Ever tried pissing in the wind? 

I’m not trying to be crude, but in some cases it’s an apt metaphor for trying to get hunters to get involved and work together for change.  Sure, a few will agree to send an email.  Or if you can give them a website to go make a click or two they might do it.  But motivating some of these folks to actually get up off of their chairs and into the streets is a whole different story.

A lot of the folks I’ve spoken or written to simply don’t think they can make a difference.  “You can’t turn this thing (the lead ban) around,” they complain.  It’s useless.”

Of course it’s useless if you don’t try!  If you give up, then you’ve lost without even starting.  And what these folks don’t seem to understand is that this thing they think will not work has never been attempted.  Hunters, as a grassroots force, have never truly pushed for anything as a group in this state… or really even in the country. 

Sure, there have been some big victories for hunters.  We’ve overcome challenges to bear hunting, hunting with hounds, and recently, dove hunting.  But most of those victories were won by small factions of the hunting community. 

Far too often, hunters will only rally over something that directly impacts them.  When mountain lion hunting was banned, most hunters sat idly by because they didn’t hunt mountain lions.  Now the big cats are decimating deer herds in many parts of the state, and have just about wiped out an entire population of wild sheep in the Sierra.  Even worse, because the ban was passed through a voter referendum, it can only be reinstated the same way.  Odds of generating public support for hunting the “cute kitties” are slim at best. 

I’m seeing the same thing with this lead ban.  Even in our own state, hunters are saying things like, “well, I don’t hunt in that part of the state (the condor zone) anyway, so it won’t impact me.” 

Hunters in other states are even more apathetic.   Most just shake their heads and make some derogatory comment about California. 

Maybe this is just my frustration at seeing yet another slice taken out of our hunting opportunities… a callous affront that I believe was only attempted because the Fish and Game Commission knows that hunters are too divided and too unmotivated to do anything about it.  Oh, they’ll get a little squawking, but nothing big enough to make a difference.  And I’m starting to believe they’re right. 

So here’s the deal.  There are a lot of hunters in California.  With an orchestrated effort, we could flex a good bit of muscle.   Not only could we present a formidable challenge to the lead ban, a strong stand would also show the Fish and Game Commission, as well as State government that we’re not going to stand for any more abuse. 

Or hunters can sit back, grumble amongst themselves, and let it be.  If that’s the choice, then you deserve what you get. 

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