Archive for December 14th, 2007

Economics of Hunting

Friday, December 14th, 2007

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

It’s fall hunting season in Texas, and various game species are “on the menu.” According to the most current statistics, hunting is good business.

Break duck hunting out if you will. There’s about almost fifty million dollars of economic impact to the state through retail sales.

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader. He says the statistics he’s quoting are ten years old, and he expects new data soon. Nevertheless, overall, hunting has been good to Texas and Texans.

The economic impact to Texas, based on 1996, was over a hundred million dollars, and it supported about a thousand jobs and earnings of almost twenty million dollars.

It’s the small Texas towns, says Morrison, that really feel hunting’s positive economic impact.

And you look at some of these small towns…you go down to Katy…on opening day of duck season. There are people everywhere. The motels are full. People never need to lose sight that even though it is for enjoyment and recreation, it is a very, very big business.

Not only does hunting support the economies of many small towns, the various fees paid by hunters support conservation in the state.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.