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OK guys, I am about to step on some toes here.
This evening I have been drafting my letter to the Colorado DOW Commissioners. It is a long letter, perhaps three pages in length. I have tried to stay factual and non-emotional. My focus has been on how we further the cause of the ranchers, cattle & wool growers of Colorado, etc, etc.
Now here's where I'm going to start stepping on toes. I hope as you read this, you'll be honest with me and admit to the facts. A long time ago I quit trying to change the world, I just started thinking how I could "warp" it a bit to fit my needs.
#1
The average public finds our PD shooting to be quite dis-tasteful. Non-hunters, non-shooters, non-ranchers, non-land owners DON"T like what we do. There is little we can do to change the minds of people that see PD's as cuddly, furry little friends.
That's a fact and we have to deal with it.
#2
Now some real stomping. As much as we enjoy the "Dogs be Gone" type videos, when in general circulation they hurt us. Right or wrong, those graphic images in front of the general public, are painting us to be a bunch of "sicko's". It would appear that we get our gonads off by watching little critters get blasted into oblivion. Maybe we do, but we don't need to advertise it.
Sounds "hokey", but we have an image problem. We know that we perform a valuable service by assisting land owners with their PD problems. We know when we work hard we save ranchers thousands of dollars in poison costs. We understand the impact of unchecked PD population increases and try to do our part. As we know, unchecked PD populations ultimately lead to plague.
Unfortunately, that is not how we are perceived.
Sorry guys, but we have to work together to improve our image and quit being self-righteous.
Right or wrong, most people don't like what we do.
The question becomes, how do we deal with it.
I could not agree more with this entire post, everything is right on the money. There are things we all do that isnt advertised, My thoughts from the start of this was about the same. Their case against us wouldnt hold alot of water if they couldnt find videos, websites, and youtube to help them out.