ABSTRACT
In the United States and Canada, wildlife belongs to society and is managed by government for society’s benet. It is the responsibility of elected ofcials to determine how best to achieve this. If they fail to do so or make poor decisions, then voters may elect new ofcials during the next election. Of course, government has grown too complex for elected ofcers to vote on all matters, so they have delegated specic tasks to government employees to perform on their behalf. In the case of white-tailed deer, management authority resides with each state’s wildlife department, which makes decisions about how wildlife should be managed to meet the goals of society.
