http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061030/NEWS/610300316/1018/SPORTS
Hunters responsible for saving hunting
Published October 30, 2006
A couple of weeks back, I was privileged to hear South Carolina Representative Mike Pitts, who has been recognized by the National Rifle Association as the state's "Legislator of the Year," address the annual meeting of the South Carolina Outdoor Press Association. This came after he had spent the entire day with members, hunting quail at River Bend Sportsman's Resort; sitting in on presentations involving knife sharpening, gun cleaning, and photography; and sharing in the organization's annual awards banquet.
Pitts is the genuine article, a man who loves hunting and has a passion for seeing this precious legacy passed on to future generations.
Simply put, hunters face huge problems. Mushrooming human populations, dwindling public hunting lands, increasing urbanization, a loss of love of the land and connection to it, and rapidly rising nonresident license fees are among a myriad of factors making life increasingly difficult for the sportsman.
Yet significant as they undoubtedly are, these issues pale by comparison with the concerted efforts of those generally described as animal activists. Well financed, the beneficiaries of plenty of free legal assistance, and masters of emotional rhetoric, groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are attacking the institution of hunting on multiple fronts. Even more alarming is the fact that they recently joined forces.
For the most part the hunting community has been reactive, as opposed to proactive, in dealing with PETA, HSUS, and their various imitators. Fortunately, some of their excesses, such as attacks on research labs using animals, an incident where scores of the animals they swear to protect were put to death, misguided jail breaks freeing minks, and wantonly illegal interference with hunters, have brought just enough negative publicity to offset their too frequent successes.
Yet the activists plow heedlessly ahead and will continue to do so. Given this situation, it behooves sportsmen to recognize the need to address anti-hunting sentiments in a meaningful fashion.
That involves convincing the vast majority of Americans who neither hunt nor support animal activists of hunting's merits. What follows are suggestions of how the committed, ethical sportsman can do his part in that regard.
Strive to have a good image. Too often the image of hunters which springs to the non-hunter's mind is one of a slovenly poacher who trespasses with abandon, ignores game laws, dumps deer offal along roadways, and generally behaves in an unacceptable fashion. This can be countered through respect for property and game and accomplished in countless small actions, from always leaving a clean campsite and asking permission to hunt to full utilization of one's kill or sharing meat with the needy. All such actions collectively project a positive image.
Join conservation groups. There are dozens of wildlife conservation groups, from one-species organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited to general groups such as the Izaak Walton League, which function as focal points for activism. Increasingly, these organizations recognize the truth of the old adage about there being safety in numbers, and along with safety comes strength. This is an area where sportsmen have often fallen short, tending to bicker among themselves rather than presenting a united front.
Be active in the local community. There are literally scores of ways, from adopting a section of highway to keep clean to organizing a "Hunters for the Hungry" project or a soup kitchen, in which hunters can make positive contributions.
Support women hunters. The much-heralded Becoming an Outdoorswoman program, the National Wild Turkey Federation's Women in the Outdoors initiative, and the National Rifle Association's "Women's Outlook" magazine have all made significant strides in introducing females to hunting.
Be an educated hunter. It helps, especially when conversing with non-hunting friends, to be able to express in intelligent words what you feel in the heart. In this regard, knowledge of the vital place hunting has had in human history helps, as does familiarity with the part hunters have played in conservational success stories such as the comebacks of white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.
