ATHENS, GA (July 20, 2015) - The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) has pledged $50,000 over the next five years to help fund the Wild Harvest Initiative, an effort to quantify the harvest and consumption of wild game and fish in the United States and Canada.

"QDMA is proud to support this landmark initiative because it will document the nutritional, economic, and environmental benefits of wild animal consumption and demonstrate the vital role that hunters and anglers play in food security and wildlife conservation," said QDMA CEO Brian Murphy.

The Wild Harvest Initiative is a multi-year project that will be led and managed by Conservation Visions Inc., a private conservation organization focused on building broad coalitions for biodiversity and sustainable-use conservation approaches. In addition to measuring the wild animal protein harvested and consumed in the United States and Canada, the initiative will also determine the ecological and financial costs of hypothetically attempting to replace this wild protein with that from livestock. This comparison should illuminate the real significance of wild protein to food security.

"We've known for well over a century that conservation of the world's ecosystems is critical to human well being and that the sustainable use of wild resources brings enormous and unique benefits to human beings everywhere," said Shane Mahoney, founder and CEO of Conservation Visions Inc. "It's time we know how much."

"This project will have global implications regarding systems for healthy and sustainable sources of protein for human consumption and the vital role that sportsmen, wildlife and wild lands play in this equation," said Murphy.

The Wild Harvest Initiative will be the first-ever measurement of the amount of wild protein harvested by hunters and fishermen and shared with their families and friends. The initiative will not examine commercial harvest practices but will focus solely on personal harvest by hunters and fishermen.

"We hope and expect the Initiative will appeal to a variety of public sectors," said Mahoney. "The trending locavore movement, 100-mile diet, and emphasis on organic and free-range food are all signs that people, in general, are becoming more concerned about the quality of their food. Well, wild protein harvested from nature is as high quality as it gets. It is our original diet."

The Wild Harvest Initiative was officially launched in June of this year. To assist and learn more, visit the http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001LsDzVNRqw_3YdTmrUGYwH05yzXCgeH0G1vvJvFIuod1uptyXKGghVUv1s4iL_HrPB3xLZmVUSpxTjrHiyIiq2ke9FR4G3EER0aftNFz6TNpYdQUskyWBCkOw4HNYB_tT-DAzChgZYAA4Kj9Z_H24nljPIein0MuExN55uYDBDqqIfBExFLepVw==&c=SWBT1qMOzqK4HHtxIBug_meXOU-hvnWPU8UPUhhU3YYhwRCbYSYoKg==&ch=7WpLKw7UGwPPTpx24y88S5XTp0q0WKagcCOAt4p9vFo47cOSeGQX2w==">Wild Harvest Initiative website.