The past 5 or 6 years has seen a huge movement to vilify hunters, especially those who pursue big antlers and horns. As we have seen in other aspects of society, words have become weapons, definitions changed to suit the latest outrage or coverup. In this case the term Trophy Hunting has become to mean someone who kills just to get a mount to show off. (technically this is a poacher) I find it amazing how many people actually believe that hunters go out killing animals willy-nilly just to put horns on the wall, letting the rest of the animal to waste.
You see comments such as “Its ok to hunt as long as you eat the meat” Well, guess what. Big game hunters eat the meat. Or share with family and friends, or donate it to homeless shelters. They always HAVE, they always will. It’s even against game laws to waste meat. ANY of it. Leave any amount of meat on a carcass can result in fines and license suspension depending on the state.
What you probably don’t know is that the reason why hunters have the antlers, horns, and skulls measured stems from the beginnings of wildlife conservation. See, it was sportsmen in the late 1800’s that realized the mass market hunting of wildlife was decimating numbers. These guys (and I am sure some girls) hunted for the sport, the challenge. Yes, they also fed their families. But coming from the ‘Old World’ where game animals belonged to the royalty, hunting was not readily available to the common man.
We humans seem to like to challenge ourselves. Whether it’s running the fastest mile, putting a man on the moon, becoming a millionaire, climbing mountains the majority of mankind wants to achieve. And at that time, in the 1800’s people were challenging themselves by inventing steam locomotives, printing presses, cement, typewriters, sewing machines and safety pins. Some were taking on nature. Attempting to match their wits against the superior defenses of animals like deer and elk, pronghorn and moose.
Also happening at this time was population growth, and that population needed to be fed and clothed. Wild animals were hunted extensively and recklessly by market hunters. It was the sportsmen that noticed what was happening and decided to do something about it. A small group formed fearing the extinction of big game and so they started scoring the size of the animals to record their efforts in conserving them.
A great article to learn this history is from that very group itself that is still around today 136 years later.
