A good read if ya take the time to do so
"The trophy-hunter is the caveman reborn."
Not sure how many of you have heard/read this quote by the father of stewardship and conservation himself Mr. Aldo Leopold, however, I recently read an article of one man's take on trophy hunting and I thought I'd share what it said. The article appeared in D&DH a few years back I think, and I found in a book, but it says a lot about the true nature of things like QDM and trophy hunting. Just a few quotes from the article.
"Trophy hunters demonstrate much interest in deer management. At this level, sportsmen are concerned with sex-ratios, age-class structure, and most importantly, the animal's nutrition. As a result, trophy hunters are dedicated to managing the land and the animals they hunt. Even though I enjoy hunting trophy deer, I always take my limit of does to maintain a naturally balanced sex ratio, and because my family enjoys the venison"
"competition is not part of the trophy hunter's agenda because they compete with no one but themselves. They are usually aggressive, but their hunt is a private affair. Success is considered a personal achievement."
--some of you may be familiar with the man who wrote these (
http://www.huntingnet.com/authors/Bob-Zaiglin.aspx), but Mr. Zaiglin if you are an active poster on the forum I'd like to say you nailed it right on the head with this one, for me anyways.
And a couple quotes from Mr. Dave Samuel
"The key to trophy hunting is not the science and it is not in killing trophies. It is the philosophy, the value to each trophy hunter, and the way it was done. The key to trophy hunting isn't in the killing, it is in the hunting and the hunting is the philosophy."
"Real trophy hunters are not the problem with hunting today. They are ethical and have an ethical philosophy about hunting. As Bill Krenz pointed out, the philosophy of trophy hunting "aspires to make hunting more perfect." If all hutners aspired to that philosophy, than hunting would be healthier"
I was speaking with my father the other day about true QDM and what is often labeled as "trophy hunting" and he made an interesting point. If you ask yourself the question, "Why do you hunt?" and then answer it, "trophy hunting" or QDM can answer and satisfy each and everyone of these answers. Anyways, this is just an interesting take on things I thought I'd share. Hopefully you all enjoyed them as much as I did.
Trophy Hunters as Cavemen Reborn (take time and read)
