Pro-Rewilding Politics
Rewilding is a politically charged controversy for many reasons, policy and economics being the most obvious. When considering rewilding an individual must take into account the benefits it will have on society. Legally there will be significant changes that must take place. The first would be new and stronger conservation laws. These laws would protect introduced species and would set aside the land necessary to maintain their populations. Along with this change would also come laws that would protect more diverse habitats, while still allowing hunting to take place. Some supporters of rewilding are those interested in hunting wild game. With the mass introduction of these species back into North America, hunters would no longer need to travel abroad in order to hunt wild game. These legal changes are not the only reasons for political support of rewilding though. America is a capitalist society, which means we appreciate private ownership and competition. If rewilding is to succeed in reserves across America the land would likely be owner by the people instead of the government. This would allow for a new good/service to be brought into our society as well as allowing for an accumulation of capital and a new competitive market to form.
Anti-Rewilding Politics
Rewilding is a politically charged controversy for many reasons, policy and economics being the most obvious. When considering rewilding an individual must take into account the costs it will have on society. Consider the legal changes that would need to take place in order to allow these animals to inhabit North America. Currently there are few to no megafauna species living in North America, thus it would be necessary to import these animals into the country. In order to do this exotic animal trade laws would need to be reconsidered and loosened. This not only addresses a legal change that would be necessary, it also emphasizes the economic situation of rewilding. It would be extremely costly for these animals to be imported into North America. Not only are these animals required to come into the country, for rewilding to be successful the species would need to be introduced and established into the reserves. Maintaining these reserves would also be a costly endever that would require constant attention. While considering the maintenance of these reserves, also consider what would occur if an animal escaped. Eventually it is likely that at least one individual will escape, consider the consequences of this escape. If a carnivore escapes and makes its way into a residential area or a business district what is to be done to the escapee. These are some of the political situations that need to be understood when considering rewilding.