Harassment From Anti Hunting Group

[Ontario Hunter]

I think that the way some presents oneself next to the killed game predestines to be used for anti-hunting propaganda. I recommend refraining on the pictures from laughing and childishly showing joy when staying by the shot game. Such behavior is rightly interpreted as a lack of compassion and a joy in killing animals.

Indeed. My safari operator's wife runs the tech side of the business and one night around the campfire she asked me why I don't smile in my trophy photos. If I did it would look better in the gallery on their website. My response was one of God's beautiful creatures just passed. I didn't see that as something to be happy about. How many smiling faces does one usually see at a human funeral? And these days I am beginning to see the human race less and less as "God's beautiful creation." More like God's wrecking ball. Perhaps smiling at funerals would be more appropriate after all.

 

[swashington]

This is another great example of why we should stay off of Facebook and all the other social media platforms. During my time in the military they preached to us that social media was the biggest personal security threat that we face because of all that is shared on there. You can get profiled by the posts you do.
Do your videos (I will be sure to check them out now that I know about them) but screw the rest of the social media platforms.

 

[skydiver386]

Hunters figured out how to deal with anti-hunters a long time ago.

These people tend to be very arrogant, and when they receive the same treatment they dish out to others, it's a total shock to them.

Dox them, file lawsuits against them, etc.

It's amazing how fast Karen's back off when they have to start paying legal fees.

 

[coreydb]

Give it back to them in spades.

 

[flatwater bill]

Hiding behind the veil of anonymity on electronic media allows these SH's to be very brave. When someone confronts me in person........well, I am waaaay past the "educate them" phase. I say 3 things in this order
1. Oh, you are a vegan.......sorry to offend
when they reply, NO , I'm not a vegan
2 Then you eat your animals alive. How do you do that?
when they reply no, that they just buy meat at the market,
3. Then you have someone else kill the animal....and I guess that's ok, Huh?
before they can answer I say "you might wanna get rid of that belt and those shoes and handbag before you start another lecture, SH.....and I walk away. As I said, I'm past being nice.
Stand with you all the way Mark............stay strong. You are in the right here................FWB

 

[baxterb]

You still own the copyright to your images even when you post them to social media. You grant Facebook to display, but not others to use. Claim a copyright infringement and see if you can at least get the images taken down. It’s one of the main issues I had with AH watermarking images with their logo when you upload here. That implies ownership and they do not. How silly to see a picture of Bali Iqbal with an AH logo in the corner.

 

[Doug3006]

Africahunting.com is my only exposure to social media. I don’t share my comings and goings on Facebook…my opinions on X…..or anywhere else. It’s not that I’m worried about potential harassment. I honestly feel that my life story and opinions aren’t especially interesting to anyone outside my small circle of friends and family. (This is why I don’t participate in the Politics string anymore.)

AH is the one and only exception to my self-imposed digital isolation. I enjoy reading about my online friends and their safaris and their thoughts on ethical hunting. Not to mention the valuable advice on technical matters. Otherwise, I’m the “grey man” both figuratively and literally!

 

[Mark Henderson]

Hiding behind the veil of anonymity on electronic media allows these SH's to be very brave. When someone confronts me in person........well, I am waaaay past the "educate them" phase. I say 3 things in this order
1. Oh, you are a vegan.......sorry to offend
when they reply, NO , I'm not a vegan
2 Then you eat your animals alive. How do you do that?
when they reply no, that they just buy meat at the market,
3. Then you have someone else kill the animal....and I guess that's ok, Huh?
before they can answer I say "you might wanna get rid of that belt and those shoes and handbag before you start another lecture, SH.....and I walk away. As I said, I'm past being nice.
Stand with you all the way Mark............stay strong. You are in the right here................FWB

“Eat your animals alive”…that’s classic! I’ll remember that one! thank you sir!

