Friday, March 28, 2014

Letter to Anti-Hunters


I am tired of the harassment, abuse, threats and self righteous BS comments. You hate hunters...fine whatever but attacking us does nothing but waste your time and mine, especially since we don't seek you out to attack you and harass you and your family. Threatening us, our families and kids(!!) does nothing but show your crazy- and some of you are parents, aunties and uncles!! I wouldn't want you around my children that's for sure. I had a mother tell me she hopes wolves rip apart my children....YES A MOTHER! And the language you people use is atrocious. But please make note of this, If you hate hunters then you are not a true lover of wildlife and the environment like you claim to be. Hunters have a better understanding of how wildlife work than any animal activist.

Every penny that hunters put towards tags and licenses goes back into helping wildlife and not too mention they help support OUR economy by buying fuel, food, hotels, weapons & ammunition, clothing and so on. Hunters put more money into conservation and the protection of land for animals than any PETA supporter or Animal rights activist. They fight for the animals. They fight for the land so animals can roam free. But hunters "kill poor defenceless animals, that's not loving animals"... no its respecting them and knowing the consequences of what can happen if you "let nature take care of itself" . Nature can't fight the growth of the human population or the expanding concrete jungles, but the money hunters put forth can help sanction land for them to live. With the ever growing cities, wild animals have less space to move around in. You need to help regulate the number of animals within that space or else it becomes overpopulated - disease sets in, the land becomes overfed off of- now you get starvation and then the two results in death. With predators you have all this but they wipe out all their prey before starvation sets in, and once they get hungry they will turn to the next available resource- livestock, pets and people before they start to die off. Regulated hunting helps prevent this, and whether or not you agree- trophy hunters are a part of the solution just like everyday hunters.

Trophy hunters spend a huge amount of money to hunt the animals they do. Many of the animals are management animals that need to be culled to keep the numbers healthy, and some are animals (like lion) that are already chosen to be culled because of age or aggression. An animal past its breeding prime that is aggressive will kill the young and will not let new breeding opportunities for the younger males. This can lead to inbreeding and population decline, so it's better to cull the animal for the health and future of the species and get a good chunk of change from the hunter to help fight poachers and to help with conservation efforts. And much to popular belief, the animal is NOT wasted. The meat goes to the guides and tribes around the area (which helps to stop them from illegally killing animals for food) and the hunter gets to take the cape and head home. I would rather see one animal taken than watch a whole population slowly dwindle away to nothing.

Now, if you are vegan or vegetarian and you think everyone should just not eat meat to save the animals, you are not free of harming wildlife as you think you are- Just because you are not going out and hunting them. If everyone was to go vegan guess what happens to the land? It gets turned into farming they rip up natural habitat for wildlife to make room for your rows upon rows of vegetables and fruits. Then the chemicals used to spray the plants to kill any bugs crawling on the plants aids in pollution as does the extra gas and fumes to either drive/fly/ship these fruits and veggies to your local stores. Then animals will be shot as they come to your crops in search of food because they have none. Whether you want to admit it or not, hunters are not the ones endangering wildlife; it's a lack of space and natural habitat, and YOU are part of that problem especially if you live in a largely expanding city. There is no one out there that loves and will protect wildlife and the land more than hunters, and the facts and statistics show that. So next time you want to fight with someone about animal rights maybe you should spend your energy into saving their habitat, fighting poachers or help save the overpopulation of domestic animals.

Links Supporting that Hunting Is Conservation:
Hunting is Conservation RMEF: http://www.rmef.org/Conservation/HuntingIsConservation.aspx
25 Reasons Why Hunting is Conservation: http://www.rmef.org/Conservation/HuntingIsConservation/25ReasonsWhyHuntingIsConservation.aspx
Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation: http://www.nssf.org/PDF/research/HuntingInAmerica_EconomicForceForConservation.pdf
Americas Sporting Heritage: Fueling the American Economy: http://www.sportsmenslink.org/uploads/page/Economic_Impact_Report_E-version.pdf
National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/hunters/poole-text/1

First Outdoor Practice of the year & Catch up


 Yes! Sunshine and warm temperatures finally. Over the last week we have had temperatures above 0 and rain. So now we have no snow, but everything is flooding and muddy. On the bright side, the kids and I were able to go out and do some shooting.  Boy did it feel good. Pheonix was feeling pretty confident today and decided to shoot from where I was standing at the 20 yard target. It was the farthest she has attempted and she did hit the target. She shoots fingers with no kisser, peep or sight. I was very happy for her and she was ecstatic.








Over the winter we did a lot of ice fishing and some predator hunting. We finally got to meet up with some friends from Bonners Ferry, ID and some fishing. It was much colder this winter then last so we only took the kids out after predators a couple times. But we were able to fill some of the freezer with trout! Now that its coming to the end of March we will need to renew our fishing and hunting licenses so we can keep filling it. Rabbit is open until April 30 and Black bear opens April 1st and Turkey April 15!

We were able to attend a couple Outdoor shows this year. We went to Kalispell and Spokane. Kalispell was awesome! They dont have a lot of vendors but what they do have is great. It's very family friendly with lots of activities to do with the kids including an animal show. I got to meet some friends from Twitter and make some new ones as well. Spokane was ok. Its not a very kid friendly show and is mostly outfitters. But we got to see our friends from Horns & Hooks Magazine and do some shopping at Cabelas. I got new pants and jacket that Im really excited to try this year.
 



 


Ladies in Camo
 
I am so excited to say that I am now on Staff with Ladies in Camo!!! They are a great group of women promoting women and kids in the outdoors! I will be contributing product reviews and tips and looking over their social media
You can find them here www.ladiesincamo.com
Twitter: @ladies_in_camo
Instagram: ladies_in_camo