hunter might be honoring his quarry by displaying its magnificence , its pelt , body , antlers or horns that might otherwise go unseen and unacknowledged . Ashes to ashes .
But this disgusting trophy fetish , this lust for antlers ? Surely that is wrong ! Isn ’ t the piggish hunter merely chest-beating for having vanquished the mighty jabberwocky ? Perhaps . But , so what ? The animal is still dead , still meat , still appreciated , eaten and celebrated . So what if the antlers or horns are hung in a place of honor and admired ? They were admired and appreciated by the animal itself . Bucks and bulls parade and display these secondary sexual characteristics to show off , to intimidate rivals , to impress females . Cows and does notice big antlers and horns ; they ’ ll reject a male of lesser stature to mate with the one sporting the largest horns . Seems rather silly of us to trivialize or denigrate what the animals themselves value .
Ah , but all of this requires thought , analysis , honesty and tolerance , none of which are currently in vogue . No , ours is a culture of condemnation and virtue-signaling . Those who can ’ t stay atop the moral high horse can at least jump on the bandwagon it ’ s pulling and contribute to the cacophony .
The solution to social media posting of hunter success , then , is a poor one at best . Stop . Sure , it ’ s unfair . While gardeners can grin behind a basket of giant carrots , marathoners dangle their gold medals , 4-H kids display their blue-ribbon cattle , hunters must hide their accomplishments . To be sure , we are
For non-hunters , trophy shots don ’ t speak to conservation unless the post highlights wildlife management over antler size .
free to display dead-animal photos , but each one potentially drives another nail into the coffin . A few more Cecil the Lion incidents , a couple more dead giraffes , and hunting images could be banned from social media . Worse , hunters and hunting could be banned , period . Outlawed . Voted out of existence . Like mountain lion hunting in California , grizzly hunting in British Columbia … and then not only would millions of hunters suffer , but wildlife and wild places would be left undefended , unwatched , unappreciated , vulnerable . And soon gone .
Does this mean one can never post a “ trophy ” photo ? No . I think tastefully posed scenes of hunters with prey can be shared . The trick is capturing the episode with honor and respect . De-emphasize the ego . Focus on the animal and habitat . Add comments about the joy of being an active participant in nature ’ s cycle of life , of gathering all-organic , free-range food . Mention connections with tradition , family and friends . Forego the collections of corpses lined up on tailgates or piled on garage floors . We don ’ t hunt for the thrill of stalking through our garages or driving the roads . Let ’ s show ourselves , family , friends and game in the settings that draw us to hunt : the beautiful , stimulating , restorative wilds we need , celebrate , fund , restore and defend .
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