Story by the DSC Foundation
DSC Foundation are debuting an ambitious campaign – “We Hunt for Life” – in order to reach hunters and non-hunters with the message that international big game hunting is beneficial, for the survival of wildlife and wild habitats.
In order to address the fact that support for hunting, particularly big game hunting, has been eroding for decades, We Hunt for Life will counteract the reluctance of hunters to engage and debate with those opposed to the practice. Whether due to apathy, or an unwarranted sense of immunity from public opinion and shifting values, the hunting community has been largely ineffective in telling the public about the conservation benefits of hunting.
DSC and DSC Foundation want to spark a new conversation with its We Hunt forLife campaign. These bold, innovative messages will be promoted on social media, primarily Facebook, in a series of video clips, as well as on the DSC Foundation website, www.dscf.org.
Noted conservationist and champion of the wild, President Theodore Roosevelt recognized the crucial role of hunters. He said, “The excellent people who protest against all hunting, and consider sportsmen as enemies of wild life, are ignorant of the fact that in reality the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination.”
Richard Cheatham, president of DSC Foundation, explains how this works in present-day conservation. “Despite a conventional notion that has been blindly accepted as fact, hunting actually protects wildlife. Hunting preserves and protects wilderness. Hunting develops and encourages conservationists. Hunting provides livelihoods to multitudes of people, many of whom rely completely on it.”
Commenting on the human/animal conflicts that arise due to human encroachment, Cheatham points out, “Hunting is an important tool that mitigates such conflict that otherwise would end in the indiscriminate killing of many species, including those at risk, such as lion and elephant. Additionally, hunting provides the purest form of protein known to man and feeds millions, including those who otherwise have little or no access to meat.”
Cheatham concludes, “These aren’t simply opinions made up by hunters – they are well-documented facts. And it is past time that hunters go on the offensive and take the message to the public.”
DSC, respected by hunting organizations and non-hunting conservation organizations alike, is uniquely positioned to lead the fight. DSC will work with like-minded organizations, and will make the facts available to anyone who seeks them. DSC will be the voice that has been missing too long.
Visit DSC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DallasSafariClub/
Visit DSC Foundation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedscfoundation/
