> Without hunters, wildlife populations would reach the point that the land would not be able to support them and they would starve to death.

That's a good point, actually. In New Hampshire, the moose population is of constant concern. Every season, there's a lottery that hunters may enter for a chance for a moose-hunting license. They get one moose if they get a license, but of course there's no guarantee any given hunter will succeed in nailing one. At any rate, this rather strict system of hunting license rationing allows the state to control the moose populations very closely. In years were there are few moose, they don't give out many licenses, and in years where there are too many, they give out more.

Why is the moose population important enough of an issue to monitor so closely? The existence of moose in our forests is important to us. Moose are wonderful animals. They're simultaneously goofy and noble, which is a rare combination. There is nothing quite so cool as to paddle up to a wading moose in a canoe and watching it lumber around. At the right time of year, up north, people regularly cruise the streets at dusk, scanning the side of the road for moose. They're great animals, sell a lot of T-shirts to tourists, and generally make New Hampshire nature cooler.

That's why we want a certain minimum number of moose around. The reason we want a maximum number is, as with the deer in your story, when there are too many they run out of food and starve to death. Worse, the scarcity of food and territory puts them on the move, and they start running into the road and killing people that crash into them. Car collisions with moose are often catastrophic. Moose eyes do not reflect the light of a car's headlights, as deer eyes do, so they are harder to spot and avoid. When you crash into them, moose are tall enough that instead of hitting their bodies, you hit their legs. Their bodies roll up over the hood and slam into the windshield, frequently crushing those in the front seat.

An overpopulation of moose, therefore, is arguably worse for both moose and humans than an underpopulation. Hunting keeps the population under control and provides us food besides.