The National Shooting Sports Foundation calls the 3.6 percent rise in paid hunting license holders for 2009 one of the most encouraging signs for hunting in recent years.
NSSF president Steve Sanetti said “Many efforts are at work to build hunting participation, and they are paying off.
More people are sharing the tradition of hunting with family and friends.”
Sanetti also noted that more hunting license sales translate into more funds for wildlife conservation.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently reported a total of 14.97 million paid license holders for 2009, the largest figure since 2002 and an increase of better than a half-million over 2008.
NSSF cites several possible reasons for the increase, ranging from programs launched by many state wildlife agencies over the last decade to increase hunting participation, to a difficult economy that motivated hunters to fill their freezers with game rather than store-bought meat. Additionally, hunters who were among the unemployed or had their work hours reduced probably used some of their free time to go hunting.
“Due to continued urbanization and changes in our culture, hunting will face significant challenges for the foreseeable future, but at the same time hunting remains an extremely important activity in the lives of millions of Americans, as the latest license sales figures confirm,” Sanetti said.
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