I see the anti’s as being a major threat to hunting right now but they are correct that hunter numbers are declining while the anti-hunter numbers are growing. That in its self probably isn’t a major concern provided hunting and it’s management necessity are still recognized by the non hunters and the State Legislature.

I suspect the biggest threat comes from anti hunters getting voted in the Legislature combined with the influence anti-hunters have on the non-hunting members of the Legislature. I believe it is very important for hunters to be professional in their interactions with the non-hunting public. It is not only the perceptions that the non-hunting public have of hunters but also the act of keeping non-hunters educated of the facts of how important haunters are in the big picture of wildlife management. If hunters fail at that the number of non-hunters that slowly become anti-hunters will just continue to increase until the do succeed in ending hunting a species or two at time. All one needs to do is look at how that has already happened in California and New Jersey. It is also threatening other states. Trapping is even more likely to be harmed by the increased power of the anti’s as time moves on, even though there are some species that simply can’t be correctly managed without trapping.

If we lose hunting or trapping we also lose the most effective wildlife management tool available. Yet many hunters either don’t seem to take the treat of anti-hunters seriously or simply refuse to work toward a common objective with other hunters or the wildlife management professionals they don’t agree 100% with. It is encouraging though to see that many hunters do seem to take this threat seriously, because it is a serious threat even if it isn’t one that threatens hunters right this minute or perhaps even this year. Maybe not even this decade, but the work to educate and keep those most important non-hunters as hunter allies should be an ongoing objective and responsibly of every hunter. The worst part is that many hunters simply don’t have the knowledge or the interest it takes to be a good ambassador in explaining the importance of hunting and trapping to the non-hunters in a manner that is both understandable and expectable toward the best interest of their use as a management necessity.

R.S. Bodenhorn