Africa PH sounds the alarm

I certainly won't hide in a closet. Selective moral outrage over hunting is and will always exist. You can like stated above, use sense in taking good pictures though. These same anti's will complain about a hunter killing an animal and look the other way on planned parenthood selling baby parts. Can't have a sensible debate with the likes of these people. Tolerance? Only when it comes to issues of theirs.

ewludwig said:

While I personally agree with this sentiment, I believe this is exactly what the PH was talking about. If we want to preserve our heritage, we need to consider alternate approaches to sharing our way of life. An example would be how hunters go out of their way to share their harvest with others. No other group spends so much time, effort and money to procure meat and then simply gives it away.

Click to expand...

The author is also against sites like these that share our love of the outdoors. I personally love seeing photos of hunters and their harvest. Some are done a bit less to my liking than others but heck I'm tolerant. Unlike the liberals! As far as meat goes? Don't get you there. I eat what I shoot as most of the hunters I know also do. Being to Africa twice and getting ready for my third safari. I assure you if it was legal I'd bring it all home. I will get to eat it all week though. Good huntin'

I would vote for big28hunter.......Do you have any plans to travel to Cleveland this summer?

big28hunter said:

The author is also against sites like these that share our love of the outdoors. I personally love seeing photos of hunters and their harvest. Some are done a bit less to my liking than others but heck I'm tolerant. Unlike the liberals! As far as meat goes? Don't get you there. I eat what I shoot as most of the hunters I know also do. Being to Africa twice and getting ready for my third safari. I assure you if it was legal I'd bring it all home. I will get to eat it all week though. Good huntin'

Click to expand...

True, the author is being naive when he talks about getting all of the hunting pics/videos off the web. But I still think we should be encouraged to be a bit more tasteful and respectful about how we talk about wildlife. I think there is a balance somewhere.

I have an old roommate from South Africa and his father is a guide. I would love to hunt greater Kudu. I should call him up!

big28hunter said:

I certainly won't hide in a closet. Selective moral outrage over hunting is and will always exist. You can like stated above, use sense in taking good pictures though. These same anti's will complain about a hunter killing an animal and look the other way on planned parenthood selling baby parts. Can't have a sensible debate with the likes of these people. Tolerance? Only when it comes to issues of theirs.

Click to expand...

Way to go taking a complex issue being presented in a way to stimulate discussion and writing it off as a partisan issue and a lost cause. Hunting really isn't a partisan issue especially in 2016 as we see a split between public land access and gun rights meaning both sides are actively supporting and hurting our cause on different issues.

I don't know much about African hunting either. If you are selling hunts, then clients are going to expect to view the goods so to speak. But I understand that African wildlife are to viewed in a much different light by the public than our typical game animals in North America.

But when it comes to individuals posting on social media, hiding who you are isn't acceptable. And I guess I make a distinction in my mind with regards to the type of social media. I don't really consider hunting forums to be the problem so much as the way hunting is portrayed on social media platforms that are designed for the general public's consumption. The way the message of hunting is conveyed on those sites could use some serious improvement.

You come to a forum like this, and for the most part find content that is very text-heavy and many people sharing some very profound ideas about why they hunt, and the benefits they gain from learning, practicing and participating in this activity. Yet you go over to Facebook and people skip the rest of the message and go straight to the often bloody and irreverent kill shot. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the message that is actually getting through when you post a one-liner about how beautiful the morning was along with a picture like that?

I'm not saying stop posting hero shots. But is it too much to ask to show the animal at its best instead of its worst? A blood soaked, tongue hanging mess doesn't really appeal much to me, and I'm a hunter! And if the kill isn't the main focus of the hunt for you, then illustrate that. Post pics of scenery, other wildlife, friends and family, camp, some enticing wild game dishes, etc. Is that beautiful tenderloin with rosemary balsamic glaze not also a trophy? The overwhelming story hunters tell through their pictures on most platforms is just about the kill. If we really want to help people understand where we're coming from, we need to get better at leveraging the power of pictures to illustrate the rest of the message.

One more reason not to be on social media, twitter, Facebook, instagram! I never see anything good come from these platforms. Unless you are a business trying to promote your brand and you put lots of thought and time into your posts, what good comes from any of it? Whether its a celebrity who makes a comment who then has to apologize and ask for forgiveness or a hunter who posts a picture of his kid's first deer and starts a viral anti hunting/anti gun firestorm its all bad press. I'm 35 years old and have zero time in my life for social media. If hunters feel the need to share their adventures, triumphs and defeats, platforms like this are where they should be doing it and where it will be appreciated. Or text and emailing family and friends where you are less likely to stir up a sh*t storm is where it should be done in my opinion.

Hunting Wife said:

I don't know much about African hunting either. If you are selling hunts, then clients are going to expect to view the goods so to speak. But I understand that African wildlife are to viewed in a much different light by the public than our typical game animals in North America.

But when it comes to individuals posting on social media, hiding who you are isn't acceptable. And I guess I make a distinction in my mind with regards to the type of social media. I don't really consider hunting forums to be the problem so much as the way hunting is portrayed on social media platforms that are designed for the general public's consumption. The way the message of hunting is conveyed on those sites could use some serious improvement.

You come to a forum like this, and for the most part find content that is very text-heavy and many people sharing some very profound ideas about why they hunt, and the benefits they gain from learning, practicing and participating in this activity. Yet you go over to Facebook and people skip the rest of the message and go straight to the often bloody and irreverent kill shot. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the message that is actually getting through when you post a one-liner about how beautiful the morning was along with a picture like that?

