YETI Joins Hunt Fair Chase Iniative

YETI has joined in support of a hunter ethics initiative being led by the Boone and Crockett Club to highlight the core values of fair chase and to strengthen the image of the North American hunter.

"Today's hunter, especially our younger generation, are being exposed to a carousel of negativism aimed at hunting," said CJ Buck, the Club's vice president of communications. "There was a time when sportsmen were respected within our society for their skills, character, ethics and commitments to wildlife and conservation. It's time to remind ourselves of those things that make hunting special, so we can show others."
 
The Hunt Right: Hunt Fair Chase initiative will launch later this summer. Its purpose is to teach and invigorate a commitment within the hunting community to the values hunting teaches, such as self-reliance, self-determination, self-restraint and self-respect.

"Somewhere along the way we stopped talking about our values and ethics: the adventure, experience and the life lessons learned through hunting," Buck explained. "We need to get back to that story, especially for our younger generation, and to be putting our best foot forward."

Theodore Roosevelt and the Boone and Crockett Club popularized the concept of fair chase at a time in history when the unregulated harvest of game was a significant factor in the extinction of some species and the near loss of others. Conservation was being promoted as the new model for the treatment of natural resources, to not only recover wildlife populations, but also to ensure they would never be threatened again.

Sportsmen of that era took it upon themselves to embrace conservation and aid in the recovery of the game they cherished. They also embraced a new code of conduct that spoke to their character and commitments.

Buck said, "Having an outdoor lifestyle brand like YETI that really speaks to our younger generation is a huge plus considering fair chase is a part of an overall outdoors and conservation ethic."

"I'm part of the millennial generation of hunters," said YETI's Hunting Marketing Manager Ben O'Brien. "We have to have a reason, a moral connection to hunting. We need to have an intellectual conversation with our peers about why we do what we do. We're excited about being a part of this effort that will provide the tools to have that conversation."

The Hunt Fair Chase initiative will launch this August with an interactive website and social media effort.