By Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation
Now that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has exposed their hand, we need to stay vigilant in countering what little information they are publishing to back their position. They have set up a website and Facebook page under the name Arizonans for Wildlife and the social media sparring has gotten into full swing!
Through our AZSFWC Facebook page as well as posts to their page, we have begun to challenge them on their emotional and non-factual contentions. At the same time, there have been quite a few sportsmen and women weighing in and commenting too. In fact one could say their page was flooded with facts refuting their position, and it appears to have “gotten under their skin”
Despite the claim on their Facebook page that “we encourage open discussion and invite you to share your opinion on our issues”, Arizonans for Wildlife began systematically removing many of these posts from their page today. We don’t know which terms of use policies they claim the posters may have violated, but it’s a reminder to stay on point and keep it civil on social media.
It can be really difficult sometimes to refrain from getting personal or sarcastic given some of the dialogue on various sites (and we’ve seen some whoppers). We should exercise restraint and stick with the facts in order to demonstrate the following:
- The opposition has no valid reason to silence us, and
- The uninformed public can see the distinction between our factual position and their emotional pleas
As expected HSUS and Arizonans for Wildlife have not provided any facts to support their proposed ban, and sportsmen and women clearly have the upper hand in that regard. Unfortunately many on the opposite side of this issue cannot get beyond their emotions to even consider facts. HSUS is counting on that. Stirring those emotions with uncivil remarks does nothing to further our message.
We believe there are a lot of people who might understand, support and agree with our position if they are presented with the facts. Those are the voters we need to reach.
If you aren’t sure what to share, for starters, HERE is the mountain lion fact sheet from G&F that we shared in our last bulletin. You might also direct people to a brochure on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We will continue to provide information on this issue. Contact us if you have questions.
Stay vigilant, stay civil.