Arguably, people who hunt can be categorized as predators, people who eat a strictly plant-based diet as herbivores; and people who eat store-bought meat as scavengers. Human predators, herbivores, and scavengers are all part of the earth’s ecosystem, not independent of it; as anti-hunters and environmentalists would lead you to believe. The day to day activities of all people compromise wildlife and the environment and the vice-versa is also true. The “dwelling perspective” is a theory which situates the hunter in the context of an active engagement with his or her surroundings; considering all features of the world as things with which one interacts and negotiates. This perspective is different from the view that culture is constructed separately from nature and manipulated through cognitive representations. Hunters perceive the intimate and passionate experience built up over time about game birds and landscapes, through physical negotiation of terrain, dog and bird behavior in situ, and ongoing social negotiation of practice, as elements consistent with a “dwelling perspective”.
The identity of contemporary hunters is complex and multi-faceted. Hunters are primarily motivated by atavism, nostalgia for traditional practices and ways of life, high quality meat, the appeal of shooting, a love of dogs, comrade, a family hunting identity. Hunting is a social activity, hunters will meet in advance to talk about what and where they are going to hunt, it is a way to be with friends and family, a genuine activity…. Hunting is a family tradition, kids were first brought out hunting when they were five or six, this very slow learning process is how many hunters develop and the tradition is passed down through generations. Other hunters are initiated through their peers at school, college, or the work place. Hunters are strongly motivated by personal enthusiasm, but also hold hunting as a culturally meaningful practice. An avid hunter will keep hunting if his hunting partners drop out, but others (affiliate hunters) will quit hunting.
The identity of contemporary hunters is complex and multi-faceted. Hunters are primarily motivated by atavism, nostalgia for traditional practices and ways of life, high quality meat, the appeal of shooting, a love of dogs, comrade, a family hunting identity. Hunting is a social activity, hunters will meet in advance to talk about what and where they are going to hunt, it is a way to be with friends and family, a genuine activity…. Hunting is a family tradition, kids were first brought out hunting when they were five or six, this very slow learning process is how many hunters develop and the tradition is passed down through generations. Other hunters are initiated through their peers at school, college, or the work place. Hunters are strongly motivated by personal enthusiasm, but also hold hunting as a culturally meaningful practice. An avid hunter will keep hunting if his hunting partners drop out, but others (affiliate hunters) will quit hunting.
A loss of the traditional social functions related to hunting is undermining its acceptance. Hunting identities are embedded in a complex cultural tradition, which is either criticized or treated as increasingly irrelevant by anti-hunters. Although father-son relationships are not easy to destroy, anti-hunters work hard to undermine the influence of biological parents, guardians, and clergy, often by way of the public school system; which employs progressive educators that actually spend more time with kids than their parents. After school, students often are subjected to additional hours of influence from coaches or music instructors. Essentially, Americans are not raising their own kids, the public school system is, and it is doing a lousy job. The contempt attitude that hunters are treated with; and the intentional and systematic destruction of the hunting culture; is comparable to the Native Americans, this representation seems to capture both the idea of a way of life based on closeness to the natural resources upon the land, as well as the sense of being persecuted and forced to abandon their traditions.
Reclaiming the Hunting Narrative
From Organizations: There is a dis-aggregation of hunting organizations and their views go from moderate to very radical. Some of the most visible organizations (and individuals) function in little more than trying to prove they are the most extreme in their views.
From the Hunting Industry: Today novel types of hunting are being introduced by the firearm and hunting industries, making use of old traditional narratives or inventing new ones. Technological evolution is unavoidable, they used to hand carve decoys and make bird calls with peach shells and today they have electronic ones. There has also been the rise of pay to hunt operations. Ironically, he link between the hunter and their land should be a fundamental component that would push hunters to better preserve habitat and local wildlife near where they live. This does not happen today with many hunters preferring to hunt away from home. This is the child of industry and should be characterized as tribal and made-up, non-traditions. If that is recognized, it will be a little easier to restore the hunting culture.
When pheasant habitat disappeared so did wild pheasant, but instead of adding more pheasant release sites and stocking more pheasant; the states cut back; citing that it would not help pheasant populations. We agree – it won’t help pheasant populations, but it would help the population of hunters…
#stopthechurn #olddog #olddogs #wheelchair #takeyourdog #pheasanthunting #huntinglicense #hobby #hunterswife #hunterskitchen #whywehunt #foodcentrichunter #adventure #family #raisingthefuture #recipe #cooking #foodie #mediterraneandiet #mediterraneanfood #mediterraneancooking #meditteraneancuisine #meditteraneanculture #organic #freerange #engineer #college #nutrition #locavore #fitness #sport #sports #reclaimingthehuntingnarrative #itsnaturalforadog #takeyourdoghunting #carnivoroushominid #atavism #R3 #NativeAmerican #neanderthal #anthropology #culture #tradition #sociology #customs
Reclaiming the Hunting Narrative
From Organizations: There is a dis-aggregation of hunting organizations and their views go from moderate to very radical. Some of the most visible organizations (and individuals) function in little more than trying to prove they are the most extreme in their views.
From the Hunting Industry: Today novel types of hunting are being introduced by the firearm and hunting industries, making use of old traditional narratives or inventing new ones. Technological evolution is unavoidable, they used to hand carve decoys and make bird calls with peach shells and today they have electronic ones. There has also been the rise of pay to hunt operations. Ironically, he link between the hunter and their land should be a fundamental component that would push hunters to better preserve habitat and local wildlife near where they live. This does not happen today with many hunters preferring to hunt away from home. This is the child of industry and should be characterized as tribal and made-up, non-traditions. If that is recognized, it will be a little easier to restore the hunting culture.
When pheasant habitat disappeared so did wild pheasant, but instead of adding more pheasant release sites and stocking more pheasant; the states cut back; citing that it would not help pheasant populations. We agree – it won’t help pheasant populations, but it would help the population of hunters…
#stopthechurn #olddog #olddogs #wheelchair #takeyourdog #pheasanthunting #huntinglicense #hobby #hunterswife #hunterskitchen #whywehunt #foodcentrichunter #adventure #family #raisingthefuture #recipe #cooking #foodie #mediterraneandiet #mediterraneanfood #mediterraneancooking #meditteraneancuisine #meditteraneanculture #organic #freerange #engineer #college #nutrition #locavore #fitness #sport #sports #reclaimingthehuntingnarrative #itsnaturalforadog #takeyourdoghunting #carnivoroushominid #atavism #R3 #NativeAmerican #neanderthal #anthropology #culture #tradition #sociology #customs