We all know what an endangered species is. Unfortunately, it is a reality in today’s modern, environmentally conflicted world of ours. No one wants one of God’s creatures to go extinct, which is why hunting and conservation is so important. However, some animals slip through the cracks; sometimes it is out of our hands much to the sadness of the general populace. It seems that there is another “animal” we can add to the list of endangered species: the American hunter. Yes, it’s true.
According to this Press Connects article, the American hunter is an endangered species and the statistics back it up, which may come as a surprise for all you hunters out there.
Dave Henderson writes, “The number of hunters in America has been dwindling for years with no promise of reversal. Sometime before this century reaches its conclusion, hunting as we know it will be called off due to lack of interest. Shocked? Don’t be; this is merely an observation of the inevitable.”
Henderson pulls no punches. As he explains in the article, he’s not an anti-hunter; in fact, his whole being is consumed with hunting and the outdoors. In his eyes, the American hunter is endangered for a number of reasons. He does not point the finger at anti-hunting sentiment or the more shady elements of the hunting community, but rather at social indifference, which is slowly eradicating many lifestyles in this country, not just hunting.
He writes, “If hunting is fading now, consider that the lack of young people entering the sport will grow exponentially as today’s non-hunting youth go forth and multiply. The spread of the urban mentality to the countryside is another toxin for hunting.”
Henderson goes on and on and his conviction is admirable. He believes that the only cure to this hunting problem in America is to educate people on the importance of hunting, instill in young people an appreciation for the great outdoors. The problem ultimately is that a majority of Americans have no connection with the land. At Pluck-A-Duck, we would like to see more Americans develop a relationship with the great outdoors, but we aren’t too sure if the American hunter is endangered. Either way, it is an interesting article that we suggest checking out.