B&C Position Statement - Sustainable Use

First Adopted July 27, 2011 - Updated September 27, 2011

Situational Overview

Traditional uses of wildlife represent deeply rooted ecological and cultural connections in human history and experience. Through these same connections many species in North America have gone from threatened, to thriving, to surplus populations. To this day, there are human communities whose social and economic well-being depends upon the effective and sustainable use of wild plant and animal resources. These uses include subsistence purposes: obtaining food, skins, and other products required for daily survival, and recreational purposes including hunting, fishing and trapping. Wildlife uses may also support livelihoods indirectly, by generating income that allows rural families and communities to enjoy a reasonable level of dignity and economic security. For many, sustainable, shared and ethical uses of wildlife and other natural resources sustain their connections with and obligations to nature. Wildlife, therefore, continues to have a vital role in people's well-being, their economic security, and the fabric of their social and spiritual lives.

Position

The Boone and Crockett Club adopts a definition of “sustainable use” developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (“IUCN”), which found that “[u]sing renewable natural resources sustainably means doing so in such a way that does not threaten a species by over-use, yet it will optimize benefits to both the environment and human needs. Sustainably using natural resources, including plants, forests, fish, and other wildlife, is an important conservation tool when addressing the increasing pressures on nature by people.”

IUCN Sustainable Use Specialist Group, June 2011