How to talk about Hunting.

[406life]

A group called Responsive Management is doing a webinar series with some real research and strategies on communicating hunting to everyone generally and anti-hunters as well. It is very worthwhile for anyone who is looking to help craft arguments and engage these types of conversations with the hope of furthering the cause of hunting and conservation.

Some of it is simple argument crafting. In order to be heard, understood, and accepted you need to have:

1. Ethos: Credibility, ethics, and a standing
2. Pathos: Passion and emotion for the cause
3. Logos: Logical argument that can be followed.

Other sections are about what to include in your conversations, what to to focus on, what to avoid:


More details: https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2021/1/18/how-to-talk-about-hunting

I think there's a a great deal that we can all take away to make us more effective in organizing our own thoughts on hunting, but also empowering to be better advocates.

 

[540-Virginian]

This is a good share! I would add to become friends with Vegans. I became friends with one through work as we related to raising young girls. We had the same values: we wanted our kids happy and healthy, especially around food. I shared why i enjoyed hunting and how my girls are even enjoying me talking about it and taking them on hikes when scouting (they are 2 and 4 so will hunt when a little older).

i always respected my vegan friends views and never called out how some things she did or believed in were foolish. After a about two years, her and her vegan husband and older vegan son all want to go hunting with me. They aren’t sure theyll eat the meat, but i think the son will try it (he’s been asking the most questions)!

i take this approach with everyone. Repsect goes both ways. the people who are decent but dont always share my views i still always show respect and often become respected in return

 

[nettereo16]

I was on the first call today - so far it's been really interesting and useful.
The focus is on how to connect with non, or even anti-hunters, instead of only trying to be defensive.

I definitely could use the help communicating the positive aspects of hunting as it's easy to get frustrated dealing with these people.

 

[ODB]

I’d highly recommend people delve into sociology and the work of Jonathan Haidt or Eric Hoffer. When you.m can understand how the “other side” thinks it makes you a much better communicator.

I wasn’t on any call, but did these guys focus on the “why” of people’s dislikes of hunting and how they come to those conclusions? If they only know that people are against hunting but don’t fully understand the mechanisms that drive their decision, it’s incomplete work.

that said the list above is a decent starting point. Frankly, I rely on ethos above all else. If you come to be known on a subject other than hunting as a reliable or intelligent person, when you eventually talk about hunting, you’ve got a hell of a good track record to run on. It helps immensely and has for me personally.

 

[5MilesBack]

1. Logos: Logical argument that can be followed.

That rules out all the anti's from the start. That's where all liberal arguments break down.

 

[Holocene]

I was on the Zoom conference today and recently read Duda's book How to Talk About Hunting, which inspired this series.

Duda's book is a fantastic read and largely based on survey data collected by Responsive Management over the years. He touches on why people might have responded to the surveys in the way they did, but the book is not a textbook on the sociology of hunting in America.

Instead, think of this book (and the webinar) as a practical guide for talking to the public about hunting and being able to swiftly change your tone, words, phrases, and ear depending on your audience.

I "talk about hunting" every day in my work with Pheasants Forever and found myself taking serious, detailed notes from this book. Have already used Duda's advice in my work.

Everyone in the hunting community should read this book. I believe it's free and available from the NRA.

 

[mrddye]

Interesting topic and more important now than possibly ever in our society


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rich M]

I have enough trouble talking about hunting with the hunting community. Have no interest in engaging an anti-hunter in the merits of hunting or selling hunting to non-hunters.

I don't make a living off hunting as a writer or You Tube star and as such, prefer not to push hunting to the masses. If they wanna go I'll show em, but to recruit numbers of folks does not help the hunter, it helps the hunting industry.

I grew up 50 years ago, it was a different age, folks acted different and seemingly were more respectful. If I got out on the local marsh point first, the other guys went elsewhere. In today's day and age, the other guys crowd in on top of you. It sucks, the entitled attitude sucks, the willingness to mess up the other guy for a chance to shoot sucks. We get game cam pictures of guys flipping off the cams (cabled to trees in lock boxes to keep em from disappearing).

Add the loss of hunting lands - used to hunt an area of about 1,500 acres and over time sections went "no trespass", then parts subdivided, and now us and the locals can only hunt on land you own or have actual permission to hunt. The outdoor writers still glorify the region and attract more non-res/non-landowner types who come and piss people off by trespassing. This is since 1985. Glad i got to hunt the entire area, before they shut it down. Shot my first deer on the lot next to ours and haven't been able to hunt there for over 10 years. This is our neighbor.

Got on a hunting lease cause hunting is a big part of my life. So now, not only do you have time and effort, but now thousands of dollar$ at play. If you aren't there, the other guys are in your stands and hunting your favorite areas cause when you show up, they'll hunt their areas then. That leads to some real sour feelings, especially after you done dumped $2-3-4-5,000 into the "hunt club" or lease. It is cheaper for me to go west for a 10-day hunt than it is to hunt the same number of days on a hunt club within 6 hours of my house. Go figure.

Where I live, there are several free-for-all hunt areas within a 3 hour drive with 30 guys hunting 500-1,000 acres every single day during the season. Most quota hunt areas a 3 preference points or more to get a 5 day archery or 3 day ML or rifle hunt. So, the local and "easy" choices are to hunt in the crowds and "just hunt" or to actually have a decent chance of getting a deer every 3+ years.

