Somewhere in the arid hills of a Baja California game ranch, a desert bighorn ram is nibbling on mesquite and mountain mahogany. If Mexican wildlife officials have their way, he soon may die for a cause. Federal officials are promoting game-ranch hunting as part of a market-based strategy to conserve desert bighorns and three other types of game in Mexico. Under the program, limited hunting of bighorns, pumas, wild turkey and deer is being allowed—but only on game ranches with government-certified wildlife management plans. In its first year, the Conservation and Rural Sector Productive Diversification Program has encouraged the creation of more than 1,000 game ranches covering a total of 25 million acres (10 million hectares), officials say. The trend, they... [Log in to read more]