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Taking the right kind of hunting photo

by Thomas Tabor
Hunter 7

Taking the right kind of hunting photo
Taking the right kind of hunting photo
As hunters, if you take the wrong kind of hunting picture it can result in hurting our sport by providing ammunition to our enemies - the anti-hunting groups. You’ve all seen the type of pictures I am talking about - a burly sportsman proudly straddling the back of a buffalo or some other animal. His hands and arms are often bloody and there may be blood and gore all around the animal. Maybe the tongue of the animal is hanging out and blood may be oozing from the animal’s wounds. While pictures like this might seem like a good idea at the time, they can severely disgust non-hunters and result in damaging our sport in the process.

I am often asked by non-hunters who happen to be looking at my trophy hunting pictures if the animal I am posing with is alive. Whenever possible, all of my hunting pictures are taken before the animal has been gutted. I always try to keep any blood out of the picture by wiping the animal’s mouth and nose off and by not showing the bullet damage. If the tongue is hanging out I poke it back into the mouth or even cut it off if necessary. The animal is then pushed onto its belly in an upright position with the legs folded neatly under its body. This provides a very pleasant, peaceful setting and gives the game animal the dignity and respect it justly deserves. It portrays the hunter in the best possible light and does not provide anti-hunters with the ammunition they may be seeking to discredit our sport.