SCI and THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL TALK
This article was originally printed in the December 2000 / January 2001 issue of Tracking The Industry. . .
When Randy asked me to submit a story on behalf of Safari Club Inter-national, I told him that I would be more than happy to help. However I feel that for this first article I should talk about a more important topic. Why Safari Club International. I am a hunter who has a passion for hunting (mainly waterfowl) and have grown up with it all my life. And for this I will apologize to no one. I believe that because of the respect I have for the outdoors, I have been given a much higher, broader outlook for the respect of life itself. Actually this has led to my career within SCI. I also know that it is because of hunters and all which we do, that we are responsible for the tremendous flourish of wildlife throughout North America. A beauty that we can all share and enjoy, thanks to the few. However, I also believe that times are changing and things just are not the way they use to be. Our passions and rights are being stripped and taken away at an alarming rate and when hunters are asking why, the answers are simple. Because we are letting this happen.
During my walks and talks across this great North American continent I have come to believe that the greatest threat to hunting boils down to one simple thing, it is called Education. The bottom line is this. If we as concerned hunters do not take the time to become better educated as to the facts and figures of hunting and conservation, then in time we will be doomed. How sad that a movement called the ANTI group is kicking up a tremendous amount of dirt, based on nothing more than lies, conjecture, theory and emotion. What is worse is that many people are starting to listen because no one is telling them the other side. A side that you and I know to be correct and true. So why SCI? well the answer is simple. Safari Club International is the leader throughout the world in its efforts to educate all the public about the importance of hunting, conservation and how they must go hand in hand. SCI has a simple mission and it is EDUCATION, CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE HUNTER. We take into consideration the bigger picture of what is going on within the industry and act upon what must be done to save hunting on a global level. If you do not believe that what happens in other provinces, states or even other countries does not have an impact on what happens in your own area, then you best do a little rethinking. SCI is the only organization that battles on all fronts, any time, any where and what a concept. There is no other organization that does so much to protect so many, with so few. In the future I will focus on all that SCI does and is doing, however in the meantime please read this article and you may understand what I am talking about. As hunters, we have all been faced with the issue of dealing with people who do not understand what and why we hunt and it is our responsibility to help them understand more clearly the facts. I could not have responded to the lady who you are about to read about, without first taking the time to be a little better educated myself. That is why there is SCI. I would hope that any of you who are concerned about the future of hunting, will take the time to become a little more familiar with Safari Club International and all that we are doing. None of us are as smart or as strong as all of us.
Some time ago, while seated beside a lady and her husband on the plane, I was given one of those honors of debating hunting and its importance; (I love doing this). While we were engaging in small talk, I was asked what my interests were in life and I happily shared them with this interesting couple. The only problem was that when I divulged the truth about my passion for the great outdoor arena and hunting, you would have thought that the wings just fell off. It struck a nerve in the gentleman's wife that was at least 35,000 feet long. She clearly stated that all hunters were cruel and that they had no compassion for animals. They have raped the animal kingdom and could care less for the well being of Gods Critters and that their level of intelligence is something to be questioned. Sound familiar? While she was relentlessly blabbing on and on like some old broken down record player, I could not help but reflect on the days when I was a little boy, catching the ferry to Pelee Island Canada. Canada's most southern inhabited landmass where the duck hunting was nothing short of magical and grandmas cooking was out of this world. It was there that my family taught me some of life's more traditional values. The importance of wildlife, mother nature and the necessity to maintain a level of respect for all creatures which share this planet, great or small. It was there that at such an early age, like many of us, I was given an understanding and a passion as to the truths of nature and life itself, which we must continue to carry forward with us for the next generation. It was clear and evident that this myopic lady had certainly missed out on some of life's greatest pleasures, for her lack of understanding or possibly misinformation about hunters, had caused her to become a creature of mere ignorance.
When she had concluded, or maybe she was just catching her breath, I
decided to jump in. It was the perfect time to let her experience first hand
the level of intelligence or lack of it, which this hunter may or not possess.
I knew that time itself, would be the victor. Like her, I spoke with a certain
level of emotion, however it was based on nothing less than the empirical
truth, which is always factual. It was time to have some fun.
I questioned her if she understood the importance concerning the relationship between the hunter and the hunted, and how important hunting is for proper sustainability in the conservation arena. The tremendous economic impact that hunters create within the economy, (staggering numbers which I just happened to have on the tip of my tongue which I am constantly, all too eager to share). I discussed the term known as Specific Economic Impact, which relates to another word called Convertibility. Simply stated that when ones source of income is lost because of the closure of hunting, other alternatives are not always an option where they may not currently exist. I was detailed specific. I briefly discussed that hunting is more of a philosophical debate, not one of an ecological nature. Humans have hunted since the beginning of mankind and the real threat to nature is our greed which lies within the infernal combustion machine of us humans as resource extractors, one's bility to take and to not give back. And should we let animal control be left up to predators and Mother Nature? The simple fact is this, the greatest predator known to mankind is mankind himself and in the new millennium, Mother Nature will need all the help she can get. And to name a few individuals, whom have done more for wildlife than any one, have you ever heard of Theodore Roosevelt who with the stroke of a pen established the Grand Canyon. Aldo Leopold, Bob Marshall, George Bird Grinnell who helped found the Audubon Society. One of my favorites, Jack Miner who was the founding father of the Migratory Bird banding program as we know it today. A very spiritual man and probably the greatest conservationist to ever live in Canada. He has taught me so much with all that he left which was a legacy for others to enjoy.
What common passion did each of these individuals collectively share? They were all hunters and great men indeed. They had a love and a generous respect for wildlife and all its bountiful pleasures. On and on did I discuss with these people the truths and examples of which I have just touched on.
The wheels touched down and I had a completely different audience then when I had first started. I summed up our conversation by saying that hunting is a choice, which I had made as a little boy. One that millions of other decent people have chosen, and if more people understood the importance of this necessity, and participated in the pleasures it offers, then the world would be a better place. Her husband smiled and she said she had never had it explained to her this way. They wished me good luck in an interesting career.
Miracles do happen and attitudes can change. Wisdom is knowledge . . . the key element to saving the future of hunting and the great outdoors. Without Safari Club International, the small talk we made on the plane, would have been no more than just Small Talk.
Tim Dobson
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