Today, hunter's who go afield to harvest animals take with them much more then their friends, guns, and equipment. Hunters today take with them a responsibility that if shirked upon could devastate the already shakey future of hunting. The anti-hunters are not the problem. Instead, it is the hunter who forsake ethics and sportsmanship. When a hunter displays inappropriate, dangerous, and unethical behavior the non-hunting public is left with a bad taste in their mouths. This bad taste is carried with them to the polls where decisions are often made hastily and without much forethought. It is our responsibility to portray a professional image, to respect the animals as well as the environment, to act ethically in all our decisions, and to be safe at all times.
The hunter needs to protect their image as if it were a cache of precious jewels. This image is what anti-hunters attack when attempting to sway the non-hunting public. They attempt to portray us as lawless, blood thirsty, brainless morons whose only purpose in life is to draw blood and kill innocent creatures. Hunters, who graphically talk about their kills in public or enter stores with blood on their hands and clothes, fuel the anti-hunter argument. We as hunters need to show the public that we are professional and take our duty as hunters seriously. When the public sees a hunter drinking alcohol before or during a hunt they view all hunters as drunken slobs and will take this opinion to the voting polls with them. Shooting at game in open view of the public (such as a main highway) gives the public a rotten opinion of hunters. Shooting at road signs, power pole insulators, or logging equipment, may seem like fun but not only is it illegal it gives hunters a bad image. The privilege of hunting is losing ground because habitat is being lost to development. <See Conservation> Consequently, when hunters portray a lousy image the privilege of hunting loses ground even quicker. We have to police ourselves.
Hunters need to have respect for the game they hunt, for the landowner whose land they hunt upon, for the environment, and for themselves. By respect for the game, I mean the hunter should not kill anything they do not intend to eat. Senseless killing makes us the bloodthirsty morons anti-hunters attempt to portray us as. We should not shoot an animal that we can not harvest with a single shot. The animals deserve a swift and humane end. We owe it to the animal to use the meat, not just mount their antlers on our trophy room walls. In showing respect to the landowner we should honor their wishes. That means closing gates we open. Treating their property better than how we would treat our own. Offering them part of your harvest as a way of showing your appreciation. Watching out for domestic animals, equipment, and other people who might be using the property. The hunter needs to have respect for the environment and practice low impact use. Leave only footprints and pack out your garbage. Pack out other garbage if possible to do so. Practice being a good steward of the land. In doing these things a hunter shows that they respect themselves and they will naturally feel better about who they are. The hunt will be more enjoyable and they will be more successful. They may not harvest more animals but the measure of success will be weighed differently.
The core of hunter responsibility is our own personal ethics. The law does not stop us from doing many things that ethically should not be done. When a hunter acts ethically they are indeed holding themselves to a high level of responsibility. This hunter may pass up shots that are possible but may only wound an animal. The ethical hunter packs out the garbage left by other hunters, not because they have to, but because they feel a responsibility towards the environment. There is no law that prohibits the displaying of a harvested animal on the hood of a pickup truck. However, the ethical hunter knows that this practice offends many people and therefore they save the golden moment for when they are in the company of friends who will appreciate the harvest for what it represents. The non hunting public is the voting majority and decisions affecting our privilege to hunt will be made on the opinions of these individuals. It is our responsibility to display ethical behavior when afield so that we do not ruin it for those who do practice ethical behavior while outdoors.
There is no substitute for safe firearm handling practices while in the field hunting. For that matter whenever you handle a firearm there are safety rules that should be observed.
We do not have a birth right to hunt. Hunting is a privilege. We as hunters need to act more responsible, after all, handling firearms is an adult responsibility. Remember all firearm accidents can be prevented! Don't be careless! Follow the safety rules above, act responsibly, and behave ethically so that the future of hunting can be enjoyed by all who wish to experience it.
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