Positive Voices for Hunting
General Topic
Who We Are from Sicmanta on Vimeo.
"Don't confuse me with being anything else other than proud. Proud to be a hunter. It's time we stop apologizing for how we get our protein. This is who we are. Unless you’re a small time rancher, small time farmer, a hunter or fishermen... you really have no idea where your food comes from. Most people don’t even think about it. Well, we think about it. ” - Donnie Vincent.
If you’re like me and hunting is part of who you are, share this video and hopefully we can get some people thinking differently about how they acquire their food and maybe, just maybe... we'll change their opinion about hunting.
More can be seen at http://donnievincent.com
Follow Donnie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followdonnievincent
All of the above text is from the Vimeo link and not my words. I really think this is the image we need to portray as hunters to send the right message to the 80% and I think Donnie Vincent is an excellent voice for hunting. There are other great videos out there as well. I know Sitka has a fantastic one, and I believe Steve Rinella has one or more that are great as well. Cam Hanes gave a great interview in front of a pack of wolves on HLN. Who's your positive voice for hunting? I just wanted to start this thread as a place to post videos, quotes, and any other positive statistics, etc to support our passion. We could use it as a resource to defend ourselves and what we do and promote awareness on social media or in our daily interactions with others. Let's stop focusing on all of the negative attention we've received lately and go on the offensive.
deerhaven's Link
Great pro active idea Brotsky. Guys and Gals like Vincent have done some great work but often times gets overlooked and lumped in with the other crap that is endlessly run on the hunting channels. Because of this sometimes it is even hunters feel they don't want to watch another chest pounding poorly filmed Some of this stuff is not just drivel but very valuable info on what we do and can properly educate non/new hunters.
Here is a link to a great article from an organization I have never heard from. If you read through the comments it almost seems that they are overall somewhat neutral in their ideals. We need to help these organizations decide what side they are on.
Remaining "Pro Active" is very much needed by all hunters.
I will be sharing these.
Fantastic idea and post Brotsky.
Here are some messages- we just need to high profile, reputable people to deliver them for us. Some such as Shockey is already doing it. Some of the "smoked him" and "smack down" crowd need to look and see what is happening before they get "smoked,"
Focus messages on some results: What happens to meat when it legally taken by a hunter vs meat left to ruin by poachers.
Show how poaching is so damaging- black market sales, loss of game numbers (short& long term), loss of revenue for a country which could benefit jobs, roads, education and provide food for the hungry.
Show how/ how much sportsmen fund toward conservation projects. Show results from the conservation projects.
Show how a country in Africa reaps monetary benefits of sport hunting- employment of people, funding education projects, conservation projects, food for people, etc.
We don't do a good job of telling our story- just showing off trophy animals (which is turning the general population off and turning the antis on).
Good ideas, Buff, you put some thought into them.
Now, who are you going to share it with, and when?
Ideas we have plenty of.
Action by hunters, not so much. :-)
I agree with writer! Carry yourself proudly to non-hunters and just be yourself! Do it locally! C
it's really pretty easy to impact people. just be the opposite of the stereotypical image that most have of hunters and you will blow people away.
it sounds funny but it is really true. it is a blast to break people's preconceived notions of what a hunters is when they find out someone who does not fit the mold is a hunter.
There are several positive voices out there that we need to support and show the other industry "celebrities" how we expect them to behave.
Guys like Jim Shockey, Steve Rinella, Randy Newberg, Greg Ritz, and a few more are the future of hunting if we are to have one.
Mike Mitten and the Wensel brothers definitely belong in this category. Their film "Primal Dreams" is one of the best I've ever seen. It's also important to note that they created an extremely powerful condensed version designed specifically so it could be shown during a school class period. Getting these types of positive films into schools is exactly what we need right now. If anyone reading this has not seen Primal Dreams I strongly recommend watching it. Share it with others also. Every non-hunter I have shared it with thoroughly enjoyed it.
You know, just about everyone mentioned is great...but they're all only preaching to the choir.
Do you guys know the power of a letter to the editor, a comment at the bottom of an online story, what it's like to be a journalist who wrote a pro-hunting story, for a non-hunting publication, and to get an atta-boy, or atta-girl, phone call or text?
It took a MAJOR set for whoever did the story for TIME, the guy who wrote the story that his basic words were how Walt Palmer is an a-hole, but he's an a-hole who's done more for African wildlife than all of us whiners?
You KNOW they got hammered by the other side.
Charlie is right, again. (Yes you can show that to your wife, Charlie.) Everyone can make a difference with their actions, how they treat non-hunters. .
