Top Anti-hunting Organizations
Written By: Zachary Glay
As I was hosting a bible study the other day, the topic arose of where your money actually goes when you donate it at the local petstore when you “round up for charity,” but here's the thing, not all charities are created equal. You can give them your money, but how do you know where that money is going? The world is full of charities that are against hunters and outdoorsmen. Here is a list and description of who the worst offenders are, and some that might surprise you.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Yes this one is a given, but it still belongs. This joke of an organization has a lot of absurd opinions and crazy thoughts they will put out there for the public. They are on the record as saying hunting is just a “needless killing spree,” cite British studies on hunting efficiencies, and claim that without hunters, nature would naturally balance out. All absurd claims, but m y favorite is the ignorance to not mention the mass die offs, carrying capacities in agricultural areas, and lack of natural predators that it takes to claim that everything would return to nature peacefully. PETA has countless examples of the organization pushing against hunting in all forms, and even rallying against hunting on a governmental level.
2. Humane Society of the United State (HSUS)
While PETA is louder, dumber, and more known as an anti-hunting group. The HSUS is more effective and dangerous. They prey on animal lovers who think they are helping their local homeless animals and shelter with donations when in reality they are taking that money and lining their own pockets, and taking aim at specific hunts across the nation to campaign against. They target wolf hunts, bear hunts, and more, but they really make a stink about particular methods and practices. They are known to stand against hound hunting bears and lead ammunition among many, many other methods. The kicker is that in instances where they are targeting wolf hunts or hunts where they claim the populations cannot handle a hunt, they are completely and totally ignoring all the research and legwork done by the biologists and state officials who set the bag limits and license numbers of these hunts. They have been instrumental in spending millions to stop dove hunts, trapping efforts, and stopping “trophy hunthing” without giving a definition of trophy hunting or mentioning the benefits behind a scoring system for “trophies.” They are not without their own follies though, on their website you can see them labeling a picture of a lynx as a bobcat and using an image of a Grizzly to gain sympathy when talking about bear hunts even though a Grizzly has not been legally killed in the lower 48 in nearly 50 years.
3. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
Everyone is familiar with this organization. They are the ones who put on those cheesy Sarah McLachlin “In the arms of the angels” commercials throughout the 2000s. They fall under a similar umbrella to HSUS, where people think they are donating to a local shelter to help abused puppy dogs, when in reality they are giving money to a much larger organization that takes a stand against you, as an outdoorsman. This is blatantly laid out on the ASPCA and SPCAI websites where they declare that they are opposed to any sport hunting and then go on in their sports hunting definition to ridicule any hunters who keep any part of the animals as a trophy. Your mounts, rugs, antlers, etc. that you keep for memories and stories conflict directly with their values.They specifically mention black bears and fowl (along with a host of African game) as “trophies'' and make the laughable statement that hunting does not contribute to animal conservation and only live animals can do that. I would make an argument that a “trophy system” such as Boone and Crocket or Pope and Young make for a very effective conservation tool in age class selection and herd management but that’s a debate for a different day. At the end of the day, they have a bias against hunters and directly call for petition and political work against hunting rights.
Do you dream of the perfect man cave? Not if the SPCA has anything to say about it
4. Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)
This organization is staunchly against many forms of hunting, instances of hunting, and are quick to take legal and political action to limit outdoorsmen’s rights. They are involved in lawsuits with Fish and Game about allowing more access to land for outdoorsmen, call out state regulations for allowing things like spring bear hunts and hound usage, and consistently point to lead ammunition being dangerous for large carnivores. (which is an unestablished, hypothetical claim at best) They give frequent updates on their website calling for the end of “trophy hunting” without giving a good definition but including most predator hunting in examples. It is ironic that a group that calls for biological diversity in the name and claim to want conservation of species, so often hurts the best mechanism for conservation and widely ignore where the funds come from for those wild places they want to “protect”
These are but a few examples of groups that claim to want protection of animals but work directly against us as outdoorsmen. Some of them are organizations we could easily donate to when checking out at the local petstore or accidentally just by not knowing any better. Some of these groups are known to be anti-hunting but some like the SPCA or HSUS are surprises to many when they hear about the actual stance the organization takes. There are many, many more examples of where not to give donations to as outdoorsmen but here are a few good options who support hunting!
Sportsman Alliance
Ducks Unlimited
National Wild Turkey Federation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Pheasants Forever
Boone and Crockett Club
The good news is that this list might be longer than the list of opposition.