And the hunting industry wants to increase the hunter numbers. LOL! Look past the smoke screen and see what really is at play - you're helping someone make money while making conditions worse for other long term hunters.

It's been headed down a slippery slope for years and with the population increases, loss of youth interest due to lack of family units and fathers who put trophy hunting before their kids, hunting leases, and continued loss of hunting land, etc. Never thought I'd see the deterioration of hunting in my lifetime. Watching it crumble cause it is not self-sustaining.

 

[IdahoElk]

As with politics or religion in mixed crowds I'm hesitant to talk about or engage in conversations about hunting due to the fact that eventually emotions seem to steer the conversation and that's when people become defensive and stop communicating.

In my opinion instead of trying to convince anti's hunting is a legitimate activity we should be mentoring the young to get involved in the outdoors whether it be hunting, fishing, camping or just hiking.
My interest in hunting was a progression from just a joy of being in the woods and learning about nature, I doubt a conversation no matter how well crafted is going to "flip" a persons beliefs in a few minutes.

 

[bozeman]

Save your time and breath………..recruitment is a $$ activity…….more ‘followers’ and ad revenue. I think we’ve all lost the concept of ‘minding our own business’………..

 

[Marbles]

Very valuable information. If people can be shifted from anti-hunting to neutral that goes a long way towards keeping hunting opertinities open. I know hunters who have successfully shifted people from neutral to anti-hunting, if nothing else, one should at least internalize the list of things to avoid so as not to cause harm.

Of course, some would rather not see hunting preserved for future generations and just want to take everything they can for themselves. A sadly common theme in our society is "me, me, me." It is entertaining to hear people demonstrate the very issue they are complaining about.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

NM Game and Fish did a trapping webinar to get your trapping license.
It covered a lot of how to talk to people about hunting, and wildlife management properly.

They still made trapping illegal this year.

 

[WCB]

I think a better class or angle would be how do hunters talk hunting to each other and educate the idiots ruining hunting?

 

[Dos Perros]

I think it's pretty unlikely to change the mind of someone who is against hunting. People often make an emotionally motivated decision on how they feel about something, then find evidence that supports their point of view. Engaging with these people is just a waste of time; they're not going to change their minds.

It's the undecided that are worth engaging with, though, and emotional arguments trump any logical arguments.

 

[540-Virginian]

For those commenting, did you watch all of the videos? They literally address all the concerns brought up. In general, it's a lesson on how impactful words and understanding the other party is. The research has been used in sales, negotiations, etc.

I don't think the intent is to increase revenue for hunting agencies (that is a positive side effect they'll capitalize on no doubt), but more so to prevent hunting from becoming completely illegal.

 

[Vandy321]

The fatal flaw in this 'seminar' is that it makes the assumption that anyone is going to change the vegan/anti-hunters mind.

If you were a vegan/anti-hunter/wolf lover, I'd bet alot of money there is nothing anyone could say to you would convince you to put a bow in your hand this Sept to feed your family, or to vote in favor of predator management or in favor of anything hunting related.

 

[540-Virginian]

The fatal flaw in this 'seminar' is that it makes the assumption that anyone is going to change the vegan/anti-hunters mind.

If you were a vegan/anti-hunter/wolf lover, I'd bet alot of money there is nothing anyone could say to you would convince you to put a bow in your hand this Sept to feed your family, or to vote in favor of predator management or in favor of anything hunting related.

Correct and agree, but their focus is on the 80% in the middle. Again, did you watch the video? They weren't focusing on the 14% of vegan uber anti-hunters. But those 14% are recruiting the 80% by bashing the hunters with very sophisticated campaigns.

 

[Vandy321]

Correct and agree, but their focus is on the 80% in the middle. Again, did you watch the video? They weren't focusing on the 14% of vegan uber anti-hunters. But those 14% are recruiting the 80% by bashing the hunters with very sophisticated campaigns.

I did not watch the videos...nor will I...

I stopped reading the first post after it said "in order to be accepted...".

I don't feel the need to explain my actions to anti-hunters, or anyone else for that matter in order to "be accepted" or "be heard". That's not on the list of things that matter to me.

I thought this was a post about how to talk about hunting maybe to child who doesn't quiet understand it

 

[540-Virginian]

I did not watch the videos...nor will I...

I stopped reading the first post after it said "in order to be accepted...".

I don't feel the need to explain my actions to anti-hunters, or anyone else for that matter in order to "be accepted" or "be heard". That's not on the list of things that matter to me.

I thought this was a post about how to talk about hunting maybe to child who doesn't quiet understand it

So you didn't watch the video, but found a fatal flaw in the video/seminar... And you want to talk to children?

 

[Mtnboy]

I did not watch the videos...nor will I...

I stopped reading the first post after it said "in order to be accepted...".

I don't feel the need to explain my actions to anti-hunters, or anyone else for that matter in order to "be accepted" or "be heard". That's not on the list of things that matter to me.

I thought this was a post about how to talk about hunting maybe to child who doesn't quiet understand it

Might wanna worry about it a little more, given the huge liberal lean of your state it might matter what other people think about hunting a lot sooner than you think.....