The Boone and Crockett Club and the National Rifle Association’s Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF) are working together to develop an online education platform to teach hunter ethics. The groups announced today that they have created a partnership for the educational programming to help communicate the importance of Fair Chase ethics when hunters head to the field. The Fair Chase Hunter Ethics curriculum will complement existing NRA hunter education modules to carry a positive message to new and existing hunters, as well as to the general public. The online course is expected to be launched in early 2024.

“The research that Hunters’ Leadership Forum conducted several years ago to understand American attitudes toward hunting reinforced to me that the future of hunting in America is not only rooted in recruitment of new hunters, but also in the acceptance by nonhunters. Nonhunters hold our future rights in their hands, so we need to do a better job of communicating our benefits in America,” commented HLF director Peter Churchbourne. “The Boone and Crockett Club is known as the experts on hunter ethics and it was clear to me that they were the perfect partners to help teach new hunters and remind seasoned hunters about Fair Chase ethics and conservation.”

The Boone and Crockett Club is and always has been focused on Fair Chase and hunter ethics, however up until the development of this course there has never been an encapsulated curriculum for individuals who are interested in learning more about the topics. The Fair Chase Hunter Ethics module that is being developed will mirror the existing NRA online hunter education course but dives more deeply into the roots of conservation, the value of hunting within the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and the importance of Fair Chase ethics. The ability of hunters to carry this ethic into the field and communicate this information to the nonhunting community will help share hunters’ contributions to conservation, food sovereignty, and national economics—and will ultimately help grow and protect the cultural acceptance of hunting. 

“When I found the NRA online hunter education courses, I couldn’t wait to take one and see what was offered through their web-based learning platform. I was totally blown away with the design and way information was presented—even after being a hunter for 20+ years, I still learned something new in every chapter,” said Luke Coccoli, director of conservation programs for the Boone and Crockett Club. “We are very pleased to team up with the NRA to offer a world class digital education experience on the topic of Fair Chase Hunter Ethics. This code of ethics is essential to showing respect for the game we hunt and forms the foundation for our responsibility to wildlife and wild places.”

“Since the days of Theodore Roosevelt and the founding of conservation in this country, hunters have had a code of ethics in their pursuit of wildlife. The ethics education curriculum being developed is essential to ensure that the current generation of hunters understands and operates under this code,” Churchbourne concluded.

The Fair Chase Hunter Ethics course will be available in early 2024. It will be hosted on both the NRA and Boone and Crockett Club websites and will be free for all ages and experience levels to enjoy. 

About the Boone and Crockett Club

Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.

About the Hunters’ Leadership Forum

In response to the culture war on American hunters, in late 2014 the NRA launched the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF) to address the cultural, political, demographic, and technological challenges facing the future of hunters, hunting, and wildlife conservation in the 21st century. The HLF brings together dedicated hunters who have distinguished themselves as leaders in their professions, communities, and in the field as we go on the offense and work together to save hunting’s future. For more information, visit www.nrahlf.org.

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