Reprinted from a Jan 21, 2007 column in the Morgantown Dominion Post
For that past thirty years I’ve watched and listened to animal rights folks spin their message to the public. The sad truth is that around the country as time goes on, more of the public buys into their message and values. Some of it sounds like this. "Hunting is bad, and letting kids hunt will lead them into a life of cruelty to animals." "Cutting timber is bad, and if we continue there will be no mature timber left." "Hunters are wiping out all the wildlife in Africa." "Fishing is cruel because earthworm (used for bait) have feelings too."
As a wildlife professional, such drivel really bothers me, because I know two things. (1) most of what the animal rights folks espouse is untrue, and (2) hunters and fishermen (and women) pay over 70% of the fish and wildlife management bills. So, every time the public buys into this anti value system, and we lose some hunting or fishing, we also lose some of the money that keeps the wildlife out there.
Why would the public believe the bunk the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) or the People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) disseminate? I believe this is happening because the majority of our citizens (in the USA) are raised and live in bigger cities and they just don’t get exposed to the realities of wild nature. OK, then how do we educate the public on such issues?
Great question and the truth us that most state game and fish agencies aren’t getting the education done, because they don’t have the funds to spend on education. HSUS and PETA spend millions each year getting their message out there. State agencies don’t presently have the money, so where will it come from?
It obviously isn’t going to come from general taxpayers. If hunters want to preserve hunting, then they will have to come up with such funds. Sounds like a tough job, but one state has it figured out and all states should be following their model..
In the late 1990's Colorado hunting and fishing groups organized and got the state to allow hunters and fishermen to voluntarily make a donation when they applied for a license. Over a period of several years that generated $250,000. Their goal was to use that money to run preliminary tests on education projects with an end goal of getting the state legislature to approve a $.75 cent hunting and fishing license surcharge. The hunters and fishermen did their work, developed a positive program that was tested and worked and the legislature approved the surcharge in 2006. It generated $225,000 from July 1 to mid-September, 2006. (That is the time period when most hunting licenses are sold).
The fund created is called the Wildlife Management Fund and it is administered by the Public Education Advisory Council. The Council then works with the Colorado state wildlife and fish agency to determine how much they will spend on educating the non-hunting and non-fishing public on key wildlife and fish management issues. They contract out the funds to a marketing company that will develop and implement a public education program, utilizing television, radio, and billboards.
Baseline data were collected to determine the knowledge levels of the public about wildlife, wildlife management and hunting and fishing. About 84 percent of all money raised will go into buying time on TV, radio, and billboards. They will run their educational programs in big cities such as Denver, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction. Televison networks purchased include Fox News, CNN, USA, TNT, ESPN, History, as well as ABC, CBS, and NBC. Initially they want to educate the public about the mission and successes of the state wildlife and fish agency. They will feature stories on successes in re-introducing species, while managing existing species. Later they will focus on where the state agency gets it’s money and the important role hunting and fishing plays in management.
Getting this done wasn’t easy, but the sportsmen and women of Colorado realized that their future depended on getting their message, THE TRUTH, to urban citizens. They ran preliminary tests on their TV ads several years ago and found that citizens understood the messages. The key is to get non-hunting and non-fishing citizens to understand the critical role hunters and fishermen play in management. Management that saves hunted and non hunted wildlife, habitat, endangered species, etc. Only then will the future of hunting and fishing be guaranteed. What is needed is for the Colorado model to be adopted nationwide. There is a group called the Nimrod Society that has that mission. You can learn more by going to www.nimrodsociety.org.
Here in West Virginia would you be willing to pay an extra $.75 when you buy a hunting or fishing license if you knew it would help perpetuate the future of hunting and fishing? I wish we had that opportunity.