 

[HankBuck]

I’ve been contemplating if or how I was going to post this for the last 3 days. So apparently my FB profile has gained the attention and hate from an anti-hunting group on X (Twitter). It looks like due to my YouTube videos (MWH Adventures) being shared on public Facebook groups that this allows anyone on or off FB to see my personal FB profile. So someone took my profile cover photo (without my permission) that shows me with my elephant, hippo, and darted rhino and made a post on an X group called “Xpose Trophy Hunters”. This group is basically a forum to show pictures of hunters and provide the hunter’s personal information in order to incite harassment and threats against the hunter. I don’t have an X account. I learned about this when I received some calls and a hateful voicemail calling me names and telling me I was on trophy hunters exposed. I had the persons phone number and name from the caller ID and through some internet investigation we found this tweet. We’ve had some of the posts and comments removed because they provide personal information, have threats of violence, and incite harassment. I wished the 11k people that have seen this tweet in the last 3 days or the 100+ people that have commented, or the 300+ people who retweeted this would actually care to have a discussion on wildlife conservation through sustainable use hunting. But trust me, they don’t care about any of the facts or science. I’m not posting this to get people to go see the tweet or make comments because I believe it will only add fuel to this and would serve no benefit to myself or hunters in general. Their entire agenda is about hatred and keyboard activism. I just wanted to bring awareness to everyone in this group of their antics. There is a setting in your personal FB settings that prevents people that are not on your friends list from being able to use this method of seeing your profile from posts shared to groups. At least I think it does, we’ll see. I really wished my YouTube channel got the same amount of traffic as this hate post. I go to great lengths to show why sustainable use hunting is the only wildlife conservation model that works and benefits the animals and their habitat. I go into great detail on the financial impact, meat distribution (shown in its pure unedited form), the employment, anti-poaching efforts, and hunter driven civic contributions providing everything from schools and clinics to water wells! If this many people would just watch my videos then they would see and educate themselves on why hunters are the greatest resource in saving the animals we all love and want to see in their ancestral ranges for generations to come and enjoy.

@Mark Henderson: what is happening to you a shame and it’s wrong for people to do that - but are you really surprised ? It is the risk (even likelihood) that everyone faces when they Post “anything” on the internet. If you don’t want it seen by the World —- and don’t want to be harassed…DO NOT POST IT. Hunting video or Sex tape - all becomes fair game for someone to harass you, lie about you, or threaten you. I like to see and learn from hunting videos but I would never create or post one myself.

 

[BRICKBURN]

There is a point where you reach the level of "fame" on the net and you garner the attention of the throngs of angry people.
Rational debate and discourse are no longer the norm and certainly not with folks who are hell bent on hating something.
Good luck managing the haters. It can become a full time job.

 

[Mark Henderson]

@Mark Henderson: what is happening to you a shame and it’s wrong for people to do that - but are you really surprised ? It is the risk (even likelihood) that everyone faces when they Post “anything” on the internet. If you don’t want it seen by the World —- and don’t want to be harassed…DO NOT POST IT. Hunting video or Sex tape - all becomes fair game for someone to harass you, lie about you, or threaten you. I like to see and learn from hunting videos but I would never create or post one myself.

No sir I’m not surprised at all. I realize that especially with a YouTube channel that I’ve opened myself up to the scrutiny of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But I’ve got an opinion on the subject as well and I’m going to continue to advocate for hunters/hunting without stooping to their level of harassment and vile behavior. My intention with this thread was not for sympathy for poor little old me but rather to give a heads up about this group and the settings in FB that allowed this to happen. I hope it will prevent anyone else from making their page for them to smear with their hate.

 

[Andrew NOLA]

Is it possible for you to post a link to your YouTube channel so that we can go there and subscribe.

I would like to show some support for you

 

[Mark Henderson]

Is it possible for you to post a link to your YouTube channel so that we can go there and subscribe.

I would like to show some support for you

MWH Adventures

Hi! I'm Mark Henderson and I've created a channel to show videos of hunting & fishing all over the world to share the adventure and info with you. I know there are lots of hunting and fishing shows that show the hunting and fishing for every kind of target species, but how did they get there...

youtube.com

 

[Mark Henderson]

Is it possible for you to post a link to your YouTube channel so that we can go there and subscribe.

