Recurve, When I look into some of the conservation easements being handled by conservation land trust groups and see all allowable activities except hunting (I know some of that is based on landowner choice), when I see more and more of the anti-hunting groups gaining control, even promoting sterilization of wildlife with an immunocontraceptive that renders the animal unfit for hunting/eating rather than hunting to manage populations, when I go to agency/governmental meetings that affect wildlife and there is no hunter representation - I am concerned.
DOI Sec. Sally Jewell came to Montana recently, she spoke at MSU. One of the concerns that she voiced was the growing population disconnect with nature. That the future of legislation would be in the hands of people and the public that did not relate to nature, they would not be able to get proper funding. So one of her goals was to get the younger generation invested again.
Hunting numbers were declining according to a number of sportsmens statistics. Yet, there are growing segments of hunters, one being women. I am hoping that with womens numbers growing, this might help reach more children as well. A couple months ago I read a report on demographics in the US concerning activism, volunteers - who are responding to social issues and how to reach them. The highest active groups were college students and women 40+. These are the sectors that are mobilizing the most.
I got an email in May from Anja Heister, a co-founder and past exec. dir. of Footloose Montana, about something on my EMWH website. She asked about my perspective on trapping. I explained to her in detail, that I was a conservation hunter and though I did not personally trap, had some concerns with certain aspects of trapping (have a hunter friend whose hunting dog got caught in a trap while on a hike on public lands), that it is legal in Montana. I expressed my concerns at the eroding of hunting. She replied with some points which included hunters and ex-trappers in their membership, then ended with this statement, "This is not meant as a ‘lecture,’ but motivated by a concern in that, if we can’t convince you as someone who is already concerned about wildlife conservation, then we may not have our message right. So, any feedback from you would be very much appreciated." She wants dialogue, not just trying to reach one person, but a person with a website and newsletter. Because if she can convince me, then she hopes that I will reach out to others.
As diverse participants in hunting with growing vocal opposition, I think the subject of presentation is not going to go away. A while back I came across a
statistical report on the perceptions of hunting by non-hunters. "According to
Duda, American hunters, not anti-hunters, hold the key to public opinion on hunting. And good behavior by hunters counts. 'Overall, the American public supports hunting and that support appears to be increasing,' he said. 'However, there’s still that discrepancy between the public’s opinion on hunting and their opinion of the hunter.' It’s up to us to be better hunting ambassadors. 'You can present the facts, but it’s just as important to not forget the heart,' he said. 'Nonhunters may not perceive hunters as caring because, simply put, they shoot game.' "
Not saying to be ashamed of grip and grin photos or stop taking them and certainly not to post them to a forum such as this, which is clearly about hunting, but to be cognizant that non-hunter opinion is a factor in whats happening out there, including legislation, lobbyists, etc.
