There's a cool write-up today in my hometown paper - The Sacramento Bee - about women hunters. Click here to read the story. And do you see how there are no comments on it yet (as of 6 a.m.)? Dear readers, feel free to express your appreciation.
Why does this story matter? Sacramento is the capital of a state that tends to have some aggressive anti-hunters in positions of power. Just check out our Fish & Game Commission's recent decision to ban lead .22 ammunition in a vast portion of California with no evidence it's causing harm (certainly no more harm than the myriad other uses of lead allowed for things like fishing weights and wheel balancing). And did I mention there's no non-lead ammunition to replace it? Brilliant. They definitely wouldn't do that to any other constituency.
I doubt we can change the hardcore antis' minds about hunting. But what we can do is inform the vast number of people who are on the fence, or merely don't know much about the sport, what hunting is really all about.
For far too long we've let ourselves be defined by the non-hunting public as a bunch of redneck poachers. It's easy to legislate against that. But when our leaders find out that a diverse constituency - both in gender and ethnicity - participates in a sport that's responsible for major habitat conservation and restoration, we become a little harder to demonize.
© Holly A. Heyser 2008
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7 comments:
I definitely agree with this post, Holly. Anything we can do to talk to the people who are apathetic supporters of hunting and show them why they should take a more active role is a good thing.
I will go leave a comment.
O.k., I may have figured out why there are no comments. You have to register to comment.
Maybe I'll just e-mail the writer of the article instead.
Comments are moderated too, so you don't even get instant gratification. But I really think it's worth registering to respond publicly.
I've emailed this reporter before - she already knows how I feel about things. It's the public - and the lawmakers - who need to see how we feel. I hope you can take a few minutes to do that!
If you're concerned about registrations on sites like the SacBee, you can go to http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.sacbee.com
for username/passwords that will let you in.
However, I'd recommend taking a couple seconds to register (uncheck the "contact me" boxes to avoid spam), as creating a real user identity will lend more credence to your comment.
Great post, Holly, by the way!
Seeing that article this morning was like talking with a great friend (you).
Lots of vitriol in the comment section though... you think you need therapy or sum'pin?
Great post Holly...Nice that the paper had an story about lady hunters and getting the recognition out there! :)
PS: Will make a comment!
Thanks for the heads-up about a great article. I left a positive comment! I always wonder how many anti's would actually enjoy themselves if they would just get out and give hunting a try.
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