The Importance of
Using Technology FOR the Future of Hunting & Trapping
As a very active member of social
media, I hear more often than not that I am “risking the future of
hunting/trapping by posting pictures and videos on social media”. This is a statement that I wholeheartedly
disagree with and will discuss why in this article.
It’s no secret that there is a vast
gap between the last generation before the internet was created, and the
generations after. The fact remains that
technology is not going away, so people need to embrace change and see the
glass half full. It is true that a lot
of the younger generations are growing up with limited social interactions and
more social media, but if we want a future for our past heritages such as
fishing, hunting, and trapping, then we need to be creative on how to introduce
youth to these sports when they are constantly plugged in.
My solution: Post on social media.
Currently, I am active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, and
I have my own blog. On all these sites,
especially during the trapping season, I am live streaming, posting pictures
and videos, and writing articles about my adventures in the outdoors. The fact is, the more disconnected that
people get from nature, the outdoors, and where their food comes from, the less
likely they are to engage in those activities.
If our children are growing up being exposed to myths such as “hunting
is cruel”, “animals are skinned alive”, etc., and never see the alternative,
factual evidence, then they may grow up believing the propaganda.
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| A video still from a "hand-in-trap" video that the author published, explaining how traps hold the animal comfortably, and that traps "hold not hurt". |
Anti-hunting and anti-trapping
groups are EXTREMELY active on the internet, even when they are spewing
misguided and conjured up hoopla. They
are always staging photos to benefit their agendas, and use their pages and
petitions to tug at the heartstrings of people on the internet. We know our grandparents and parents are the
smallest demographic of people on the internet, so who are these groups targeting?
The answer is, our youth. Ages 12-18 are
the targeted audience. No matter what
side you are on to begin with, evidence shows that what you are exposed to in
this age range has a significant role on what you grow up to be. If teenagers are infiltrated with
anti-hunting messages, they are more likely to grow up wanting to protest
hunting and wildlife conservation and management.
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| Photo shows a bobcat held comfortably in a trap. |
I have quite a following on social
media, and many of those followers have no idea about the facts of hunting or
trapping. I can’t count the number of
times folks have told me that they are glad I posted a video showing myself
putting my hand in one of my traps, because they thought traps “broke bones and
harmed animals”. I’ve had many people
tell me that they didn’t know that we had otter, fisher, bobcats, etc. in
Wisconsin until they saw me post pictures of releasing several from my
traps. I even had someone once tell me
that they didn’t know wild turkeys strutted until they watched one of my
hunting videos.
I really feel that part of the
reason a person would oppose increasing bobcat tags, or having a badger harvest
season, or passing a wolf hunting season, is that they truly believe that these
animals are “endangered, threatened, and rare”.
They may have never seen any evidence of those animals in Wisconsin for
their entire lives. I recently posted a
video of a badger walking along the road and many people were shocked that we
had badger in Wisconsin….Wisconsin, the Bucky state. I’ve released several badger in the past
couple trapping seasons, I’ve had badger on my trail cameras, I’ve seen badger
roadkills more times that I can count, and I’ve seen badgers and/or badger dens
with offspring many times. So to me,
badgers are as common as any other furbearer.
I’ve had more interactions with badger than I have with grey fox, yet
nobody thinks grey fox season should end.
Exposing people to what we do is the best way to inform them of
facts. Making a statement like, “You
shouldn’t post what you do on social media” is as bad for hunting as any anti
group petition.
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| Badger caught and released unharmed by the author. |
I feel that posting responsibly and
frequently on social media is the best way to introduce youth to our beloved
sports. Showing photograph evidence that
refutes the myths that anti groups like TrapFree Wisconsin, Wolves of Douglas
County/Wolf Patrol, Humane Society of the US, and PETA are trying to convince
people about is the best way to combat these groups. These groups do not care for the animals;
they are formed for selfish reasons that include attention, money, and to be in
the spotlight. These groups are so
disconnected from wildlife that they would not be able to tell you a coyote
track from a bear track. These groups
are the same ones that tell the general public that wolves are endangered, when
the facts show that wolf populations are over triple the sustainable numbers.
Now you may know the obvious answer
to what we shouldn’t post on social media, but what should we be posting?
Information is the best content to post, and often. I run
several sites, groups, pages, and accounts and my belief is that posting answers
to common questions is the best way to help others understand what we do. Let the public know when the next hunter
safety or trapper ed class is. Tell them
about upcoming changes to laws that would impact them. Inform them about the changes that anti
groups are trying to push. Let them know
about events in the area that may help them learn about tracking, scouting,
shooting, and anything outdoors. Post
pictures of your harvests, tracks, animal sign, traps, bows/guns, trail camera
photos, buck rubs and scrapes, etc.
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| Photo showing a coyote that was caught in a foothold trap. Evidence that traps do not harm, break bones, etc. Can you even tell which foot was in the trap? |
The more we hide what we do, the
less likely that youth will take an interest in our “secret” world. As long as we are posting respectful,
responsible content, then we have nothing to hide. We all know that in every group, no matter
the industry, there are rotten eggs. We
have rotten eggs in the hunting community who poach or trespass, we have rotten
eggs in the trapping community who use old traps that are not comfortable for
the animal, there are rotten eggs in hiking or camping groups who litter,
destroy trees/foliage, etc. Every group
has an outlier but the majority of people are good at heart, and we need to
embrace what we do and be proud.
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| The author and her collie Marbles, with their 2017-2018 "end of the line" catch. |
