info about the WHA
Cut and paste from the site...
When I first heard about the proposed "World Hunting Association" my exact response was "What? Are you kidding me?" Being involved in the hunting industry affords us the opportunity to learn about a lot of new things before they are released into the press for public viewing and response. At the time I thought that maybe I was just crazy, or maybe I didn't fully understand the scope of this endeavor and that I would be enlightened as more details were released.
With the official release of WHA information late last week my worst fears came true - I'm not alone in my thinking. With an overwhelming response from hunters not only on HuntingNet.com, but across the internet, one thing is clear - the WHA is bad for the sport of hunting any hunters are doing everything they can to express their outrage. The true power of the internet was shown as thousands of hunters from around the globe spread the word about their distaste for this new endeavor. If this doesn't wake the hunting community up to the reality of the Internet's power, I don't know what will!
For those of you who have not heard of this new organization, the WHA is attempting to turn hunting into a professional sport wherein competitors chase monster bucks (in high fenced ranches) with tranquilizer darts for large sums of money. Each hunter will wear NASCAR style sponsor-branded apparel and be scored on the size of the buck they shoot. A video on the WHA website depicts a "hunter" (and I use the term loosely) who is drawn on a buck and flashes of women, cars, and large houses go through his head. These events are promoted to be aired on a pay-per-view type basis both on national cable television as well as the WHA website.
Years ago when I first began hunting with my dad, even well before I could even carry a weapon, I was shown the values and true reasons behind why we hunt. It was never spelled out to me in a book or taught to me in a classroom, but rather it was instilled in me through time spent with my family and friends, time spent in the serenity of the outdoors, and through the experiences and memories that I have taken with me over the years. I, like many hunters, value my time spent in the outdoors and with my friends and family much more than I value the harvesting of an animal.
Does that mean I don't work hard to try and harvest a big buck every fall? Absolutely not. Nearly half of my time spent outdoors with friends and family is scouting, planting food plots, hanging stands, moving stands, and other preparation work in hopes of getting a crack at a good buck this fall. That is all part of the experience that makes hunting what it is - a year around committment. An adventure. Not just a hobby or a pasttime, but a way of life. However, dreams of harvesting giant bucks is far from the driving force that keeps me going back day after day, year after year.
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I'm getting off track here, but I hope you're beginning to see my point. Hunting isn't about monster bucks, fast cars, hot women, big houses, and lots of money. Its about taking the time from our increasingly busy and technological lives to experience the outdoors with our friends and family. Its about watching the sun rise on a cold November morning and simply being happy to be alive and be able to enjoy nature. Its about reconnecting with that part of our heritage that for many people has already been lost. Its about doing our duty as stewards of the land to ensure there is healthy wildlife habitat and populations for future generations - or children - to experience. The WHA supports none of these things and has turned our sport - or heritage - into a mockery of what it once was.
I for one am glad to see hunters standing up and voicing their concerns over an organization from which no good can possibly come. In a time when hunting is under attack on all fronts we need to stand up and let people know this is not who we are or what we stand for.
Here are but a few of the quotes from the HuntingNet.com message board:
"It rubs me the wrong way. The whole idea of competing for money, using tranquilizer darts, etc just seems really cheap and disrespectful to the sport. Watching these guys shoot fenced in deer with tranquilizer darts for hundreds of thousands of dollars of prize money is not hunting as I define it. I think this real estate mogul saw how much money there is in WWF wrestling and professional BASS fishing and is trying to do the same thing with hunting. I'm not interested in watching."
"In addition to being unethical, immoral, greedy, and shows the lack of respect for hunting and those who have fought long and hard for sportsman's rights"
"It's a very limited number of individuals looking to line their pockets at the possible expense of the majority under the disguise of it "benefiting" the hunting cause. It's not hunting and when I see it called hunting or possibly when the media considers it hunting I think I'll hurl."
Companies such as G5 Outdoors, Eastman (Carbon Express), and Gorilla treestands have already withdrawn or denied sponsorship for the WHA based on the feedback of hunters who expressed their outrage via phonecalls, emails, and several internet message boards. It is unfortunate that these companies did not realize the detrimental impact the WHA would have on the hunting industry from the beginning, however I commend them all for taking prompt action in issuing a response to public outrage.
For additional informat on the World Hunting Association you can visit their website at
http://www.worldhunt.com
To participate in WHA discussions on the HuntingNet.com message board please click here.
Please feel free to email me with your comments and concerns at
[email protected] and I will do my best to post them as they come in.
There should be no points or champions. I race motorcycles for that sort of thing. The rewards of hunting come first with a clean kill, successful hunt, then at the dinner table. To me, a day afield is reward enough in and of itself. We start goin' down this competition road, we'll begin to lose the aesthetics of hunting. Aldo Leupold's "Sand County Almanac" should be required reading before a hunter gets his or her hunter's safety course certificate, IMHO. Maybe I'm old school, but ethics never change IMHO.
Step one to hurting this stupid organization.....email polaris "obviously sponsering this corperation with the polaris giveaway" with a bunch of refusal to purchase from them unless they pull their sponsorship. Step 2 find out who else sponsors this organization, and slowly eat away at their funding no money=no WHA
