Anti-Hunting Book Coming Out Against "TROPHY HUNTING" and CITES

[Paul Raley]

Will fighting fire with fire work with the anti’s , I doubt it . By us as hunters getting ourselves worked up and all emotional will not assist our cause .
I personally see the issue the same as psychological warfare , we need to fight with facts and well thought out arguments targeting the lies and untruths that are spread , this must be done in a scientific way using all media at our disposal .
During any war the military will use psychological warfare , they will have a specialized unit comprised of specialists that will put a psychological battle plan in place that will effectively target and counter act the thoughts / perceptions / emotions / etc of the enemy , we need to do the same .
As hunters we should also not be scared to tackle hunting practices / incidents that are are not ethical / moral and do our cause harm ( But we first need to agree on the definition of ethics and morality in hunting , no easy task )
I fully support Peter Flacks view in the link that was posted above .
There are of course many antis that are radicals and no matter what one does or says they will most probably never change their minds , but there are many reasonable people that are anti hunting just because they don't have all the facts and the full picture .
I have spoken to many anti hunters and with calm reasoning , based on facts eventually got them to admit that in principle hunting is not all bad .
I used to be anti hunting , I thought all hunters were A-holes with high powered rifles that shot everything they saw ( unfortunately some are ) until I decided to get the facts and go on a hunt to experience it for myself , now I own multiple hunting rifles and hunt on a regular basis .

 

[edward]

Such aggressive rhetoric won't win us allies. We CANNOT resort to insults, slander, and the like the way the antis do. Otherwise, there's no winning in convincing them of our side. Especially not of people who are generally not on either side

 

[Chago]

I regularly post about how the hunters and gun owners are the absolute worst group for sticking together in numbers and allow the antis to divide and conquer. I see it everyday on every forum. Bow vs gun hunting, compound bow vs crossbow, Africa hunting vs deer hunting, bait vs no bait, AR vs bolt action, pistol vs long gun, I can go all day. We never stick together to actually have the numbers. In Canada how commie leader used the cloak of Covid and state of emergency to pass new gun laws without going to the house for a vote. They told the public we are only taking away AR15. So all the pistol lovers quietly had a big sigh of relief. All the fudds with their fancy hunting rifles had a sigh of relief. While the AR and other sporting rifles owners were shouting from the roof tops. But there were not enough to make a big enough stink. But as soon as he said that may 1, he has added many 12 gauge shot guns, heavy calibers like many you all have for DG etc. And now some DG hunters are complaining nthey can't keep there 416 Rigby etc. But again the AR crowd doesn't care about those, normal Joe deer hunter doesn't care etc. And he's been doing this now for a couple months. Imagine what he will do over the next 3 years he has in power.

The same happens for hunting. They take away the spring bear hunt, not a lot of guys complain. They add more restrictions like no baits, no urine attractants, shorter seasons, less tags or more expensive taxes on tags. Little by little. And no one complains. They strategically take pieces out of the Jenga tower. And as long as they don't touch our personal gun collection or our specific favorite times, species, or way to hunt. We don't say anything.

I know a number of "hunters" who wouldn't even bat an eye if Africa hunting was removed. I know many "hunters" who wouldn't even bat an eye if gun hunting entirely was removed. Just browse this forum and you will see all the divides. Now go to various other forms of hunting forums and see those divides. Until we smarten up and come together as hunters from all walks of life. We will continue to get our asses kicked.

Ps, trophy on Netflix I felt like was a great movie. And thank you @Philip Glass for taking part in it. I always send people from work etc to watch it when I hear them question or oppose hunting. I feel like it shows a neutral position. And a good starter or training wheels movie for the antis. To at least see things from both sides. And maybe now start the conversation. We need more of this. And the hunting industry has plenty of money and clout to make such productions to educate the masses.

Hate to come off as negative Nancy. But I can't count how many times I've seen these threads and it's the same shit as always.

 

[flatwater bill]

I believe you should stand solidly behind your beliefs. And you should have a plan. My plan is always the same. When confronted about hunting I reply ( 1.)"Oh, you must be a vegetarian". If they answer "No" I then run down this trail to it's logical conclusion: They eat meat, someone kills it for them, who kills it? Does it set in a hot truck at the abbatoir for four hours, and other questions they cannot answer. If they say they are a vegetarian I reply that I can respect that. But, (2) you never eat meat? I ask. Many answer Occassionally" to this question, and you then run down the same chain of discussion. Remember, Animal Charity Evaluators, a group out of Berkeley (Of course) says only 2-6 percent of people self identify as vegetarian. But when pressed, only 1 % say the NEVER eat meat. Next (3): size them up; Leather shoes, belts, handbags, briefcases or auto seat covers and we have a reasonable discussion about how and why animals die. Lastly (4), I always ask them what alternatives are for animals not shot. They die, so how do they die? Happily ever after? Long Term Care facility? Nope. Maybe eaten alive by predators. Or starve. But simply asking if they are vegetarians will lead to common ground discussion in about 98% of cases. Anyway, I don't think many people will read the book whos imminent publishing prompted this thread.........FWB

 

[Philip Glass]

I regularly post about how the hunters and gun owners are the absolute worst group for sticking together in numbers and allow the antis to divide and conquer. I see it everyday on every forum. Bow vs gun hunting, compound bow vs crossbow, Africa hunting vs deer hunting, bait vs no bait, AR vs bolt action, pistol vs long gun, I can go all day. We never stick together to actually have the numbers. In Canada how commie leader used the cloak of Covid and state of emergency to pass new gun laws without going to the house for a vote. They told the public we are only taking away AR15. So all the pistol lovers quietly had a big sigh of relief. All the fudds with their fancy hunting rifles had a sigh of relief. While the AR and other sporting rifles owners were shouting from the roof tops. But there were not enough to make a big enough stink. But as soon as he said that may 1, he has added many 12 gauge shot guns, heavy calibers like many you all have for DG etc. And now some DG hunters are complaining nthey can't keep there 416 Rigby etc. But again the AR crowd doesn't care about those, normal Joe deer hunter doesn't care etc. And he's been doing this now for a couple months. Imagine what he will do over the next 3 years he has in power.

The same happens for hunting. They take away the spring bear hunt, not a lot of guys complain. They add more restrictions like no baits, no urine attractants, shorter seasons, less tags or more expensive taxes on tags. Little by little. And no one complains. They strategically take pieces out of the Jenga tower. And as long as they don't touch our personal gun collection or our specific favorite times, species, or way to hunt. We don't say anything.

I know a number of "hunters" who wouldn't even bat an eye if Africa hunting was removed. I know many "hunters" who wouldn't even bat an eye if gun hunting entirely was removed. Just browse this forum and you will see all the divides. Now go to various other forms of hunting forums and see those divides. Until we smarten up and come together as hunters from all walks of life. We will continue to get our asses kicked.

Ps, trophy on Netflix I felt like was a great movie. And thank you @Philip Glass for taking part in it. I always send people from work etc to watch it when I hear them question or oppose hunting. I feel like it shows a neutral position. And a good starter or training wheels movie for the antis. To at least see things from both sides. And maybe now start the conversation. We need more of this. And the hunting industry has plenty of money and clout to make such productions to educate the masses.

Hate to come off as negative Nancy. But I can't count how many times I've seen these threads and it's the same shit as always.

Thanks and yes Trophy is a great conversation starter. I agree with much of what you say about sticking together as hunters. I spoke about this very subject In my speech at the Life Member Breakfast at SCI this year. I scolded hunters for not sticking together and pitting bow versus gun etc. really makes me mad!
Regards,
Philip