This should be a call to action. It shouldn’t be the action of doom and gloom, or of picking sides, or whatever. We have to get beyond simply searching for reasons, or excuses.
We have to be strategic. My take away is that knowledge is power. Whatever you think about social media doesn’t really matter. I’m not on it, but I probably should be. Why? To spread a message of ethical conservation that respectfully conserves the land and the system. This includes all factors, living and non-living. Soil, plants, animals, all of it. I follow the rules that I have fought to have set based on best science practices.
My sister is a Buddhist artist vegetarian in Portland, and I am not making this up. She is a prime example of what some fear because some jump to conclusions. However, your conclusions may be wrong. My brother and I are hunters and she loves and respects us and our opinions. We all discuss our choices, why we have chose them, and she listens. She even supports our hunting over imposiburger (or whatever it is called). She believes we have the right to do as we choose in a ethical and rational manner.
Recently we hiked to Hearst Lake in Montana to spread my Dad’s ashes. We had a long discussion along the way. She gets the system on many levels. She is thoughtful and open. We discussed The North American Model and how effective it has been, and the need for acceptance of the system. Humans and their connections are just parts of the system that must be managed like another other factor. This could be grasses, elk, noxious weeds, wolves, water or roads to name a few.
A glowing example of what we must actively communicate to the world about is black bear hunting. Due to her activity on line the only experience on line she has is with people I don’t consider hunters pulling a sow out of a den that had cubs and killing her. It was done without respect, and in a fashion I don’t agree with. It was a celebration of what will kill hunting if we don’t actively combat it. It showed a disregard for the bear and her cubs. It showed a lacked of respect for nature as a whole. This clearly turned her off to bear hunting, as it would most that don’t have other positive experiences.
We talked about how most bear hunting it done, and the need for bear management. Once she had an understanding of it, she supported it. She admitted she doesn’t like the whole killing and eating the bear part, but sees the necessity of it all. She also honored individual choice, as I did also. She would now vote to have ethical bear hunting. Why? She has information.
So, what do we need to do. We must become experts on our stances, maintain and evolve them when information arises, and spread the word far and wide in a positive manner. Knowledge is power. I challenge you to step up and confront poachers, and unethical actions. I challenge you to have a calm informed conversation with people you feel safe with. I challenge you to post information in a positive educational manner wherever you can. I have a short sentence that rules my thinking now, If I don’t, who will?
