Hunt for Good Toolkit Designed to Increase Support for Hunting
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — The NWTF, the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports and numerous other partners have formally launched Hunt for Good in the Northeast and its associated toolkit. Hunt for Good is a national ad campaign designed to promote the benefits of hunting and to increase public support of our cherished pastime, especially among nonhunters. The below toolkit is designed for the NWTF’s members, partners, chapters and overall outdoor enthusiasts who want to share the benefits of hunting. The toolkit contains social media posts, and the NWTF encourages you to share them on your personal social media accounts.
“Many of our members and partners have friends and family on their social media channels that do not hunt,” said Mandy Harling, NWTF national director of Education and Outreach. “The assets in the toolkit allow our members and partners to easily share the benefits of hunting with their social media followings by simply sharing the provided photo and a link.”
Those interested in sharing with their audiences have numerous sub-campaigns to choose from, including Hunt for the Bond, Hunt for the Ecosystem, Hunt for the Habitat, Hunt for the Harvest, Hunt for the Hungry and Hunt for the Water.
In addition to imagery sized for social media, the below toolkit also has directions on how to best use the assets.
More Information About Hunt for Good
In 2022, a Responsive Management study revealed that support for legal, regulated hunting is officially on the decline. Support has dropped 4% from 2020 and is now down to 77% of the U.S. population. In addition, the number of hunters in the U.S., relative to the overall population, continues to fall. It is estimated that about 6% of Americans are hunters, a decrease from the one-in-10 Americans who hunted 40-50 years ago. Over the years, hunter numbers have not kept pace with the rate of population growth in the U.S.
The combination of these factors is alarming. More than 12.7 million Americans say they disapprove of legal, regulated hunting, according to a recent Responsive Management study. Generations of Americans are now born and raised with no exposure to any of the good that comes from hunting and the outdoors. And while more traditional strategies and tactics to recruit and retain hunters at the state and local level are needed, it’s become clear that to increase support and engagement, we first need to do a better job at reestablishing awareness of why people should consider hunting in the first place.
This is what the Hunt for Good campaign (www.HuntForGood.com) is designed to do on a national level.
The “Hunt for Good” campaign is live and ready to be deployed nationally. The NWTF has worked with multiple partners to roll out the campaign regionally, starting now in the Northeast using funding made available through the 2024 Multistate Conservation Grant Program. But to truly effect change, the campaign needs to be deployed in all 50 states over the next several years. As stewards of the hunting lifestyle, we now can focus our efforts on a succinct and unified message much like successful Public Service Announcement campaigns of the past.
Is there still a role for state-level, pro-hunting campaigns? Absolutely. Hunting in each state varies, and they all have specific rules, policies and seasons. In addition, states have invested in state-specific messaging and resources that will help new hunters start their journey close to home. The “Hunt for Good” campaign is designed to work with these campaigns, not replace them. Campaign assets can link to state-specific resources that help move the potential hunter from understanding the good that comes from hunting to engaging with content and resources that initiates participation locally.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 23 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities, and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats. and Healthy Harvests. for future generations.