Hunting Misconceptions and Ethics

[tuffcity]

You can also check out 1campfire for ideas. It's a Wild Sheep Society of BC initiative to bridge the divide.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

What I hear the most is people beleive hunters drive around in their trucks, drinking beer and throwing them out the window. They then shoot whatever they see and take a picture.

Yeah, it always miffs me when they focus on the fun parts of hunting and never on how much work it is to throw a yearling into the bed of the truck then take it back to the doublewide and peel it.

 

[jb1842]

As hunters, we can be our own worst enemy. Too many posts about letting deer walk so their antlers grow bigger. Always looking for a bigger cartridge or long distance shots. We need to focus on conservation and family. How hunters help keep the herds numbers low so animals don't destroy their own environment. Focus on the amount of money hunters pay into conservation efforts. Focus on family and traditions and how to teach younger generations to respect nature and get outside.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Trophy can mean an infinite amount of different things. Every animal I am.able to harvest is a trophy in my eyes. If it has a small rack who cares I got the meat. If it so happens to have a big rack it's a bonus and I still have the meat. For me the trophy is the Meat. I would think most anti hunters get skewed when they see the Africa hunting on the news. They dont understand that all the money going into the hunt helps provide funding for security to fend off poachers, and to the community. I could be wrong but from the podcast i listened to hunting funds alot of the conservation there which the antis dont get.

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[540-Virginian]

Argument I've heard: Trophy Hunting arguably saved animals as it encouraged hunters to target older animals and pass up younger generations and females resulting in their greater survival.

I'm a Trophy Hunter and a meat hunter. I'll take my does, but really hunt the older bucks. I'm going to eat them either way, but the trophy is the greater challenge and I'm at a huge advantage as a predator with today's technology.

 

[ODB]

In college at the University of Washington (not that long ago as I went as an adult), I made an NPR-type interview with a friend who hunts elephant for a journalism/interview class. This class was, as you might expect, full of liberals and people in general who would not be expected to support elephant hunting. I knew this and looked forward to their reactions.

After my 15-minute segment was over, the class began to ask questions. What ensued was another 45 minutes of pictures, stats, elephant knowledge, thinking outside the box, agreeing that overall healthful wild populations in uncultivated habitat was the goal, human wildlife conflict, poverty of rural Africans, etc etc.

At the end of the class., which never got heated, I was left with the impression that the students realized how very little they actually knew about elephant conservation and how hunting can play a positive part. Several students came up to me privately and admitted while they were uncomfortable with seeing dead elephant, as long as the overall goal is achieved in partnership with local Africans, who were they to condemn?

the point is to tell a story no one but those on the inside can tell. Tell it well, and accurately. Those whose minds are already made up won’t budge but if there is any inkling of an open mind in their head, they will at least concede there is much more to the picture and that they in fact dont know it all.

Be personable, agreeable. In this case I had built relationships with many of these people over time in class. It’s very hard for someone to all the sudden discount a person they know and respect personally, who they have shown to be a solid person.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

i know there are a few meat eater haters but his argument in this video sums up my thoughts on it.

I would think majority people who argue against hunting have no idea about the actual animals lives we are pursuing. They sit at their computer and spread their hoopla how we shouldnt hunt when they dont understand the research and knowledge it takes to be successful . When in reality the hunter will know much more about that specific animal then the anti would ever know. We observe animals in real life in the wild and learn where they go, when they go, why they go there (except for caribou, who knows they they do what they do) and have an overall much closer relationship then they would ever have with the animals.

 

[ODB]

i know there are a few meat eater haters but his argument in this video sums up my thoughts on it.

I would think majority people who argue against hunting have no idea about the actual animals lives we are pursuing. They sit at their computer and spread their hoopla how we shouldnt hunt when they dont understand the research and knowledge it takes to be successful . When in reality the hunter will know much more about that specific animal then the anti would ever know. We observe animals in real life in the wild and learn where they go, when they go, why they go there (except for caribou, who knows they they do what they do) and have an overall much closer relationship then they would ever have with the animals.

When this guys said “all life is sacred” I would have immediately asked him: “Then you must be ardently pro-life then?”

I don’t think he would have expected that question. Which illustrates part of the problem: people tend to think vertically, not horizontally.

 

[hutty]

One of the biggest misconceptions is that local tax revenue funds state fish and game. When you show people the dollar amounts from Licenses, pittman robertson, and hunting related conservation groups they are amazed.

As others have said also the word "trophy hunting" has become the idea of shooting an animal for its horns and nothing else.

