Predators are essential to nature's balance
Hunters in Defense of Predators
Our Predator's Last Line of Defense
We are ethical, fair-chase hunters who believe the seven tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation serve as good guidelines for wildlife management but should be adhered to – not hypocritically ignored and dismissed as they are now.
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We believe wildlife conservation should move away from outdated, utilitarian notions of viewing and treating wildlife and wild places as “resources” for human use and entertainment, and should instead be guided by a more progressive view of conservation as defined by the late Canadian writer and philosopher John Livingston: “The preservation of wildlife forms and groups of forms in perpetuity, for their own sakes, irrespective of any connotation of present or future human use.”
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We believe all wildlife and land management should be guided by the Land Ethic, developed by the late naturalist
writer, professor and philosopher Aldo Leopold, widely considered the “father of wildlife conservation.” A Land Ethic expands the definition of “community” to include not only humans, but all of the other parts of the Earth, as well: “soils, waters, plants,and animals,” or what Leopold called the land. “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us,” he wrote. “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
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We believe large carnivores, including wolves, coyotes, black bears, grizzly bears and mountain lions, are critical components of healthy, functions ecosystems; are apex predators who did not evolve with much predation; are generally self-regulating in population size; have intricate social structures, and breeding and territorial behaviors that can be disrupted and altered when hunted, and therefore should not be hunted for trophies or sport. Predators should be managed based on science, not politics driven by fear-mongering myths, lies, misconceptions and hate.
We believe that recreational trapping is a cruel, archaic, unethical practice that violates the principles of Fair Chase, and the tenants of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and should not be allowed on public lands.
