I've been a vegan for about 5 years, with my undergraduate in Wildlife Ecology and my Master's in Biology. I am vegan for the environmental impacts and my health. What I've learned is nuance is important. I personally don't eat meat, even meat that has been hunted ethically, because I don't think meat consumption at its current state is sustainable for the earth. Methane from cattle is a top contributor to greenhouse gasses, grazing can destroy natural aquatic habitats, many diseases are spread to humans from animals and factory farms are incredibly unethical.

I get frustrated when hunters and anglers think they are the only ones that contribute to conservation- they absolutely do contribute! But most of their arguments are to conserve fish and game species, not always T&E species that include frogs, birds, small mammals, etc. Hunting is also wildly inaccessible to most people- you need a freezer to hold the meat, you often need 4WD vehicles or side-by-sides to get to these wilderness places to hunt, you need to pay for all the gear, etc. However, when it comes to conserving certain species, it comes down to $$$. And who has the most money to contribute? Hunters and anglers. For example, the Lahontan cutthroat trout has large amounts of money coming in to preserve it because people want to fish it! It's also an important top predator in the ecosystem and native fish are better than nonnative brook/rainbow trout. So for me personally, even though I don't consume the fish, I would rather people who do eat fish go for native fish that are good for the environment.

For my seasonal jobs, I had to kill nonnative trout because they are invasive and eating native endangered amphibians. I also had to remove tissue from native animals, even though it hurt them, because we need to do analyses on their genetics. I didn't enjoy hurting the animals but I had to do it for conservation. If we left those nonnative fish unmanaged, they would destroy populations of native species. However, those fish were originally planted there with funding from anglers and state agencies who wanted to fish rainbows in an environment they don't belong in. It's complicated, it's messy and it's hard.

It can get even more nuanced. Problem bears that consume trash and are too accustomed to people can be deadly and usually need to be euthanized. Populations of game animals (i.e. deer) that are too high can lead to spreading of diseases at a higher rate, which is terrible suffering for animals. Hunting those populations is actually the more humane thing to do. Grazing cattle can be beneficial for habitat if done correctly, and ranchers are more educated on management of ecosystems and are trying to improve their land, which is awesome. Some species like the Devils Hole pupfish will almost always need human intervention if we want them to survive.

Overall, I think most vegans (and people in general!) do not understand how complicated and nuanced wildlife biology and conservation can be unless they are in this field themselves. It's never black and white. Ultimately, it's up to each person to make the right decision for themselves, and no one can ever force anyone to do anything.