Ego-Boosting WHA Events Will Tarnish Hunting’s Image
By John L. Devney, Senior Vice President

A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct.  Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than by a mob of onlookers.  It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.  Voluntary adherence to an ethical code elevates the self respect of the sportsman, but it should not be forgotten that voluntary disregard of the code denigrates and depraves him.”

--Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac

Much had changed since the father of modern wildlife management penned those words in the 1940s.  While I agree with Leopold’s thoughts on ethics, I would add that today—with many anti-hunting interests tugging at their tethers to put an end to hunting—the mob of onlookers he mentions will likely be the judge, jury and perhaps executioner of our ability to hunt into the future.

That’s why it concerns me when I see individuals act in a fashion that could damage the publics’ perception of hunting. A recent issue came to my attention that certainly illustrates how wrong-minded ventures could tarnish the public’s perception of hunting. 

The creation of a professional competitive hunting tour dubbed the World Hunting Association was recently announced.  This venture seeks to establish hunting competitions across the country to see which WHA members can take the largest bucks.  The organizer of these hunts, WHA’s David Farbman also highlights that harvesting the animals will be done through darting, essentially creating a catch-and-release model for big-game hunting. 

Farbarm’s website extols the ego-boosting virtues of these “hunts” and highlights the value of these competitive events as ways to improve the perception of hunters and highlight all of the important attributes of hunting.  This, while he also depicts the benefits of WHA membership including fast cars, big houses, bouncing blondes and seven-figure paydays as the outcomes of being the winner of these events. 

I wonder what Leopold would say about that.

It is clear that the solitary gratification that comes with shooting a deer as food for the hunter and his family isn’t nearly as valuable as the material gains and hero worship afforded to the contestants in WHA’s folly.

What does all of this mean?  My view is that we hunters can choose to define hunting, or we can allow others to do it for us.  Do you believe that the World Hunting Association represents the intrinsic value of hunting? I certainly do not.  Hunters as a community need to speak out against these egregious acts, and ensure that those that support them do so understanding that the wrath of the hunting community will rain down on them like hell-fire.

While it is important to stand up and be heard when people are clearly acting against the best interest of the future of hunting, we all need to recognize that our actions, even miles from anyone or anything, with or without an audience, will either enhance or detract from the pool of support for hunting. 

We can rationalize bad behavior in our ranks as lone, isolated incidents not indicative of how hunters generally conduct themselves.  But we must realize that we are far likelier to find those events reported in the news than the million other positive examples of the valuable contributions of hunters.

For this reason, we need to remember that our individual actions define not only us, but the community of hunters across the continent.  So for this reason, as you enter the marsh, fields and woods this fall, remember this important fact: We are the future of waterfowling and it is our responsibility through our actions to secure that future.

Anything less is a disservice to the hunting community as a whole and also to the resources we all love.

We are the future of hunting, and it is our responsibility to secure that future.