Outdoor Traditions Fading?
Everyone has their opinion and most who read my column know Mick Bohonis definitely has his. When it comes to my hunting and fishing heritage, I will always have something to say as it has been a part of me all my life. Hunting and angling have been around for thousands of years.
Our grocery stores, malls, beauty salons, and all the other conveniences we use have only been around for a relatively short time in the realm of how long humans have been on Earth. All of these new fandangled things are changing the world and the way we live.
On the contrary there has been the catching of fish and the harvesting of animals since man lived in caves and under trees. Modern technology is very young and we are only getting started. Think about our grandparents and great grandparents and how they lived compared to the way we do today. They didn’t even know what a computer was let alone an iPod or a DVD player.
Yes it’s easy for me to compare, but there is no question, our hunting and angling heritage is slowly getting phased out by modern life’s advancements and the organized groups whose mandate is such.
The movement by the antis is getting stronger and stronger and gaining more public support by the day. They are pocketing the politicians like cord wood, and as a lot of regular folks are digging deep into their wallets reaching to support these causes, they don’t realize they are actually taking their barbeque and smashing it with a big hammer.
As a dedicated hunter and angler, it goes without saying my life revolves around my bow and my fishing rod and always will, but stats show we are a dying breed. How can that be? After spending three days at the Central Canada Outdoors Show last weekend it’s hard for me to fathom that hunting and fishing is slowly going to the wayside, but according to a lot of polls and surveys, there are less of us out there than there was 10 years ago.
License fees are going up on everything. Tags are harder to get for hunting. More restrictions are being imposed on what we can and cannot do, and now it seems like you need a license to posses a license, and the gun laws are whacked to say the least.
Bait is $1,234,567 a dozen and fuel to get to where we want is the highest it’s ever been, yet Shell Canada announced last month it had record profits the last quarter. Environmentalists are on the war path with all logging and mining companies, and the antis are snuggling up to these people.
So where is all of this leading you ask? Good question.
I think the changes that have occurred over the last 10 years to our hunting and fishing are not going to stop. I firmly believe that unless the sportsmen themselves stop being so apathetic, their passion will slowly be faded out. There is a trend happening and if you can’t see what’s going on, you’re blind. So why are we letting it happen?
I walked around in amazement at the amount of equipment and gear that was present at the outdoors show and was blown away by the amount of people buying, looking and hoping. Yes, hoping is the word, because if something is not done soon, all that gear will be used as ornaments on your front lawn in a few years.
So what do you do? Get on board with a sportsman alliance. These organizations with your support will enable us to use all the gear and equipment at an affordable price or at least they have the people and the tools to battle all the rhetoric involved. They’re our frontline. Cough up a little of that cash and put it towards these groups who will fight for you. Become a proud member.
