Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to hunting

Turn on the TV, log on to social media, or open any newspaper, and you’ll quickly see your freedom to hunt is under attack. But the enemy is not what you think.

While there will always be militant vegans and anti-hunters leading the charge against hunters with their #bantrophyhunting movement and their violent language (ever notice the anti-hunters always use emotive language to describe hunting – words like  murder, slaughter, death, execute, butcher, massacre etc), the biggest threat to our lifestyle is not extremism – it’s ignorance! 

Vegans and militant antis might be vocal, but they’re in the minority, making up less than 10 percent of the global population. 

The vast majority of the global population eat meat and realise animals are a commodity. They have no moral objection to fishing or farming for meat production. They eat meat or seafood every day and enjoy a good juicy steak as much as the next person.

Most people also wear or use animal products, and even participate in trophy hunting, albeit under a different name – shopping. Walk in to any high-end fashion or home furnishing store and you’ll see trophies proudly displayed on shelves and walls, often with exorbitant prices the masses are only too willing to pay.

Most people are also willing to pick up a can of bug spray and exterminate a spider, or set a trap for a rat or mouse. Yet ask these same people what they think about hunters and hunting, and you’ll start to hear the negative rhetoric being regurgitated ad nauseam. “Hunting is murder. How can they possibly kill all those poor, beautiful animals?”

Even if you find someone who accepts that hunting for meat is okay, they will quickly tell you trophy hunting is evil and should be banned.

But scratch the surface and dig a little deeper into their opinions and it’s not hard to see that these opinions are formed out of ignorance not malice.

Let’s face it – most of the people who say they are against hunting don’t actually know much about hunting. Most have never even met a hunter in real life.

These days, society is so far removed from reality that the average citizen doesn’t even connect the steak on their plate or the leather shoes on their feet to a living, breathing animal.

All they did was go to the supermarket or store and pick it up. They’d never kill an animal!

It is this naïvety and ignorance that is the biggest threat to the future of hunting. But there is a way to fight back, and no, it doesn’t involve violence.

Our biggest weapon in this war is education and advocacy. It is one of the main aims of I Am Hunter – not just to educate hunters about hunting practices, but to correct some of blatant lies and misconceptions told about hunters by the anti-hunting community. 

If you see articles on I Am Hunter that you think would help spread a positive message about hunting, we would encourage you to share them on social media. 

If you have friends and family who you think would be interested in learning how to hunt, encourage them to join I Am Hunter. 

Even if you are an experienced hunter, we would encourage you to support I Am Hunter and help us to spread a more positive message about hunting. Your support is so important to our success. 

By charging a small membership fee, we’re able to produce quality content and educational resources to change the conversation about hunting among the wider community. 

And in return, we provide our members with tangible rewards and benefits, such as significant discounts from their favourite brands, plenty of free giveaways and an annual hunt giveaway. This year, we’re giving away a buffalo hunt in the Northern Territory.