The MSPCA-Angell believes that many consumptive uses of wildlife, such as trapping and sport hunting, cause suffering to animals, and therefore condemns their use as wildlife management tools.
The MSPCA-Angell believes that wildlife management agencies have prioritized consumptive use at the expense of non-game species and habitat preservation issues. Instead, the interdisciplinary facets of wildlife management programs should include habitat protection and preservation, re-establishment of healthy and self-regulating ecosystems that do not require regular and constant killing of animals, and control over human activities that adversely affect wild animals and the environment.
The MSPCA-Angell recognizes that, on occasion, an emergency situation arises in which human intervention is necessary to protect wildlife, people, or the environment. In those cases, responses from wildlife managers should focus upon ensuring the humane handling and disposition of individual animals in addition to finding long-term solutions in the best interest of all affected people and ecological systems. If circumstances, such as animal suffering, necessitate killing wildlife, this should be conducted by responsible officials utilizing methods that will result in a humane death.
Therefore, the MSPCA-Angell will:
- seek to educate the general public regarding human responsibility for ethical stewardship of wildlife and the environment.
- work with governmental agencies to establish and maintain ethical wildlife management programs.
- seek to broaden representation of non-consumptive users of wildlife in state and federal wildlife regulatory agencies.
- educate the public when wildlife management decisions are made that are contrary to a humane wildlife management ethics and instead are made to further the interest of consumptive users.
