Ethical hunting

Organisations from the RSPB to the LACS are good at creating catchy slogans to support their campaigns. Shooters, on the other hand, are rather rubbish at it. We're guilty of sitting in the corner sulking 'it's not fair' and 'they don't understand us'. Well, it's not and they don't, but moping won't solve anything. Actually, it just makes it look like we might have something to hide.

So I propose a new campaign, working title "Ethical Hunters". We'll work up a statement of what an 'Ethical Hunter' is and what he/she stands for. Shooters can sign the pledge, wear the T-shirt, etc. Nothing compulsory, no testing or certification - it's just a statement of what we believe in. It'll stress the benefits of healthy outdoor activity, oneness with nature, upholding cultural traditions and values, respect for the quarry and for wildlife generally, responsible wildlife management, sustainable harvesting of natural resources.

And in the next phase, we'll ask other organisations to show their support. Once they've signed up, they can display the official logo "We support Ethical Hunting". We'll start with the obvious shooting organisations, manufacturers etc. And then we'll move on: RSPB perhaps, government bodies, local councils. Who knows, some of the anti organisations would find it hard to argue against signing up.

Right, that's the plan. And it's not a million miles from some of the programmes already running in the USA, where they tend to be well ahead of us on PR (eg Hunt Fair Chase). Now you can all bombard me with the pitfalls that I've overlooked!

UPDATE: It's up and running - see www.ethicalhunters.org.uk