America's other army

I may not hunt, am not a gun owner but I do enjoy watching well trained sporting dogs doing the work they were bred for. Beyond that I respect the hunting legacy and most of what it entails, yet deeply wish that somehow Mayberry's white tailed deer population would simply vanish. Since many of my best friends are hunters, my natural curiosity led me to find out just how many American hunters there are. The answer surprised me.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the 50 states issued 14,974,534 hunting licenses in 2011. Each year the world's largest army descends upon our hunting grounds. This explains why Canada doesn't invade us.

Toad

cartoon from Conde Nast Archives.

P.S. What surprised me? As high as the overall number of hunters is, the percentage of the population is low. We are truly moving off the land.