Why legal hunting can actually save wildlife — not harm it Conserving wildlife is a nonpartisan issue. Don’t make it divisive. By iStock It is unfortunate that anti-hunters and many environmentalists have chosen to start 2021 with divisive rhetoric intended to paint hunters and Republicans as cruel and evil individuals. Contrary to what they would have you believe, legal, regulated hunting is an inherently nonpartisan activity enjoyed by millions of Americans from every demographic. Furthermore, hunters are ardent conservationists. Decades of wildlife science prove the symbiotic relationship between hunting and effective conservation. The most evident example of this relationship is the billions of tax dollars granted to state wildlife agencies since Congress passed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act in 1937, commonly known as the Pittman–Robertson Act. To this day, this law provides states with conservation dollars stemming from the 11 percent federal excise tax on sporting arms, ammunition and archery equipment, and the 10 percent excise tax on handguns.