CONTENTS
T
WHAT’S INSIDE
6
reframing
trophy hunting
Taking back the term
“trophy hunter”
9
2 President’s Message
Nick Pinizzotto, President & CEO
of the Sportsmen’s Alliance
3 News
HEADLINES FROM AROUND
THE COUNTRY
14
MESSAGE
$1 Million
13 cabela’s
donation
Cabela’s, mossy oak and
federal ammunition all
step up support
on taking kids hunting
14 rally recap
insiders speak up
about the importance
of sticking together
21 Western Office
9 10 commandments
11 common ground
“save our heritage
rally” huge hit
with sportsmen
california’s ivory ban,
Jen “the archer” cordaro
joins the alliance
FROM THE
PRESIDENT
he leaves are steadily falling in the north now and there is a need for a jacket on the way
out the door on most days. For a whitetail hunting enthusiast like me, that means it’s
the time I look forward to more than any other – the rut. I know the chances of meeting up
with a trophy buck are better now than at any other time of the year, and when that moment
comes I hope that all of my hard work and preparation will pay off.
“Trophy” is a term that we’ve used to describe kills or catches as sportsmen for as long as
regulated hunting has been around. The definition of a trophy is a suitably loose one because,
as with most things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For example, I recently watched on
YouTube a young boy reacting to catching his first fish and you can hear someone say, “Wow,
what a trophy!” I think we can all agree that a child’s first fish is certainly a trophy by any
definition, but the same fish caught by a seasoned veteran likely wouldn’t draw the same reaction.
While we all understand the nuances of the word “trophy” when it comes to the outdoors,
those who oppose our sports have worked very hard to use the term against us. Their game plan
is to imply to the masses that “trophy” hunting means killing an animal simply for its trophy
qualities and then leaving the meat to rot. As sportsmen, we know that in almost all cases that
is not true, and when we do learn of that happening, we condemn it – as we should.
If you happened to see my interviews on CNN or CBS News This Morning during the
outrage over “Cecil” the lion, you will remember that I had to address “trophy” hunting in
both instances. It was clear that the other side was getting its skewed message across, and it
was also a wakeup call to sportsmen and conservation groups that we need to do a better job
of educating the masses about hunting in general, especially the idea of “trophy” hunting.
This issue’s feature story by Brian Lynn further explores the term “trophy” hunting and what
we need to do as an outdoors community to recapture the message associated with it. While
it’s certainly our responsibility to lead the way on issues aimed at hurting hunting, fishing and
trapping, it’s equally as important that we do what we can to prevent those attacks in the first
place. Simply how we talk about our sport and represent ourselves will go a long way toward that.
Nick Pinizzotto | President and CEO
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