Legal game can be hunted only when the population of that species has a surplus. It's numbers are increasing and there is a limit to what the habitat can support. We have voluminous regulations concerning methods and allowable numbers of kills.
In the U.S., all game species are increasing in numbers. All.
Alligators: Once threatened because of the demand for their hides for shoes and purses, they were protected for a number of years. Now, in many areas, their numbers have increased such that they are a threat to pets and people. They are hunted within a permit system--and the numbers are still on the increase.
Rattlesnake hunting gets publicity, but "festival" gatherings are sporadic and quite localized. Vast areas of public and private lands never see any such hunting or gathering.
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