I would like to show some support for you

Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the videos and I have some great ones soon to come out that I’ll be editing and posting.

 

[HankBuck]

Indeed. My safari operator's wife runs the tech side of the business and one night around the campfire she asked me why I don't smile in my trophy photos. If I did it would look better in the gallery on their website. My response was one of God's beautiful creatures just passed. I didn't see that as something to be happy about. How many smiling faces does one usually see at a human funeral? And these days I am beginning to see the human race less and less as "God's beautiful creation." More like God's wrecking ball. Perhaps smiling at funerals would be more appropriate after all.

@Ontario Hunter - Then Why would take a photo at all? Most cultures (not all) never take photos at a Funeral and certainly Not posing with the Body. If you are sad for the animal - don’t shoot it. When hunting I take an animal - if I’m not happy & pleased about it - something is wrong. If I take a photo with that animal that photo is going to reflect my mood at that moment. Now, I’m not going to be taking a video shouting “yeah, I SMOKED him”….”put the SMACK DOWN on him” and other over-the-top Celebrations.——I don’t care for that.

 

[dchum]

So someone took my profile cover photo (without my permission) that shows me with elephant.

Sorry you have to deal with all that. Pretty annoying

But just a heads up, no one needs any “permission” to use your profile picture that you made a social media account with. The internet is like the public.

You have no legal expectation of privacy. So when you use the internet you need to realize such things

This will blow over for you I hope. You know you are not in the wrong and be proud of your achievements. Don’t let them win

 

[HankBuck]

No sir I’m not surprised at all. I realize that especially with a YouTube channel that I’ve opened myself up to the scrutiny of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But I’ve got an opinion on the subject as well and I’m going to continue to advocate for hunters/hunting without stooping to their level of harassment and vile behavior. My intention with this thread was not for sympathy for poor little old me but rather to give a heads up about this group and the settings in FB that allowed this to happen. I hope it will prevent anyone else from making their page for them to smear with their hate.

@Mark Henderson - I’m sure your post and warning will be helpful to some on this forum - it was good of you to relay your recent experience and show people what can go wrong. Thanks

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

@Ontario Hunter - Then Why would take a photo at all? Most cultures (not all) never take photos at a Funeral and certainly Not posing with the Body. If you are sad for the animal - don’t shoot it. When hunting I take an animal - if I’m not happy & pleased about it - something is wrong. If I take a photo with that animal that photo is going to reflect my mood at that moment. Now, I’m not going to be taking a video shouting “yeah, I SMOKED him”….”put the SMACK DOWN on him” and other over-the-top Celebrations.——I don’t care for that.

Indeed. Comparing a successful hunt to a funeral has to be one of the most insane takes I’ve seen on a hunting forum. Particularly since the one who made the comment is a hunter.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

@Ontario Hunter - Then Why would take a photo at all? Most cultures (not all) never take photos at a Funeral and certainly Not posing with the Body. If you are sad for the animal - don’t shoot it. When hunting I take an animal - if I’m not happy & pleased about it - something is wrong. If I take a photo with that animal that photo is going to reflect my mood at that moment. Now, I’m not going to be taking a video shouting “yeah, I SMOKED him”….”put the SMACK DOWN on him” and other over-the-top Celebrations.——I don’t care for that.

I actually prefer "as they lay" photo over posed-and-grin. But the latter is better for outfitter advertising. And also better for family record. Each trophy has a written story with photos inserted. Some include me, some are as they lay (if available). Those stories will hopefully survive at least a couple generations.

I think it is much more palatable to explain our role as conservationists if we don't appear overjoyed at the death of the animals we harvest. I don't imagine ranchers would be inclined to pose over a dead Angus with big grin on their face? Hunting is a contest between myself and the animal. When I win, if I win, there is a sense of satisfaction. An accomplishment. But for me satisfaction does not translate as elation. Not when death is involved. But that's just me.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Indeed. Comparing a successful hunt to a funeral has to be one of the most insane takes I’ve seen on a hunting forum. Particularly since the one who made the comment is a hunter.

Yes, I figured that was a bit too deep for you to find any meaning.