I realize we’ve seen a ton of discussions on this site regarding wolf reintroduction and anti-hunting initiatives in Colorado, but I feel compelled to create one more.
Yesterday, my family and I went to the Denver Stock Show. For anyone who hasn’t been - in addition to the rodeo and livestock events - there are a lot of vendors selling various products and manufacturers representing their products. The event also has a petting zoo, pony rides, and you can wander around a look at all the livestock. All kids seem to love getting to see the different breeds of livestock and I think a lot of adults do too.
The event is always packed, and it’s immediately obvious which of the attendees have any sort of familiarity with agriculture/ranching and which attendees do not.
First, you’ll never see so many people trying to look “western” that aren’t. I don’t mean that as a criticism, but the amount of plastic cowboy hats, cowboy hats being worn backwards, fashion boots worn by men with skinny jeans, women wearing those trendy bohemian hats, etc. is staggering. Overall, there are just a lot of people trying to fit in with what they must interpret as “cowboy”, but end up looking kind of ridiculous. For what it‘s worth, you’ll also see a lot of “western”guys wearing jeans with ornately embroidered back pockets, and you would swear that wide, square toed boots are the only style that’s made anymore. And, you’ll also see folks who just wear their everyday normal clothes and look like anyone else you may come across anywhere in any city.
I mention this because I’m making the assumption that a lot of the casual attendees I saw at the stock show come from all walks of life, and are enthusiastic about the event, and are probably the same people who voted on wolf reintroduction and will be voting on future anti-hunting legislation.
My wife formerly worked in the oil and gas industry, and the company she used to work for sponsored the stock show. Organizations representing the oil and gas industry would have a presence at the event in an effort to try and educate and provide visibility for the attendees regarding responsible oil and gas development and the benefits the industry provides.
I could have missed it, and I don’t know whether the Stock Show has a policy against it, but I saw zero booths or visibility for any groups that would be trying to educate or provide visibility into countering anti-hunting initiatives.
I know I’m making some broad assumptions about the attendees of the Stock Show (and again, I have no idea on what the stock show may allow for exhibitors), but I think we need to help fund and volunteer for organizations like Howl or any others, so that they can attend events like the stock show and make an effort to educate the uninformed as to why ballot box biology is a bad thing and to promote pro-hunting/fishing concepts.
Getting back to some of the attendees specifically, It seems to me that if some of these people who are interested in an event like the stock show - but probably aren’t as well versed in the impact something like wolf reintroduction and anti-predator hunting legislation would have on the ranching industry - we’re missing a huge opportunity to provide some insight and education into a large percentage of the attendees.
Besides funding groups that could possibly provide a presence at events like the stock show, how many of us out there have the skill set or would be willing to stand at a booth and be able to have a rational conversation with anyone who may stop by the booth and ask about an issue? I know there has to be a lot of the hunting demographic that are educators or in sales, and I think besides just providing funds for a group or manual labor on a habitat project, we need to start getting involved in other activities to more directly counter anti-hunting groups.
Any thoughts on this or groups that are directly looking for help besides just monetary donations or manual labor?
Yesterday, my family and I went to the Denver Stock Show. For anyone who hasn’t been - in addition to the rodeo and livestock events - there are a lot of vendors selling various products and manufacturers representing their products. The event also has a petting zoo, pony rides, and you can wander around a look at all the livestock. All kids seem to love getting to see the different breeds of livestock and I think a lot of adults do too.
The event is always packed, and it’s immediately obvious which of the attendees have any sort of familiarity with agriculture/ranching and which attendees do not.
First, you’ll never see so many people trying to look “western” that aren’t. I don’t mean that as a criticism, but the amount of plastic cowboy hats, cowboy hats being worn backwards, fashion boots worn by men with skinny jeans, women wearing those trendy bohemian hats, etc. is staggering. Overall, there are just a lot of people trying to fit in with what they must interpret as “cowboy”, but end up looking kind of ridiculous. For what it‘s worth, you’ll also see a lot of “western”guys wearing jeans with ornately embroidered back pockets, and you would swear that wide, square toed boots are the only style that’s made anymore. And, you’ll also see folks who just wear their everyday normal clothes and look like anyone else you may come across anywhere in any city.
I mention this because I’m making the assumption that a lot of the casual attendees I saw at the stock show come from all walks of life, and are enthusiastic about the event, and are probably the same people who voted on wolf reintroduction and will be voting on future anti-hunting legislation.
My wife formerly worked in the oil and gas industry, and the company she used to work for sponsored the stock show. Organizations representing the oil and gas industry would have a presence at the event in an effort to try and educate and provide visibility for the attendees regarding responsible oil and gas development and the benefits the industry provides.
I could have missed it, and I don’t know whether the Stock Show has a policy against it, but I saw zero booths or visibility for any groups that would be trying to educate or provide visibility into countering anti-hunting initiatives.
I know I’m making some broad assumptions about the attendees of the Stock Show (and again, I have no idea on what the stock show may allow for exhibitors), but I think we need to help fund and volunteer for organizations like Howl or any others, so that they can attend events like the stock show and make an effort to educate the uninformed as to why ballot box biology is a bad thing and to promote pro-hunting/fishing concepts.
Getting back to some of the attendees specifically, It seems to me that if some of these people who are interested in an event like the stock show - but probably aren’t as well versed in the impact something like wolf reintroduction and anti-predator hunting legislation would have on the ranching industry - we’re missing a huge opportunity to provide some insight and education into a large percentage of the attendees.
Besides funding groups that could possibly provide a presence at events like the stock show, how many of us out there have the skill set or would be willing to stand at a booth and be able to have a rational conversation with anyone who may stop by the booth and ask about an issue? I know there has to be a lot of the hunting demographic that are educators or in sales, and I think besides just providing funds for a group or manual labor on a habitat project, we need to start getting involved in other activities to more directly counter anti-hunting groups.
Any thoughts on this or groups that are directly looking for help besides just monetary donations or manual labor?
