Uh oh

[Nameless Range]

For a lot of reasons, I think it makes perfect sense that the public’s opinion of hunting is less favorable than it has been historically: Their own increasing detachment from reality, hunters being real d-bags, politics, a general cloud of social negativity toward anything capable of prescribed opinion, etc…

The whole, “we hunt at the pleasure of non-hunters” is something that is both true and some thing I care less about than I used to. I think it’s because my own opinion of “The Public” has fallen off a big damn cliff.

I’d expect the trend to continue as time progresses.

 

[hank4elk]

If you kill carrots ,your in. If you eat meat you are not.
Or so EVERYONE without a thought process believes.

 

[DouglasR]

It wouldn’t be surprise me if more people are just associating guns with hunting and “black gun bummer”.
The section I highlighted supports this thesis.

 

[DouglasR]

I don’t want to turn this into a political debate like some of you are trying to do or bring up muh freedoms or a slippery slope, but we can only point out that there’s no actual difference between a black pistol grip and the worlds classiest and fastest auto loading shotgun (benelli montefeltro) so many times before people start going “well shit, I guess I hate that wooden stocked hunting rifle too”.

 

[SAJ-99]

I don’t want to turn this into a political debate like some of you are trying to do or bring up muh freedoms or a slippery slope, but we can only point out that there’s no actual difference between a black pistol grip and the worlds classiest and fastest auto loading shotgun (benelli montefeltro) so many times before people start going “well shit, I guess I hate that wooden stocked hunting rifle too”.

You are turning it into a political debate.

It’s a survey. They ask people how they feel on a particularly day about some topics and then make them gauge the strength of those feelings. The fact that the answers are contradictory to what would make sense highlights the unreliability of surveys.

The math is statistically significant on most of the questions. But it’s still just a snapshot in time and there could have been something in the news that changed “feelings” slightly. “Black guns” might be a part of it, but it just shows how people lump things together that are really separate issues. Again, surveys suck.

 

[TOGIE]

on on side of the coin, i would suggest that the outlook is bleak in this nation.

let's think about it: meat consumption continues to go down, for myriad reasons; the publics general concern with animal welfare and animal "rights" continue to go up; the urban/rural divide seems to be only ever increasing in polarity in our western states; the publics general detachment from reality and focus on filtered media is at a frenzy; the general public is getting more and more fed up with guns of all shapes and sizes.

my magic eight ball keeps giving me the same answer...

but, at least hunting is still a state specific thing and even in the most hostile of places, think washington and california, you are still allowed to hunt.

of course, let's just plow our collective heads into the sand on the crises around migration corridors, mule deer numbers, habitat degradation, etc etc etc

the sky ain't falling, but, outlook is bleak IMO.

 

[Nameless Range]

but, at least hunting is still a state specific thing and even in the most hostile of places, think washington and california, you are still allowed to hunt.

This is kind of how I feel, though, I can imagine a situation where the national view of hunting plummets so much, that say, hunting could be prohibited on federal lands, which would essentially kill the hunting we all do.

Maybe there's a legal reason that can't happen, and I know that's way out there, but it's a scenario I can imagine. It would certainly create a whole lotta public land transfer advocates overnight.

 

[seeth07]

the sky ain't falling, but, outlook is bleak IMO.

my uncle when I was growing up learning to hunt always told me that hunting is actually a privilege and not a right because there will come a day when hunting likely won't be allowed because of how in his lifetime he has seen hunting get more and more restricted. It took many years later until I realized what he really meant by this. It will be extremely unlikely that I will ever see that day (I'm 34) but perhaps it occurs in my nieces lifetime? Maybe their children?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

let's think about it: meat consumption continues to go down, for myriad reasons; the publics general concern with animal welfare and animal "rights" continue to go up; the urban/rural divide seems to be only ever increasing in polarity in our western states;

We were looking into getting chickens, our small city allows 6 but you cant butcher them/raise them for meat. The waaaay more rural/small (agg?) towns surrounding us straight up ban keeping fowl of any kind period.

People are weird

 

[seeth07]

We were looking into getting chickens, our small city allows 6 but you cant butcher them/raise them for meat. The waaaay more rural/small (agg?) towns surrounding us straight up ban keeping fowl of any kind period.

People are weird

that's crazy, you can ban someone from having a farm bird? in a rural setting? what kind of country do we live in now?

 

[SAJ-99]

my uncle when I was growing up learning to hunt always told me that hunting is actually a privilege and not a right because there will come a day when hunting likely won't be allowed because of how in his lifetime he has seen hunting get more and more restricted. It took many years later until I realized what he really meant by this. It will be extremely unlikely that I will ever see that day (I'm 34) but perhaps it occurs in my nieces lifetime? Maybe their children?

Im not worried (which may be a bad thing). 77% of the respondents had a favorable view of hunting. 77%!!! You probably couldn’t get 77% of Americans to agree that water is good for you.

 

[Hammsolo]

This should be a call to action. It shouldn’t be the action of doom and gloom, or of picking sides, or whatever. We have to get beyond simply searching for reasons, or excuses.

We have to be strategic. My take away is that knowledge is power. Whatever you think about social media doesn’t really matter. I’m not on it, but I probably should be. Why? To spread a message of ethical conservation that respectfully conserves the land and the system. This includes all factors, living and non-living. Soil, plants, animals, all of it. I follow the rules that I have fought to have set based on best science practices.