I work for Boulder County Parks and Open Space. Its one of the most liberal organizations in possibly the most liberal county in the nation. This summer I led the Youth Corps, a teen workforce designed to improve the integrity of the kids and thus the overall community. Yesterday we had our celebration "Bearbeque". They'd been talking about this all summer and bragging to their friends of our end of the season bearbeque. We ate black bear, pronghorn, WT, and elk. I showed the kids pics of all the animals we were eating and I did my best to show them how much I respect the natural world and the things I hunt. These 10 kids will go home and tell their families, friends, and peers about how their Youth Corps Sponsor is a bowhunter and a good dude. My point here is that the biggest impact we can have is with the younger generation. Touch a kids life now and you will affect the future. Join your local, state, and national organization and donate your time. YOu might just see that though you may not agree with everything said org. does, you still have the ability to create the necc. change in a developing mind.
These are hunting show celebrities, most of the non-hunting public don't know nor ever heard of these guys...
We need hunters from the mainstream like Tom Selleck, Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, etc., to step up to the plate...
Ask a hundred people of the general public if they heard of Jim Shockey, you may get one or two... Ask a hundred if they heard of Kevin Costner, and bet close to 99% do...
+1 Zbone. How about guys like Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, James Hetfield, and other hunting musicians. People know them too. I'm pretty sure Bryan and Aldean are firmly in the "smack down" "Smoked him" etc crowd though so we might want to reconsider that. Wasn't Hetfield at the center of some bear dust up a year or two ago similar to this?
Joe Rogan. Surprising, but true. He reaches millions of the general public with his podcasts and media. As a recent convert to the hunting community he is doing a lot of good for us.
This is the greatest defense of hunting I have ever seen.
I generally agree that the "smoked him" crowd aren't the best role models. But there are a few guys that get excited that I believe are great role models. Fred Eichler and Stan Potts to name a few. Just because someone shows a little emotion when they make a kill, doesn't mean they are bad for hunting.
Ted Turner, Madonna (she quit, though)Eva Longoria,...
Another vote for Joe Rogan, he's been a great advocate for hunting of late. Good one snap!
Steven Rinella and Jim Shockey!!!
Trophy Hunting saved the white Rhino in Africa. When the white rhino had no "value" it was being decimated by poachers. Once they allowed hunting that turned them into a cash crop for farmers. They were almost extinct and now there are more than $20,000 of them with hunting for them in place.
Another point to make is the Pittman Roberstson Act where hunters told our Government to tax US more to save wildlife. Since when does a group of people stand up and put their money where their mouth is more than hunters. Every other group says tax everybody more and not take it upon themselves to solve the problem. Hunters did the exact opposite and saved the wildlife of the US for all to enjoy.
I don't even know who Joe Rogan is.... Again, we need big name, mainstreamers... Again, Costner or Selleck would be great, and don't laugh, even Trump!!! I understand his boy hunts... What if he dug into the facts and discovered the American hunter wasn't at fault, stood by him, and exposed a corrupt Zim government... Would be great for his campaign and votes... Somebody needs to get in his ear and tell him there are over 40 million hunter in the US...
Would love to see it brought up during tomorrow's debate...
Sorry that you don't know who Rogan is, but he is quite well known. ESPECIALLY to the non-hunter crowd. Ya'know, the ones we're trying to convince? He has been interested in nutrition for many years, then "free range" meat and now hunting. He is very articulate, great in debates and not afraid to call "BULLS**T" when he sees it. He has hunted with Steve Rinella(meateater) & Cam Hanes. He has also interviewed Jim Shockey and others.
Check out his well known podcast or watch the interviews on Youtube. I don't care for the comedian(raunchy at times) or UFC interviews, but listen to all the scientists and hunters he has on.
"If you hunt an animal on its own terrain and shoot it cleanly. If you capture in your mind all the wonders of the day, from sky, to smell, to breeze, to flowers. Then you have not merely killed an animal. You have lent immortality to a beast because you loved him and wanted to keep him forever so that you could always re-capture the day" -Robert Ruark.
"Again, Costner or Selleck"
It helps to have people that are relevant in at least the last decade.
If we're looking for well known celebrities to be our talking heads we should recruit good looking women. Eva Longoria would be a good choice...she hunts. For the older crowd, Madonna has been known to hunt as well.
The challenge with mainstream celebs is that they are often more concerned about their reputation and media presence than the principal of the matter. Hollywood cast callers, producers, directors, and tge like tend to be pretty liberal. Few mainstream celebs are willing to sacrifice career opportunities in the name of....well anything.
I got two words for you.....
LEGO MAN!
He is tight lipped about the ugly side of hunting, hunts harder than any of us, makes no excuses for why he hunts, and offers no apologies for his killer instinct.
I just hope he had all the right permits and there was a quota for Munks last year.
