Four Reasons Hunting Really Matters in the 2012 Elections

Unfortunately the vast majority of elected officials are not hunters.  So it is up to sportsmen to convince them why they should care about our issues.  Of course there are roughly 20 million hunters in America, so that is a huge start.  But what about the many candidates for office who represent areas where we just don’t have a lot of sportsmen and women?

If you live in one of these places you need to be armed with some good reasons why your elected official should care about hunting.  For many of them, hunting just doesn’t seem like a big deal.  Many dismiss it as a second-class issue.

Here’s why hunting is in the same class as the economy, jobs, healthcare, and the budget:

“I’ve never seen a form of hunting that the USSA doesn’t support.”

That’s a direct quote from Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the world’s largest animal rights group, the Humane Society of the United States during a debate with me over legislation that would ban hunting black bears in California using hounds.

I’ve never heard anyone state the commitment and purpose of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance more succinctly.  I’ll explain:

Anti’s Strategy: Find the Weakest Link

The anti’s strategy, including the Humane Society of the United States, is the same as it was back in 1978 when our organization was born.

1. They identify a form of hunting that has a lower number of participants.
2. They bet that the majority of hunters will not come to the aid of their brethren.
3. They co-opt the urban media to portray that form of hunting as particularly cruel and unsporting.
4. They stir up the emotions of well-meaning city folk to contact their legislators.
5. They use all of these to pressure politicians to vote to take our hunting rights away.
6. They move on to the next target.

Examples of this Strategy

Reasons We Don’t Ask Someone to Go Hunting

Recently, we announced new Families Afield numbers that show more than three-quarters of a million apprentice hunting licenses have been sold across the country over the past six years.

I was feeling mighty proud.  As USSA’s point person on Families Afield I spend a significant amount time thinking about getting new hunters involved in our sport and working with state legislators to make that happen.  After going home that day feeling good about the success we’ve had and the new hunters we’ve created… I was met by the cold reality that I had missed the trees for the forest.  In this case, the tree is my longtime girlfriend.