Post by Chris Grinter on Oct 20, 2020 19:12:43 GMT -8
I feel like I actually agree with you mostly, but the points you're making here are not true. I am not currently a hunter (although I have hunted), and I do not support all types of hunting, such as trophy hunting. However hunters in the US have absolutely protested and been part of massive conservation efforts. Ducks unlimited have saved millions of acres from development for hunting, and this was not driven by government mandated permit fees, a lot of it was direct purchasing of land and grassroots conservation. That is activism they get credit for, even if in the end it's to shoot an animal (ducks at least taste great). If you go to their website and actually look at the "evidence" they support and acknowledge biodiversity as one of their goals.
And I would take issue that environmental activists are not avid outdoor people - that seems to be strictly your opinion, and you say you're stereotyping and generalizing, so what's the point in making this issue. There can be no evidence to support this other than anecdotal.
Hunters, being avid outdoor people, and seemingly embracing all sorts of geography and weather, and talk endlessly about the beauty of the nature they observe, do little toward preservation. Their dollars paid for licenses do, but I've never seen hunters protesting ecological destruction; nor have I seen fishermen screaming to clean the rivers and lakes. It truly is odd, because hunters (and fishermen) are indeed adept at environmental observations- they know the terrain, the flora, and habits of fauna they don't hunt. Oddly, environmental activism is left to those who are, generically speaking, not avid outdoor people at all! Birders, college kids, etc...I mean, look at them in videos- they are virtually never dressed appropriately, and can't discern between a Spotted and Saw Whet owl. Of course there are exceptions- but I am stereotyping and generalizing, and my observations are well supported by evidence.
And I would take issue that environmental activists are not avid outdoor people - that seems to be strictly your opinion, and you say you're stereotyping and generalizing, so what's the point in making this issue. There can be no evidence to support this other than anecdotal.
Hunters, being avid outdoor people, and seemingly embracing all sorts of geography and weather, and talk endlessly about the beauty of the nature they observe, do little toward preservation. Their dollars paid for licenses do, but I've never seen hunters protesting ecological destruction; nor have I seen fishermen screaming to clean the rivers and lakes. It truly is odd, because hunters (and fishermen) are indeed adept at environmental observations- they know the terrain, the flora, and habits of fauna they don't hunt. Oddly, environmental activism is left to those who are, generically speaking, not avid outdoor people at all! Birders, college kids, etc...I mean, look at them in videos- they are virtually never dressed appropriately, and can't discern between a Spotted and Saw Whet owl. Of course there are exceptions- but I am stereotyping and generalizing, and my observations are well supported by evidence.
Not sure it was fiction but a true story. He sentence was OTT, but he got that probably for giving the WFS the fingers (for many years), if you know what I mean.