In 2013, the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia is celebrating the hard work our hunters do behind the scenes by telling their story through the SSAA’s 2013 Year of the Hunter.

Hunters are the people who manage wildlife on their own properties, volunteer their time and resources to help other people, participate in government-run wildlife management programs and recognise hunting as their occupation. Without the hard work of hunters, our vegetation would be more depleted and our landscape would be more eroded than it already is. Our nation’s farmers would struggle to produce crops and stock for food supplies, and our biodiversity would further suffer. It is these benefits, and the many more that active hunters give to our society, that the SSAA will be promoting.

Throughout 2013, SSAA National will be releasing a series of ‘Hunter by Choice’ posters, as well promotional items such as caps, pens and UV-treated bumper stickers for our members.

To promote this campaign to the wider non-shooting and -hunting public, SSAA National has erected five ‘Hunter by Choice’ billboards in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania.

The billboards have created strong reactions and discussions over the legitimacy and role of hunting in Australia. The placement of the billboard in South Fremantle, WA, in particular has resulted in scepticism from non-hunting city-dwellers. Earlier complaints about the billboards were dismissed by the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau.