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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dantheman" data-source="post: 1653061" data-attributes="member: 32998">....Not forgetting the situation is a little different on the 2 sides of the Atlantic. In the UK I believe that many (not all by a long way) wetlands are already protected as nature reserves.  There are vast(er) tracts of land in the US which of course developers would love to drain and build on. It's too late for some European (and of course American ones). So protection from developers by whatever means is vastly better than losing them forever.If a sizable proportion of the population in the UK (comparable to that in the US?) decided to take up arms and go shooting there would be a much higher number of hunters per acre of suitable habitat- not very wildlife friendly at all.I recall a previous thread somewhere where it was stated that if everyone in the UK had to eat wild protein we would get something miniscule like 1 meal each from the Woodpigeons naturally occurring and half a mouthful each of wild duck... (My figures in this case admittedly <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> )  Totally unsustainable.I think the situation in the USA is not directly comparable to that in the UK. Personally don't have a problem with the duck stamp scenario in the states.</blockquote>