On the front page of the Metro Section of today's Washington Post (Monday Nov. 12th - Veteran's Day) there was an article (above the fold) entitled, "Clinics Pursue Elusive Quarry: New Hunters." What followed was a very positive hunting article about the declining numbers of hunters and what the two local states, Maryland and Virginia, are doing to change those numbers.
According to the article, the statistics tell a lot about the future of hunting in these two states. Quoting from the article, "From 2003 to 2006, the number of full-season hunting licenses issued to Maryland residents dropped from 91,524 to 84,046, an 8.2 % decline. Virginia saw an 8.65 slide during the same period from 221,964 to 202,947.
The article went on to tell of the positive benefits of controlling animal populations especially deer.
According to the Washington Post, "Officials blame the downturn in hunting on what some have called a 'nature-deficit disorder.' The average American lives farther from a forest than in the past and is often overburdened with work, school and organized activities for children".
The article went on to tell about hunting clinics that are run by both states. The states recognize that "fewer people have a friend or family member who hunt, leaving prospective hunters unlikely to know where to go for instruction." Some women who have signed up are single mothers who are looking for a way to teach their 12 year-old sons how to hunt.
All-in-all, a very positive article. It looks like the entire article has been reproduced in the Metro Section of the online Washington Post,
www.washingtonpost.com. Check it out.
