The more I get involved in the world of hunting, the more strain I see...the more cracks that turn our sport into a fragile state of surviving. There has always been the issues of anti hunters and their actions and reactions of emotion over fact. Lots of us have learned how to handle an attack of this sort, but what happens when hunter attacks hunter- men and women. I've found more hostility amongst hunters then the usual hunter versus anti, and this will destroy our sport before any anti hunter or anti hunting group will.
First topic I'll cover is the real lady hunter vs. The fake lady hunter. There have been a few blog topics covering this exact topic, both for the comparison for it and against it. First thought is who cares? Women that hunt hard and work to be in the industry with the guys and truly love this sport, find it offensive and are scared of being labeled as "fake" before someone even knows them. But what really makes a "fake" lady hunter? This is where it gets bad. You can find women attacking other women, calling them fake hunters because they wear make-up hunting, are pretty, have done their hair to go hunting or they like pink camo. And the list can go on and on. It's saddening to say the least. We have worked so hard to get where we are in the industry and women are starting to flourish in it, so why are we so focused on picking each other apart instead of building each other up? Who cares if a women is wearing make-up hunting and why are you so inclined to point it out? Why must we point out and comment on something that you personally wouldn't do and try to make someone feel belittled? It's not our place to tell another lady hunter that the way she is hunting is the wrong way because of her appearance or clothing choice, if that's how she likes to hunt so be it. It's not going to make her a bad hunter. But above all this, imagine what the younger generation of girls coming up into the hunting world must think when reading the comments and posts and memes. We are going to give them a complex! Oh, you can't wear pink camo because that's not real camo....you may have just crushed that little girl, I know my daughter would be- she loves pink camo. We need to change the way we talk to each other, if not for our own self but for those young girls that are easily influenced and want to be hunters.
Next topic is the fight amongst hunters- male and female- over hunting styles. This is a big split amongst us and it will destroy our sport if we don't stop the fighting. Bow hunters versus rifle hunters is a big one and even the split amongst bowhunters- traditional versus compound versus crossbow. "Trophy" (I hate this terminology) hunting is another big one that is very misunderstood. There are many, many more splits amount us, but one topic that seems to be growing is hunting for food, especially with the organic food and locovore movement where hunting seems to be becoming more acceptable- but only if it's for food. We seem to be moving away from the original purpose of hunting, conservation and management. It never fails to see a proud hunter holding up his predator for a picture and in the comments are an overwhelming amount of negative ones from anti hunters and hunters, ridiculing the hunter on his trophy. The comments "I'm a hunter but that's not right" and "I'm OK with hunting as long as it's for food" are very common comments when it comes to exotic hunts and predators. If you want to hunt just for food that's fine, but don't go after those that still understand the meaning of being a hunter. If we don't take part in conserving and managing ALL species, be it lowering populations or protecting them to try and build them up again, we will lose our wildlife to poaching (particularly in Africa), disease and starvation from overpopulation and simply by being wiped out completely. And sometimes saving one species means controlling another, for example, the dilemma here in BC with the wolves and caribou. It's amazing how many people are willing to let a species be wiped out instead of controlling another that's overpopulated. It all comes down to education and I think that education is slowly dribbling away from the up and coming generations of hunters, particularly the ones that don't have a mentor. These fissures that divide us make us an easy target. It just starts with banning one type of hunting and it snowballs from there until nothing will be left.
Social media is both a blessing and a curse. While it has brought many of us together that otherwise wouldn't even know exist, it has brought out a lot of negativity in the world. Everyone has an opinion and isn't scared to express it because you aren't face to face with the person. The old saying "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" has gone out the window and has been replaced with "I don't like your opinion and I'm going to verbally attack you or express my distaste with you" or just plainly call you an idiot and belittle you. We need to start putting aside our differences and start standing up together, not just for our sport and the upcoming generation but for our wildlife and wilderness. Without us who will fight for them?
Nikita
