I’m an obsessive animal-lover. No animal has ever done any of the despicable things humans do every day, and that’s why I’d rather be in a room full of dogs than a room full of people. Call me introverted. So it probably won’t shock you that I’m not a hunter. Honestly I doubt I’ll ever be. I’ve always been polite and tried not to be that obnoxious PETA-type. But lots of my friends are hunters, and whenever the topic comes up, my response is usually something vague and canned, like, “Oh, it’s just not for me.” However…
My thinking has changed a lot on hunting. Years ago the concept conjured images of endangered animals with their ankles caught in the jaws of some trap or wasted elephants with their tusks ripped out of their heads. When someone said “hunter” I pictured some beer-bellied ingrate screaming “Woo hoo! Let’s go kill some shit! Yee haw!” (Because that’s the guy who goes on an African poaching excursion, right? LOL). But then by sheer accident (okay, honestly it was in response to a rabid vegan who was pestering me to convert), I read up on exactly how goofy many of the anti-hunting arguments actually are. I talked to hunters and watched them marvel at the majesty of the land. I learned that many are actually conservationists. And although (I admit) I’m still slightly creeped out by stuffed dead animal parts and hanging on a wall, my overall image of hunting is now much more like this:
So this is an open letter to all you hunters out there. I’m learning. I’m willing to learn more. I admit I still know very little about you. But at least now I can say I have genuine respect for what you do. Truth be told, I am awestruck. And I hope you will accept my apology for misjudging you for so long.
But poachers can still be damned.
Thanks to a buddy of mine in Kansas for sharing this video.
Next time your anti-hunting “friends” go on their rant, show them this – http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/10/23/cornell-universitys-expensive-birth-control-deer-program-proves-effectiveness-hunting-wildlife-management/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2014-10-25&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter#
That’s right! The enviroweenies tried to use birth control to keep the herd population low so those evillll hunters could not use the excuse that they “had to” thin the herd. Yes they really did expect that to happen. As Nelson from “The Simpsons” says so well: “Ha Ha!”
stay safe.
Now now, be nice, Skid. (“Enviroweenies” – Ha! 🙂
Real Sports or whatever show Bryant Gumbel (spelling?) does just had a segment on hunting with a new convert who no longer wants to eat factory-farm meat. Darn well done. Hilarious watching the host watch the hunter gut an animal. Meat doesn’t come from styrofoam and cellophane, something has to die for us to eat it, might as well kill it yourself.
Apology accepted. 🙂 You just had not been exposed to it. That’s our fault, not yours.
Now you’re going to go out and buy a 2015 hunting license and help support conservation right?
And yes, POACHERS BE DAMNED!!
Thank you!!! I feel almost redeemed. So, does the license require classes first? Or do you just pay your money and go about your merry way? I could look it up if you don’t feel like educating me any more further. 🙂
In some states they require classes, in AZ they don’t. Your state?
Tennessee Code Annotated 70-2-108 became law in 1985 and states:
(a) Every person born on or after January 1, 1969, before hunting, shall possess, in addition to all other licenses and permits required, proof of satisfactory completion of an agency approved hunter education course…
It looks like they would be happy to take your $28 but to *actually hunt*, you would need a class.
I bet the TN “Become an Outdoors-Woman” (BOW) fills the need but know nothing about it.
http://www.tn.gov/twra/outdoorswoman.html
No big rush…2015 licenses don’t go on sale till Feb. 😉
🙂
Tennessee also offers an apprentice license that is good for one year which exempts you from the need to take the hunter safety course. The only hitch is that you must hunt with a mentor for that year. It is designed to let interested but unsure folks safely experience all that hunting has to offer so that they can make an informed decision as to whether the class is worth the effort. And it is a good bit of effort to complete. IIRC, it only costs $10.
My earlier offer to take you on some squirrel or deer hunts still stands, so all you need is the appropriate licenses. :-). BTW, the TWRA offers some neat programs aimed at introducing women to hunting. They would be worth pursuing as well.
Thanks Bobby, but I don’t plan on hunting. I was more curious about supporting the conservation efforts KM was talking about…
My apologies. I misread your post and understood it to mean that you wanted to start hunting. I’m always optimistic that way!
While it is true that a percentage of the license fees for hunting and fishing are used in conservation efforts, the percentage is pretty small on the whole. Most of the income from license fees goes instead to maintaining the necessary apparatus to support and regulate hunting and fishing such as paying game wardens, purchasing public lands, maintaining said lands, etc.
Given that you seem to be more interested in the conservation side, I would recommend not buying a hunting/fishing license but instead targeting that $28 directly to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (www.tnwf.org/). They work closely with the TWRA to help it achieve certain goals without needing to specifically fund the hunting/fishing related bureaucracy. You might think of them as helping to restore habitat for bird-watching rather than dove hunting. Same goal, which benefits two different user groups.
Another conservation organization that I can highly recommend is the Wolf River Conservancy (www.wolfriver.og). They are perhaps my favorite local organization because they focus solely on the Wolf River, so most of their work is done either in Shelby or Fayette counties. Very good people working there doing some much needed work.
I applaud your desire to help!
Wow! Tons of great info! Thanks so much, Bobby!
So, in your experience or guestimation, is the guy in the video the exception or the rule? Do most hunters have his same perspective?
I know guys like the video guy but they are the exceptions in my experience.
I mean the ‘travel far to hunt large animals’ part. That can get insanely expensive if you don’t already live there. (none my friends have sponsors)
That said, the ‘I Love Nature and Being Out In It’ is universal in the hunters I’ve met.
The hunt is WAY more fun and exciting than after the kill when the real work starts.
Donnie Vincent is incredible, no doubt, and his films are stunning. I actually gave his “The River’s Divide” to my Father-in-Law for Christmas last year.
Are most hunters like him? Well, most of the hunters that I know would love to be able to do what he does, but that’s not possible. The attitude is the same, though. I love his comment in that clip about how most people don’t really think about where their food comes from. It’s so true.
I think that Steven Rinella (www.stevenrinella.com) of the Meat Eater fame is more representative of your average hunter. The attitude and thoughts are the same, but he isn’t able to spend all of his time in Alaska as Vincent can do. His trips after the truly pinnacle species such as Big Horn Sheep or Elk, feel to me more like the norm: something that you have to plan for a long time to be able to afford and have to take vacation time from work and family obligations to accomplish.
Here is one of my favorite clips regarding what a hunter actually does and why.
Vegan vs. Meat Eater – Steven Rinella (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2N0Utg7KYE)
People are often shocked to find, and the antis froth at the mouth over this, that almost all of the game recovery and habitat efforts have been funded by hunters and shooters.
That tax you pay on guns and ammo? Guess what that supports, and fees from hunting licenses, and….
Hunters, such as Teddy Roosevelt, were and always have been at the forefront of ecological efforts, even for non-game animals.
http://www.nps.gov/history/logcabin/html/tr5.html
Reading about Teddy Roosevelt was part of my first exposure to the realities (as opposed to the stereotyoes) of hunting!
I think you’ll find most hunters feel that way about poachers too.
Poaching isn’t hunting, despite the attempts by the animal rights activists to convince the world otherwise.
Yep!