Anyone who shares hunting content on the social media stage has probably found themselves in the crosshairs of a “hunting troll.” You know the type, instead of simply scrolling past content they disagree with, they feel compelled to attack. The comments range from “ew, gross” and “awww, sad”, to much more violent extremes. You’ll often hear “just don’t read them” or “delete the negative ones” from so many, but at what point do we get the platform to instigate change? If we never engage, how do nonhunters ever experience a shift in perspective? Could THIS interaction be the one that transforms the way they view our community?
Country music artist and avid hunter Meghan Patrick is no stranger to the evils that lurk in the comment section. At the start of both her hunting and her music career, Patrick experienced “cancel culture” in full force. Her first black bear hunt quickly became the stake at which country music fans across Canada were calling for her to be burned. Radio stations threatened to stop playing her songs, her family and friends received death threats, and Meg was forced to defend herself endlessly, though she was in no way at fault. People were outraged to see a female performer openly take pride in hunting. It is interesting to note, however, that the country music charts are full of male artists who are also sportsmen. Meghan and I have also noticed a glaring disparity in the type of comments male and female hunters receive, “they don’t try to personally attack men, they don’t degrade their appearance or their character” said Patrick.
The most obvious flaw in most of these keyboard crusaders’ onslaughts is that the majority of them consume meat themselves. “There is an insanely small amount of people who hate on me in the comment section that are actually vegan” Patrick stated. “If I’m gonna eat meat, I should be able to harvest it for myself. When I started hunting, I gave myself a challenge- if I can’t go out and do it for myself, I don’t deserve to consume animals” she explained. Many attacks are pointed at hunters being violent or murderous, with one particular troll Meghan encountered going as far as comparing her to a serial killer. “Hunting is not violent. It is far from the most gruesome way an animal could die. They get attacked and eaten alive by a coyote or wolf, they get hit by a car and suffer injury or infection, or they starve to death in a harsh winter” added Patrick.
How do we, as waterfowl hunters, separate the commenters who may be open to having a conversation from those whose only goal is aggression? Patrick’s advice is this, “You start to learn how to identify which people aren’t interested in hearing reason and are only out to hurt you. They give themselves away with their language, their verbiage. Their profiles will often be no followers, no posts. Block, delete, move on. Sometimes if you feel you have accurate information and facts prepared, and know that there is a real person behind the keyboard, they may be open to listening. I think it is important to have those conversations when we can because anytime we can garner more support for our community, it’s a win. We have to take the time to have those moments.” Defending the sport becomes increasingly challenging, though, when we have peers sticking duck bills in their mouths and down the barrels of their shotguns. “Respect it, this is not a joke. Have respect for that animal from start to finish” Meghan emphasized.
While this will come as no surprise to anyone who has had a post disappear from TikTok, or suddenly their Instagram stories are receiving little to no views- there is an extreme bias occurring towards hunters on social media. Flagging harmful comments and reporting troll accounts is often a completely useless task, yet if the same trolls report hunting content we are warned that we could lose our accounts. “I run my career very much off of social media. These people can come on my account and harass and bully me, and if I defend myself my livelihood is threatened” Patrick stressed. Regardless of the algorithm’s obvious prejudice, Meghan’s message to trolls is this- “You’re in my house, if you don’t like what you see, get out.”
Imagine that you are a young woman or a girl, who has just had their first successful hunt. By merely being a present female in the blind or the field, you have defied the stigma, then, in shooting your first bird you have triumphed over so much more of that stigma. You have finally experienced the full-circle moment of killing, cleaning, and cooking an animal. You have watched all of your efforts come to fruition, and you feel immensely proud of your accomplishment. You share it on social media, just as we all do when we are looking for community, and for others to celebrate alongside us. Instead, you get an onslaught of hate. You’re called unladylike, disgusting, a dumb b*tch, a murderer, a coward, and far worse. The platform that you’ve posted on leaves these comments up as a glaring reminder of who’s side they are on. Are you as excited to share your next hunt? This is motivation enough for Meghan to continue to speak out and stand up to the hunting trolls. “You aren’t doing anything wrong. Of course not everyone will like you, not everyone will agree with you, but you shouldn’t have to defend yourself for hunting. I won’t back down on this. I get women that message me all the time telling me that I inspire them. If I inspire them, I have to stand up for them too” said Patrick.
