Resolution to Encourage the Management of Wildlife Ecosystems

WHEREAS, wildlife is the property of the people in many countries; and

WHEREAS, wildlife management in many areas has been based on the idea of maximum sustained yield of regulated species; and

WHEREAS, wildlife species give many services and possess many values other than the sport of hunting and trapping; and

WHEREAS, the non-consumptive uses of wildlife in modern society have become extensive; and

WHEREAS, wildlife is an important component of our varied ecosystems, responds to the many ecological relationships in these ecosystems, and reflects the condition or status of the ecosystems;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Society of Mammalogists supports the action of the 12th General Assembly of IUCN, September 1975, in encouraging countries and their subdivisions responsible for the management of wildlife to replace their programs of maximum yield with a program based on ecological principles that support sustained quality of the ecosystems in which wildlife live.