Read the original article at thehuntingnews.com here.
Jeanette L Hall was a pro staffer for Cabela’s until this year. She has decided to no longer with the company for many reasons, but one in particular is very troubling. Jeanette was informed in an email that she was no longer allowed to post pictures of her hunts from Africa. Since Cabela’s merged with Bass Pro Shops they have become the largest hunting retailer by an extremely large margin. It seems they are caving to political correctness pressure.
In a Facebook post Jeanette Hall explains why she made her decision to no longer work with Cabela’s
First big change of 2019. I have declined Cabela’s offer to be a Pro Staff this year. While it has been fun teaching the past 3 years, which is one of my passions, some of the changes since the merger between Bass Pro Shop and Cabela’s has troubled me. The biggest being that I received an email from corporate stating that I could no longer post photos of my African hunts or exotic hunts. This goes against everything I stand for. As you all know, I’m a HUGE advocate for hunting my beloved Africa. I will not be ashamed nor hide the fact that I proudly hunt internationally. I emailed corporate back about this questioning why I was banned from posting my photos but they refused to give me any reason. I didn’t like this secrecy and lack of transparency. Dick Cabela was a big advocate for hunting Africa and I know if he were alive he would be furious with this decision. Just as I am. It makes me wonder if Cabela’s will become a camping store only in the near future as politically correct idiots continue to chip away at hunting from all angles.
Many people assumed I got gear for free from Cabela’s. FALSE. I was never even given so much as a hat. I had to pay for everything. While I got a small discount on branded items only, everything else was full price.
There was much more involved in my decision as well. One of the managers had shunned me from the south store because I had voiced my opinion. Thus I had to travel to the north store, which is even further of a commute for me (fuel was not compensated as per my contract). This childishness was yet another factor prompting my decision.
So there you have it. I will no longer be active on the Cabela’s Pro Staff page. It was a fun ride but I will not be gagged and told I cannot post my photos of hunts I’m extremely proud of.
It is no secret that the African model of conservation is not as good as the North American model. In North America we fund wildlife through licenses, tags and excise taxes. This allows our wildlife to roam freely and be managed by scientist and state game agencies. In Africa they use a lot of high fence hunting operations guarded by guys with guns to prevent poaching. Animals are then hunted by hunters from other countries that pay large amounts of money. This money is spent protecting the animals from poaching. This is the only way possible to protect the African animals from being poached to extinction. Many animals were on the verge of extinction until Africa started allowing animals to be hunted. This is a very simplified explanation of hunting in Africa since its a very complicated topic.
Regulated hunting enjoys an approval rating around 80% in the United States. “Trophy hunting” in Africa is not as popular with Americans. It is important to remember that these hunts are extremely important to funding the protection of the animals in Africa. Without it many more animals will die from poaching. It seems Cabela’s is hiding from what is best for the Animals in Africa and hunters in order to protect potential profits from camping supplies. Will hunters stand for this, or will it cost Cabela’s customers?
