Peter wrote:

> However, we are promoting sustainable beekeeping. Hunting is only viable
> as long as the natural resources hold out. That is, unless the resources
> are replenished by forward looking individuals.
>

The hunters *could* over harvest.   It has certainly happened with
fisheries here (cod an excellent example).  And I have been encouraging
record keeping by the honey hunters cooperative as a means to monitor the
population.  But the main threat to the bees I know best in regard to
hunting, the Philippine apis dorsata, is deforestation and habitat
destruction.  The hunters harvest just prior to the bees migration when
they will abandon the nest anyway.  And honey hunting gives value to the
forest without cutting it, as does some other activities such as nut
gathering, or cocoa cultivation under the forest canopy.  So it can
actually have a positive effect on the bees.  Same as here in Canada, a
bunch of duck hunters, Ducks Unlimited, have had some real positive effects
in preserving wetlands.

Stan

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