01/30/2020

Why are we hunting?

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Is it a job or a vocation? Or is it even an escape from work, everyday life and the hustle and bustle?

The traditional image of hunting, mainly for the procurement of meat, later also for the pure amusement of the aristocracy, has changed significantly in recent decades. The number of hunters in our homeland is increasing again, as is the proportion of women among young hunters. Nowadays there are a wide variety of reasons why the hunter moves into his perch.  

First of all, let's take a look at the traditional topic of game, i.e. the procurement of food. In the days of the Fridays For Future movement, even the last human being realized that we have to use nature as a resource in a sustainable way. So buying meat from the supermarket is no longer justified and those who can afford it are starting to hunt their own food again.

As the second classic reason we have amusement. Today it is no longer reserved for the aristocracy to organize hunts on which large numbers of animals are killed. Anyone with enough change can afford such a hunt. Only is a gate with pigs sustainable? Is duck hunting with farmed birds morally okay? I think so, as long as the wilpret is processed and fed into the main reason we used to go hunting, foraging.  

Speaking of money and hunting, I would like to turn to trophy hunting abroad. The media complain about the American doctor and his lion, airlines ban the transport of trophies, countries restrict the import of these and last but not least there are even death threats. But is all of this well thought out? Why are we flying to Africa to hunt this lion or even a rhino? The answer is very simple, because we can! The myth of Africa lives in every hunter's heart and once there, Africa fever grips us all. It starts with the warthog and if the register fits, it ends with the elephant. This type of hunting is also sustainable and even promotes game populations. Since foreigners have been flying in with bulging pockets, the local population no longer sees the animal as just a live steak, but as an asset, a renewable source of income. The local now only has to lead the foreigner, collect money and is still allowed to keep the meat. Or let's even look at the skull elephant, the one that destroys the farmers' fields. It used to be shot right away, now someone pays to shoot it. If we ban hunting him completely, as in Kenya since 1978, he loses his value and is only poached for the ivory.  The Kenyan population has been reduced by 80% due to poaching since the 1970s. The ivory is now worth more than the photo tourist's expenses.

Let's go back to our homeland. Especially among hunters from metropolitan areas, the trend can be seen that hunting serves as a balance to a stressful life. It is the time of rest, when the smartphone is often switched off and instead of the city air, the freshness of the meadows and forests can be inhaled. This hunter is not so much interested in the kill as in the inner peace and balance.  

In rural areas, on the other hand, the proximity and understanding of nature and its resources is even more pronounced. Many of the young hunters come from hunting families and for them tracking game is nothing unusual. Here the reason for hunting has often remained the original, to obtain food in the local nature.  

Last but not least, we want to talk about the hunter who pursues hunting for professional reasons. But here I am not talking about the professional hunter who has the forest as his workplace. Unfortunately, in some regions, hunting has taken the place of golf or polo. So there are more and more people who see hunting exclusively for networking and put the topics of sustainability and tradition on the back burner. It is precisely these hunters who will make life difficult for us in the future, as they draw unwanted attention to our passion and do not represent the true values of hunting. We can't forbid it, but what we can do is convey our point of view and turn them into hunters with the right motives.  

I founded SaynConsult for all those without a hunting background in order to enable them to find a sustainable and correct way of hunting. I want to take over these hunters after their trial and show them how to hunt from my point of view and thus have a little impact on all our futures.