It seems hunting is lurching from one public relations crisis to another in recent months. Whether it is Cecil the Lion or “Speargate”, hunting is losing the “digital war”.
Have a quick look at the social media accounts of these two organizations.
http://wolvesontario.org/algonquin-wolf/
https://twitter.com/Earthroots
https://twitter.com/Raincoast
http://www.raincoast.org/
These organizations are not overtly anti-hunting – but a further examination reveals a more insidious approach. Generally speaking, they want more public land “off limits” to hunting and their drive toward predator protection means that there will be less game on the landscape. Game management organizations will then have to reduce available tags, prioritize First Nations harvest, etc. of a diminishing resource. “Joe Hunter” will have fewer areas to hunt and fewer opportunities to hunt.
Notice that very little scientific documentation is provided for most of their claims – yet they get away with sensationalist inflammatory rhetoric because no one challenges them. “Joe Public” sees what these organizations present as “fact” and accepts it as so because there is frequently no available counterpoint.
Hunters and hunting organizations need to be posting counterpoints to these falsehoods posted to Facebook, Twitter, etc. by anti-hunting organizations.
The vast majority of the general public is not anti-hunting or pro-hunting. They can be swayed by rational arguments and scientific research to accept hunting, even if the vast majority will never actively participate.
Working as a high school teacher is my “day job”. On a daily basis I am reminded that technology/social media is an integral part of their lives. If we want to inform the “next generation” (the people who will be influencing political decision makers in the future) we must be active in the digital realm that they get the vast majority of their information from.
Hunters and hunting organizations need to be far more proactive if we hope to see our hunting opportunities exist into the future. It’s one thing to “preach to the converted” by coming onto forums like this one and lamenting the deception of the anti-hunting movement. We need to be far more proactive to “call out” these organizations when they attempt to put forward fiction as fact.
I also think the hunting community as a whole needs to speak up and slam “hunting” shows that do not demonstrate the environmental ethic the general public will support. We need more “Canada in the Rough” and less fist pumping, “yee haw” shows. Nothing wrong with celebrating the hard work that goes into a successful hunt – but it doesn’t need to be on camera in my opinion.
