When it comes to rallying support for hunting , we each have a sphere of influence to effectively work within : family , friends , coworkers , acquaintances we meet through friends and total strangers met by chance . Each encounter provides an opportunity to register a point of persuasion in support of hunting or , alternately , reinforce any misconception or stereotype they might believe .
Perhaps I end up in these conversations more often than most just by the given nature of working for the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance . When people ask how work is going or what I do for a living , I give the canned response and overview of our advocacy work . Inevitably , their reply at some point in the conversation consists of “ I support hunting when it ’ s for X , but not if it ’ s for Y .”
When I hear some iteration of this comment , I know there ’ s a chance to sway the perception of hunting in the mind and memory bank of a non-hunter ( this goes for firearms , too ). To be clear , I ’ m not trying to convince the person to hunt , to argue about hunting or to completely change his mind . Rather , my goal is to reaffirm the positive beliefs or facts an individual currently knows , and then to give him facts around any myths he believes to be true . It might or might not completely change his mind on that single point , but it ’ s something for his brain to digest that could prove persuasive down the road ( like when a legislative issue or ballot initiative comes up ).
Most of my myth busting , not surprisingly , comes from the least understood or accepted methods and concepts : “ trophy ” or “ sport ” hunting , bait , hounds and trapping . The support for hunting I most often hear centers on safety ( attacks ),
The effort it takes to recover downed game can create anecdotes that exemplify our commitment to procuring food and respecting the animals we hunt .
COURTESY OF LEUPOLD
22 SPORTSMENSALLIANCE . ORG