Something for all of you who think sustainable utilization is important for the future of wildlife conservation. Please read a FB post from a non hunter. I think she does an excellent job of summing up how the vast majority of modern society feels about hunting. Photo by Tony Bynum.
Post by Ann Beatty
“if I may.... I am animal lover. I adore all creatures great and small. I save worms from being trodden on I donate to conservation groups and animal sanctuaries. Nothing on Gods great earth could ever induce me to pick up a gun and shoot some other living creature for a trophy or even a meal.
BUT! I accept that there ARE reasonable arguments to justify hunting and especially trophy hunting as a kind of necessary evil by which means enormous sums of money can be obtained and then used to establish game parks and habitat areas where many animals can breed and thrive ( until of course someone wants to extinguish them) And yes of course there are collateral benefits- employment, fresh meat, money that goes to developing other necessary infrastructure, and even perhaps, a quick and reasonably humane end for an animal past its prime.
Absolutely none of this is ever proven by the extraordinary types of photos some hunters insist on posting - especially a photo of a dead giraffes heart on St Valentines Day!
If you want to prove how successful this industry is PLEASE!!! Post photos of herds of animals- especially the endangered ones that are now breeding safely thanks to hunters. Show me the hungry people getting a much appreciated meal, let me see the wonderful landscapes and the non target species such as insects and birds that benefit from this type of conservation.
I have had this argument with so many hunters and they all react the same way - they see it as an infringement of their liberty and fun. Let me spell it out.
No one is stopping you from taking a photo of your hunt. But if you want to share it maybe privately email your buddies or have a photo night at home.
When you post a photo of yourself with a dead animal you have just killed all any non Hunter sees is a beautiful animal that is now DEAD. They don’t see the successful breeding programs, the saved habitat, the full bellies, the employed people, the skill of the trackers, the accuracy of the shoot or the hunters patience. They just see someone celebrating a death that they have caused.
So I plead with you- please encourage all hunters to only post photos on social media that show the benefits of this sport. And if someone posts something like this
giraffes heart or something equally as vile - let them know they are not serving the industry’s best kid interest. If there is one thing you guys need more than ever it is good PR and this ain’t it.”
