Tuesday was a special day. My mother turned 61 and I had the pleasure of taking her and my father to lunch to celebrate. I owe a lot to my parents, and I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where I was taught right from wrong, and to respect the views of others even if I may not agree with them. I am grateful for that upbringing, but it makes it quite difficult for me to understand why so many others seem to feel that it is okay to ridicule, harass, and even verbally abuse others who live a lifestyle and follow a belief system that differs from theirs.
It was early yesterday morning when I got the first e-mail from our friends at Boone and Crockett Club about the potential for a hunter harassment situation stemming from a young woman from Texas who had posted photos of animals that she had just taken in Africa. In the 24 hours since then the story has exploded and has now become national news due to the attacks this young woman is facing from the anti-hunting community.
Kendall Jones appears to be an all-American girl. She grew up in a family where hunting is the norm, and she mentions on her Facebook fan page that she has hunted since she was a child. Now 19, she attends Texas Tech University studying marketing and sports therapy and she is a cheerleader at the school. Her busy schedule has not put much of a damper on her hunting enthusiasm, and in fact, she is in the early stages of starting a career as a professional hunter.
When Jones started posting her hunting photos on her Facebook page a couple of days ago from a recent African safari, it sent the antis into a frenzy. It seems there is nothing they despise more than a hunter posing in photos with game that they legally harvested, and when it is a young woman, their frenzy reaches a fevered pitch. As was expected, they launched an all-out social media assault on Jones and they continue to push for removal of her Facebook page.
To read the insults and threats hurled at this young woman, who has done nothing illegal and is simply enjoying her preferred lifestyle, is both hideous and sickening. If you think I am exaggerating, a simple web search on the subject will reveal the true nature of these people who call themselves conservationists. It is especially troubling when the vast majority of the posters have almost no clue about wildlife conservation, and the anti-hunting community in general does next to nothing to help wildlife and habitat.
Based on a recent study by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, sportsmen have contributed more than $7.2 billion to state conservation efforts since the signing of the Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937. Hunters now contribute about $371 million annually through the Act. In addition, almost $800 million is spent each year on license and permit fees while about $440 million more is contributed to hunting and conservation organizations. Ultimately, hunters contribute more than $1.6 billion each year to conservation, which benefits game and non-game wildlife species.
We are still waiting to see the financials on what anti-hunting interests contribute to conservation. I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath in the meantime. While hunters and wildlife conservation organizations continue to do their part to support healthy wildlife populations using sound science as the guide, some of the biggest players in the anti-hunting community are paying huge financial settlements due to a racketeering lawsuit while also having donor advisory warnings issued by a leading charity evaluator.
Sadly, Good Morning America featured an ABC News segment this morning on Jones’ situation and instead of working to find facts they decided to spin the information to suit their need for a sensational story. They even gave a few moments of air time to Jeffrey Flocken, the North American Director of the radical group International Fund for Animal Welfare. On the group’s website they state “We rescue and care for individual animals and deliver effective solutions for the long-term protection of animal populations and habitats.” If this is the case, just what is their effective solution for the long-term protection of African wildlife? If it weren’t for hunters and the money they spend there, these animals would have no chance of surviving rampant poaching and uncontrollable habitat loss. Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems logical that a balanced story might also include a qualified wildlife manager, preferably an African, to describe the situation.
I will give credit to NBC’s Today Show for their coverage of the story. Although they chose to interview PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt, they covered the opposing viewpoint by conducting on-camera interviews with people from Jones’ hometown and they are also running a poll asking viewers if Facebook should be removing photos from her hunt. The results after more than 115,000 votes were 62% in favor of keeping Jones’ photos posted on the popular social media site.
In the case of Jones’ African safari, all of the animals she harvested were taken legally and in addition to a significant contribution made to conservation, those who live there will benefit greatly from the meat her hunts have provided. Despite this, her harassers insist on posting inaccurate and sensational information that supports their extreme agenda.
So why is it that animal rights extremists think it is okay to harass and threaten someone simply because they prefer a lifestyle that is different than theirs? We may never understand it, but the bottom line is this type of childish and ignorant behavior is never okay. The good news is mainstream America will not tolerate it and reasonable people can clearly see the radical nature of the anti-hunting community. The idea of someone’s life being threatened as is the case with Jones and many other hunters before her, will not sit well with rational human beings. In the meantime, hunters will continue being the true wildlife conservationists through our efforts and financial contributions.