I'm not saying stop posting hero shots. But is it too much to ask to show the animal at its best instead of its worst? A blood soaked, tongue hanging mess doesn't really appeal much to me, and I'm a hunter! And if the kill isn't the main focus of the hunt for you, then illustrate that. Post pics of scenery, other wildlife, friends and family, camp, some enticing wild game dishes, etc. Is that beautiful tenderloin with rosemary balsamic glaze not also a trophy? The overwhelming story hunters tell through their pictures on most platforms is just about the kill. If we really want to help people understand where we're coming from, we need to get better at leveraging the power of pictures to illustrate the rest of the message.

Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more.

ewludwig said:

I would vote for big28hunter.......Do you have any plans to travel to Cleveland this summer?

Click to expand...

Won't catch me in the city unless I'm flying out of it. Save that vote for the Donald! Good huntin'

I'm a millennial (though I hate being grouped in with most others of the same category) that is an adult-onset hunter. I grew up in a household that was anti-gun and never hunted. I can name maybe a half dozen people in my group of friends and extended family that hunt, or have hunted at one point in time. I started hunting four years ago while living in the third largest metropolitan area in the country. I'm acutely aware of the impact and value of social media due to my line of work (corporate security and investigations) and live in a political climate that would likely not even bat an eye if hunting, and even firearms were regulated into obscurity.

Being a pickup truck driving, gun owning, pro LGBT, pro choice, pro legal weed, pro law enforcement (albeit with a healthy dose of reform and demilitarization), fiscally conservative hunter that wants a strong military and free, useful healthcare for the nation living in the Chicago area puts me in a weird position that can’t be easily categorized. What it does allow is a fairly unique perspective that helps me to see both sides of the aisle when it comes to a lot of the hot topic discussions at hand.

The fact of the matter is that maybe 6 percent of the population hunts, and while this community on Hunt Talk is relatively informed on the political issues surrounding public lands, conservation efforts, habitat management, and other concerns that are at the heart of our own motivations, the other 94 percent of the population is either ambivalent or against our causes largely due to the perceived stereotype of the American hunter. That other 94 percent of the population is who we need to present the most accurate portrayal of American hunters to.

Social media is an extremely powerful force that can be manipulated into being a weapon used to further a cause or turn a nation against it. If Cecil the lion was killed five to ten years ago, I'm not sure if it would have been more than a short piece on the evening news instead of a global spectacle. 1.2 million people signed a petition titled ‘Justice for Cecil.’ That's more than the population of Montana. If 1.2 million signed the petition, imagine how many more were swayed from being ambivalent towards hunters to against or had their own perception of hunters further tarnished, not simply because of Palmer’s actions, but because of the overwhelming emotional state of social media that is thrust upon us every minute of the day.

Being attuned to the issue of social media and its wide sweeping potential audience, I am particularly careful about what I post on my own personal profile, and have created a sort of pseudonym in a hunting website, YouTube channel and Facebook page that I run with friend and fellow HT member where most of our photos, stories, and other hunting related media goes. It’s not because I don’t want to be known as a hunter; it’s common knowledge among most people I know, but I understand that lots of people, even those that aren’t anti-hunters, aren’t all that enthused about seeing dead animals scattered in among baby photos and cat memes in their Facebook feed. It’s hypocritical because I don’t think any one of them thinks twice about eating a steak or cheeseburger, but many people simply choose to ignore the fact that there’s a piece of a dead animal on their plate. That’s their prerogative, and I’m not going to be the one that puts a bad taste in their mouth about hunters. If someone wants to know more about my adventures hunting, they can follow the page and website, I won’t force it upon an unwilling audience.

Even if you don’t participate in social media yourself, there is still a chance that photos and other media that you create can make it into the mainstream, and that it’s still an issue to be aware of since 1.5 billion with a B people are active on Facebook alone every month. It’s a powerful tool that can cause a global shift in perspective with just the click of a mouse. The anonymity and ease of supporting a movement or idea online is something that just can’t be matched or outrun by other forms of media consumption.

Do we feel that anti-hunters are just as entitled to never apologize for their position as we are for ours? The idea that one should never apologize for their position is a bit misguided. How great would it be if instead of never apologizing, some anti-hunters actually chose to apologize for their misconceptions after being introduced to hunters in a more positive light than the bloodthirsty killers that decapitate animals to fill their trophy rooms that are often portrayed in the media? I used to be ambivalent, leaning anti towards guns and hunting, unaware of the positive uses and impacts of both. I've been on the other side of the aisle, and know that with the right image, it's possible to shift perspectives.

There are a lot of people out there in positions like mine, conflicted in their ideals and uneasy about identifying as a hunter due to the perceived stereotypes. Perhaps with a bit of leniency and understanding on our part we can turn that 94 percent of the population into 90 percent, maybe over time even lower.

I don't have a lot of use for Africa, their hunting, politics, or whatever. I will never hunt a place where the only thing that I can bring back is the "trophies". African antelope meat is fantastic, but if I can't bring it home, then I don't go. If I went, it would be with a camera instead of having a PH lead me around by the hand and say "shoot that one".

sbhooper said:

I don't have a lot of use for Africa, their hunting, politics, or whatever. I will never hunt a place where the only thing that I can bring back is the "trophies". African antelope meat is fantastic, but if I can't bring it home, then I don't go. If I went, it would be with a camera instead of having a PH lead me around by the hand and say "shoot that one".

Click to expand...

The PH's over there give you guidance and let you make the decision whether to shoot or not. At least where I hunt. You certainly might change your mind after going on a photo safari. IMHO Africa is special! Good huntin'