UNDER ATTACK – Hunting is Threatened Across the Country

A common mantra in the backpacking world is “ounces = pounds and pounds = pain”. Similar expressions we hear in day-to-day life are “death by a thousand cuts” and “a lot of small drops fill a bucket”.

The point is, the tide can be changed in a culture with seemingly meaningless motions but they end up being a cumulative tidal wave and fundamentally change the landscape. This can be for good or for bad.

The anti-hunting groups and anti-hunting individuals with influence in our country have been very effective over the past several decades attacking our rights as hunters and shooters, one right at a time (i.e. death by a thousand cuts). They are running a marathon and not a sprint. 

I’ve been under the illusion that they wouldn’t ever make a huge impact on our way of life…but I was wrong. Through patience and very methodical predatory behavior on our rights to hunt, they are now effectively ending predator hunting in multiple states out West, and across the country, in some fashion.

Hunting mountain lion and black bear with hounds has either been outlawed or is under heavy scrutiny across the West, while other states like Washington, California, and Colorado are brutally going after the right to hunt…period! Outlawing predator hunting is high on their radar, with the goal of ending hunting altogether. Those are their words…not mine.

Former CEO of HSUS and now running Animal Wellness Action, which is funding and pushing the mountain lion ballot initiative in Colorado (through the front group Cats Aren’t Trophies), said it in 1990: “We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States … We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state.” Wayne Pacelle, October 1, 1990.

Here we are, 34 years later, and the long game that is being played by anti-hunters is truly coming to fruition.

Wildlife Management is Key

The success of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation includes a key component – management. Wildlife conservation isn’t the same as preservation. Conservation includes the wise-use of the resources the Almighty has entrusted to us. Preservation is the non-use of resources and a bad idea. 

Even prior to European settlement, the land and wildlife that call it home have been managed by the people who lived here. Nothing is new under the sun.

How to Fight Back and Protect a LegacyGroups like Sportsmen’s Alliance are combating these issues for hunters and gun owners. Their involvement in effective public awareness and legislation is impressive, to say the least. According to Brian Lynn, Vice President, Marketing and Communications for Sportsmen’s Alliance, “just last year we handed the United States Fish & Wildlife Service the blueprint for delisting wolves throughout the country. The petitions satisfy all court rulings and provide the pathway for state management where wolves have recovered while the feds and states cooperatively manage them under the ESA where they haven’t met thresholds.”

Brian also stated, “Coyotes, bears, lions, wolves, etc. They’re all on the target list and all play into the realization of “rewilding” from theory to practice – if “they” can make predators off limits to management then, eventually, prey species suffer and state game departments have no recourse but to reduce hunter tags. Protecting and advancing predator protections has been and is of utmost importance to their goal of ending all hunting – they know attacking deer/elk hunting directly would fail, so this is an end-around attack that is much more palatable to the general public, which helps advance their agenda in state legislatures and, as we’re seeing right now in Colorado, at the ballot box.

“There isn’t a predator they don’t want to protect, and reasoning they won’t use – from “endangered” to climate change to biodiversity loss, which was on full display not long ago at The Wildlife Society’s annual meeting. It’s all fair game to end predator management and hunting via the “democratic” process. Not only that, the use of this language can be twisted to justify taking any hunting season that sportsmen think are “safe.””

The Hunt

In addition to their battles on legal grounds, they are also getting the word out with people in the outdoor media. In the spring of 2024 I was invited to go on a hunt with some friends in the industry, including personnel from Sportsmen’s Alliance, Winchester Repeating Arms and Ammunition, and several other writers in the hunting media. 

The point of the hunt was to draw awareness to the truth behind hunting for predators, specifically with hounds since this is usually the first round of attacks on predator hunting rights. The efficacy of hound hunting and the selective harvest of animals therein is relevant, allowing the hunter time to judge an animal’s maturity and whether or not it is a male or female to align with game and fish agency regulations.

Houndsmen are a passionate lot. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. They are not only passionate about their hounds, but also about the critters they pursue and passionate about helping control the predator-prey balance in the wildlife management system we adhere to in North America.

Table Mountain Outfitters hosted the hunt and ran the hounds for a spring bear hunt, and it was an educational experience like no other. The dedication to their craft and way of life is driven from a deep appreciation of the animals they pursue and help manage.

Not only are the hounds managed tightly with the use of GPS collars and systems on handheld and truck-mounted devices, but the seriousness with which the houndsmen selectively harvest bear and mountain lion during their respective seasons is notable.

After multiple days of pursuing black bear in the mountains of Idaho, a mature bear was treed by the hounds.

Upon arriving at the base of the tree the bear was in, I had the chance to decide if it was a mature bear or not. As you can see, the decision to harvest this bear was an easy one and I was able to make a quick, ethical shot with the .400 Legend that Winchester supplied for the hunt.

While I’ve been a hunter my whole life, and have hunted everything from moose to prairie dogs, this was the first hunt with hounds that I’d experienced and I left with a deeper appreciation for the merit and necessity of this wildlife management tool for hunters to continue to do what we do, and that is to be partakers of sound wildlife management, which is true conservation.

What YOU Can Do

Sportsmen’s Alliance is one of the best groups I’m aware of that is in these fights, protecting all of our rights. To say I’m impressed with them and their efforts is an understatement. If you’re feeling helpless in knowing what to do to make a difference in these contentious issues, join Sportsmen’s Alliance and donate to the cause. The anti-hunting crowd has seemingly limitless budgets and we need to do our part to get in the fight. Go to www.sportsmensalliance.org and join today. Our rights as hunters have never been threatened as much as they are today in this country.

ALSO, it’s no secret that our gun rights are also under attack. There is an alarming statistic about how few hunters are registered to vote (reportedly as low as only 50%!). If you aren’t registered to vote in this election…do it now. Follow this link to help make it easier for you: www.gunvote.com or www.huntthevote.com.