protect the hunter's way of life.

The primary goal of Ducks Unlimited is the conservation of localized habitats where ducks can be discovered, enabling hunters to continue protected and logical hunts of ducks and enabling the survival of more ducks by developing much better places for them to live.



Most duck hunters have the protection and conservation of duck habitat in the forefront of their minds. After all, it is in their best interest to develop and protect locations for ducks to live and reproduce. With the teamwork of hunters and marshland protectors, duck hunting will continue to grow, well into the future.




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