My sister is a Buddhist artist vegetarian in Portland, and I am not making this up. She is a prime example of what some fear because some jump to conclusions. However, your conclusions may be wrong. My brother and I are hunters and she loves and respects us and our opinions. We all discuss our choices, why we have chose them, and she listens. She even supports our hunting over imposiburger (or whatever it is called). She believes we have the right to do as we choose in a ethical and rational manner.

Recently we hiked to Hearst Lake in Montana to spread my Dad’s ashes. We had a long discussion along the way. She gets the system on many levels. She is thoughtful and open. We discussed The North American Model and how effective it has been, and the need for acceptance of the system. Humans and their connections are just parts of the system that must be managed like another other factor. This could be grasses, elk, noxious weeds, wolves, water or roads to name a few.

A glowing example of what we must actively communicate to the world about is black bear hunting. Due to her activity on line the only experience on line she has is with people I don’t consider hunters pulling a sow out of a den that had cubs and killing her. It was done without respect, and in a fashion I don’t agree with. It was a celebration of what will kill hunting if we don’t actively combat it. It showed a disregard for the bear and her cubs. It showed a lacked of respect for nature as a whole. This clearly turned her off to bear hunting, as it would most that don’t have other positive experiences.

We talked about how most bear hunting it done, and the need for bear management. Once she had an understanding of it, she supported it. She admitted she doesn’t like the whole killing and eating the bear part, but sees the necessity of it all. She also honored individual choice, as I did also. She would now vote to have ethical bear hunting. Why? She has information.

So, what do we need to do. We must become experts on our stances, maintain and evolve them when information arises, and spread the word far and wide in a positive manner. Knowledge is power. I challenge you to step up and confront poachers, and unethical actions. I challenge you to have a calm informed conversation with people you feel safe with. I challenge you to post information in a positive educational manner wherever you can. I have a short sentence that rules my thinking now, If I don’t, who will?

 

[TOGIE]

We were looking into getting chickens, our small city allows 6 but you cant butcher them/raise them for meat. The waaaay more rural/small (agg?) towns surrounding us straight up ban keeping fowl of any kind period.

People are weird

i feel like most town laws like that are because people can't stand living next door to chickens right? but to allow it and specifically call out not being able to eat them? that wild. maybe neighbors don't want to be forced to have to watch headless chickens running around come supper time? or it's partially motivated towards not having mini slaghter houses in town limits?

or is it all a conspiracy so that Tyson has to be the big boy that puts food on the american dinner plate?

 

[kwyeewyk]

It wouldn’t be surprise me if more people are just associating guns with hunting and “black gun bummer”.
The section I highlighted supports this thesis.

I think probably some but I think it's more of the idealistic misconception that archery hunting is more primitive and challenging and therefore more spiritual and respectful the animal to be killed. The long range trend probably doesn't help rifle hunters image either.

 

[kwyeewyk]

or is it all a conspiracy so that Tyson has to be the big boy that puts food on the american dinner plate?

Winner winner Tyson dinner.

 

[TheJason]

that's crazy, you can ban someone from having a farm bird? in a rural setting? what kind of country do we live in now?

There have been restrictions on ag practices for decades. Fruit quarantines, deleterious species, etc. i

 

[SAJ-99]

I did notice in the survey the top reason for supporting was to provide food…so I give you…the future.

Lab-Grown Meat Approved for Sale: What You Need to Know

Cultured meat, grown from real animal cells, will soon be available in restaurants in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Deleted member 28227]

i feel like most town laws like that are because people can't stand living next door to chickens right? but to allow it and specifically call out not being able to eat them? that wild. maybe neighbors don't want to be forced to have to watch headless chickens running around come supper time? or it's partially motivated towards not having mini slaghter houses in town limits?

or is it all a conspiracy so that Tyson has to be the big boy that puts food on the american dinner plate?

I think it's more the whole organic food thing, and folks who are into that pressing their local gov's to change the rules.

Point being though I think those folks are the mostly likely to be receptive to a hunting for food message, even though they likely get billed as antis...

 

[Ben Lamb]

We were looking into getting chickens, our small city allows 6 but you cant butcher them/raise them for meat. The waaaay more rural/small (agg?) towns surrounding us straight up ban keeping fowl of any kind period.

People are weird

Perhaps you need to think of this from a certain perspective:

Urban dwellers aren't wizened enough to know that some dill weed with chickens next door is going to be a smelly, loud mess for everyone. People in rural towns understand this, and they don't want to make Melba & Merlene angry because they bring you the best baked goods on Saturday so you can try them before the parish to ensure quality.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Perhaps you need to think of this from a certain perspective:

Urban dwellers aren't wizened enough to know that some dill weed with chickens next door is going to be a smelly, loud mess for everyone. People in rural towns understand this, and they don't want to make Melba & Merlene angry because they bring you the best baked goods on Saturday so you can try them before the parish to ensure quality.

or Melba and Merlene are old and cranky and on the city council and "hate the direction this country is going" and want to stick it to Dylan and Ashleigh out of spite

(obviously in this example the fictions town is in Utah)