I just thought of a way to solve world hunger in Africa. It could work in other places too. Just exterminate all the lions, hyenas, cheetahs etc. and then all the antelopes and zebras etc. will have no predators and they'll multiple like crazy and they you just eat them all day. It sounds reasonable, but then again I'm a bit out-of-sorts at the moment.
My guess is there aren't enough of those predators to begin with that eliminating them would make that big of a difference at this point. As for the antelope and zebra and such, they don't stay in one place and my guess is they steer clear of large human settlements. Also, despite our good intentions I think all the food aid we send ends up doing more harm than good. Since all the food aid has been sent the number of farmers has decreased. They can't compete with free food, so they don't. The result is their ability for sustained agriculture continues to dwindle, making them even more reliant on outside assistance, which just compounds the problem even further. It is a messed up situation.
Predators help preserve the health of the herds of herbivores by culling out the old and decrepit and the diseased. Even a subsistence hunter is always going to prefer the trophy-quality animal over the runt of the litter. Hyenas and cheetas will also take rabbits and other small game that might otherwise over-populate or become a reservoir of dangerous diseases. Badly-thought-out idea.
You are correct. In Massachusetts our Deer population started growing at an alarming rate back in the early 90's....now....there are so many deer due to a lack of natural Predators as well as less Hunters that they started allowing Hunters to harvest more than 1 deer a year as well at first made it easier to get Doe Permits. I hunt....and we have in Mass. the Worlds Largest Man Made Fresh Water Reservoir...the Quabin Reservoir which is home to Bear, Bald Eagles, Hawks, Moose, Turkey, Grouse, Pheasant, Bob Cat.....and way too many DEER. So they went and set up a special hunt to harvest many deer as the deer were starving in the winter as well as getting diseased and worse...eating the bark off trees surrounding the Reservoir which was killing the trees that held back the soil from eroding into the water. As I and a friend entered the gates very early in the morning of this special hunt we were met by about 60 NEW YORK CITY BASED PETA MEMBERS.....who were throwing Balloons filled with RED PAINT at Hunters vehicles as they entered. These IDIOTS did not realize that NO ONE cares more about the health of the Ecosystem and it's animals than a HUNTER and in Mass....100% of all Hunting and Fishing Li sensing goes to Wildlife Preservation and Management. A few of these...wearing Club Outfit...New Yorker's got their asses handed to them after throwing a few paint balloons at some very large men driving trucks with guns!!! LOL!!! AboveAlpha
Africa sufferers more from deforestation and soil erosion, from poor farming practices. Not to mention the corruption, unstable population trends, and pressure on natural resources. Killing predators is a horrible proposition. That will only lead to a boom in herd population, and eventual starvation.
China is the main source of global demand for ivory... International war against poaching starting to pay off Sat, Dec 17, 2016 - It was one of the most momentous events in the battle against poaching: 11 giant pyres of elephant tusks going up in flames in Kenya as the world looked on.
