MISSOULA, Mont. - Boone and Crockett Club, a national conservation organization headquartered in Montana, is lending its support to a Montana-based effort to promote greater awareness and practice of ethical hunter behavior.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 3 Citizen's Advisory Committee, with the support of a wide range of partners who care about the future of hunting in Montana, have launched a campaign called "Hunt Right."
The campaign, which debuts ahead of 2015 hunting seasons, will include a 30-second PSA to be aired on local TV stations, as well as radio, print, billboard and online ads. Stickers and brochures will be circulated around the region to further inform the public while social media and other outlets will help spread the message far and wide.
"We applaud this local leadership in hunter ethics, and we hope it serves as an example for all sportsmen across Montana and around the nation," said Keith Balfourd of the Boone and Crockett Club. "We recognize some might think talking about personal hunter conduct and ethics only divides hunters when hunters should be united. History proves otherwise. A fair-chase approach to hunting brings likeminded hunters together under a common flag. How we, as sportsmen, conduct ourselves is vitally important to the continued public support of recreational hunting. This includes the support of non-hunters as well as landowners."
Hunt Right is a response to a 2014 fiasco involving "flock-shooting" by unethical elk hunters, which generated unfavorable news coverage across the state.
"People won't tolerate the kind of ethical violations we saw last year," said Dennis Nelson of the Citizen's Advisory Committee. "The future of hunting in Montana depends on social acceptance, which means improved public perception and support for hunters and hunting, based on ethical hunting decisions and actions. Our aim is to help hunters consider things more carefully, which will help them make better choices in the field."
For over 127 years, dating back to its founder Theodore Roosevelt, the Boone and Crockett Club has promoted a code of ethical, fair chase hunting. Early on, these efforts helped distance legitimate hunting from wrongful association with commercial market hunting and poaching that had no code of conduct or concern for wildlife populations. Over time, fair chase ethics helped influence many game laws. Today, public acceptance of legal, ethical, fair chase hunting is key to the future of conservation.
To donate to the Hunt Right campaign, visit www.huntrightmt.org. For more information, visit the Hunt Right Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HuntRightMT.
About the Boone and Crockett Club
North America's first hunting and conservation organization, the Boone and Crockett Club was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887. Its mission is to provide the leadership, stewardship and education needed to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship. Join us at www.boone-crockett.org.