 

[downthepipe]

People experience religion, spirituality, and evolution individually and on some sort of range/scale and you never really know the perspective of the person —— Many people believe that man does not have or should not assert dominion over other species. They believe we have evolved as humans such that hunting wild game is no longer necessary or required for human survival or evolution and although our ancestors thousands of years ago evolved to the top of the food chain by eating meat and growing our brain size, we have evolved enough so that we don’t need to remove other species based on our free will and dominance.
As far as misconceptions about hunters, Heres one that many of you won’t like but does play into perceptions of hunters - many think every hunter has a fully stocked safe of automatic weapons and does not believe in any sort of gun control or any regulation on weapons used to hunt.
Another one is many people don’t realize how hard it is to get a tag and how much the game and fish departments regulate tags.

 

[MikeyJG62]

The main question brought about hunting is about taking a life. Not trophy hunting, are you eating the meat…etc. Non-hunters and most of the public take issue with the fact you are taking a life. They equate deer and bears and other wild game with their dog or cat. They don’t care that most hunters are conservationists and in some cases, the only reason some of these animals are still around. They don’t care how much money or time is put in to preserve these animals and conserve their habitat. They see it as buying targets. It’s an argument that is tough to win. I’ve watched a show on Netflix by Steve Rinella that sort of tackles this. It’s called Stars in the Sky if you haven’t seen it. It is an interesting watch because both sides are explained.

 

[robby denning]

They make no connection that the meat they eat was killed by them paying for it.

I’ve literally had my mother-in-law eating a pork chop while complaining that I shoot deer. And when I’ve pointed out that she supports killing too, it really changed the conversation.


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[Wyomuleskinner]

I think a big misconception is that we are somehow "harvesting" animals like they are vegetables in a garden. I'm killing stuff and always looking for the biggest thing I can kill.

 

[slvrslngr]

Discussing the basic hypocrisy of the anti hunting mind set tends to open peoples eyes a bit. Many anti’s really don’t understand their effect on the environment, where their food, house, car and other belongings comes from. Even we hunters need to be a bit more introspective on the consumables used in modern hunting.

 

[dtrkyman]

Let them know the definitions of hunting and poaching.

Have them look into the Pittman Robertson and Dingle Johnson acts.

Point out all the things they wear made with animal parts…just kidding on the last one!


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[magtech]

Most hunters aren't " unsportsmanlike"????

You've never hunted montana as a non-resident. Or, hunting michigan stateland in general. I'd rather meet a bear than deal with these crusty, lying, cowardly dickheads we call humans.

 

[KurtR]

Its a misconception that well known rocksliders wont steal your BOAL

 

[Scoot]

Poaching and hunting are very different things. Poachers aren't hunters who did something they weren't supposed to-- they are Fing criminals who don't give a shit about hunting. Calling a poacher a hunter is like calling a shoplifter a customer.

Hunters fund habitat and the preservation of animals-- not anti-hunters.

 

[Buffalo]

I agree the poacher vs hunter delineation is an important one. They should be separate but are often seen as the same.

I’m not sure it’s a misconception, but I have so much more respect for an animal after trying to hunt it. I think that would be a hard concept for non or anti hunters to wrap their head around and accept.

The issue with trophy hunting, I think, is when the head/horns are way over emphasized relative to the meat, experience, gratitude, etc. That said, I’m not against trophy hunting at all. i understand the excitement of a big rack, but I think it’s a turnoff for the general public. If hunters showed the enthusiasm toward the meat instead of the antlers, it would be a different conversation.

 

[Bluegrassvw]

Helping a friend of mine gather research for a new brand that will aim to bring positive insights to non-hunters about the effects we as hunters have on the environment. Their goal is help remove the stigma that all hunting is for trophies, that it is cruel, and that hunters are generally unsportsmanlike.

-The first topic they want to discuss is common misconceptions about hunting...what have you personally encountered from non-hunters who may have made negative or naïve comments to you while on a hunt or after posting about hunting on social media?

**Any and all replies are welcome! Future discussions related to the brand will focus on hunting wild game for meat, for conservation, etc

Most new hunters hunt to have a photo for tik tok and or instagram. Not sure how you will remove the stigma considering today's culture around the "sport" of hunting. IMO, hunting for the younger generation is more of how many likes or subscribers can I get with this photo. Does my hair look cute? How badass does my sitka outfit look?

As others have stated, there are two forms of trophy hunting. One being the pursuit of older smarter game and the second for social media cred. How to separate the two in the eyes of the general public is an uphill battle.