Who Hunts, Who Doesn't & The Politics of Why with Paul McCarney PhD — WildFed Podcast #158

In this episode:

Paul McCarney | Conservation social scientist, writer, hunter-conservationist

Podcast discussion:

  • Introducing Paul

  • How to change the public images of hunters & being mindful of messaging in hunting conversations

  • Tribalism

  • The rapidly changing demographic of hunting

  • Who feels alienated from hunting and why

  • Shaping tomorrow's hunting community through today's narrative

  • The importance of continuing this dialectic

  • Where to find Paul's work

WildFed Podcast is brought to you by:

 

Antidote to the Metaverse T-Shirt

Do you need an Antidote to the Metaverse?

We’ve just launched our newest t-shirt design. It features our “Antidote to the Metaverse” tagline on the chest, a WildFed badge on the sleeve, and two tarot-style cards juxtaposed on the back, one modeled on the tarot card known as the Fool — who is wearing an oculus and absent-mindedly walking off the roof of a building with a bag of fast food in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Next to it is a card based on the Magician, who is juggling four implements — a fishing rod, a rifle, a trap, and a foraging basket.

It represents our belief that a life that includes the outdoors inoculates you against believing that an artificial experience of life can replace a natural one.

You see, for us, being WildFed — hunting, fishing, and foraging — is about a lot more than just getting our groceries. It’s an Antidote to the Metaverse. An act of rebellion against the transhuman agenda that is leading humanity to abandon that natural world in favor of wearing screens over their eyes to live in virtual world. We choose the natural over the artificial, we choose an antidote to the metaverse. We choose to be fed by the wild.

Go here to check out the new shirt!

SACRED HUNTING

Hunting is as ancient as humanity itself, and through most of our history it wasn’t just a physical pursuit, it was a spiritual one too. One of the ways human beings came to understand ourselves and our place in the wild world that sustained us.

Hunting is still an incredible tool for personal transformation today. Helping you discover more about yourself, your environment, the animals you share the world with, and even helping you develop a deeper understanding of life and death itself. Hunting can help you find your place in the community of life.

But you could hunt all your life and never find that kind of transformation. It takes deliberate practice, awareness, and sometimes… even initiation.

That’s why our friend Mansal Denton created Sacred Hunting.

Sacred Hunting brings new or even experienced hunters out onto the landscape to stalk, harvest, and field dress animals in a retreat-type setting — in conjunction with sweat lodges, entheogenic plant medicine ceremonies, and strong intention-setting that prepares hunters for a lifelong spiritual relationship with themselves, the land and the animals they hunt.

IF YOU WANT TO HUNT AS A TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION, CHECK OUT SACREDHUNTING.COM.

Mansal and his team will guide you through beginner hunts, and more experienced hunters will find unique opportunities available across the country and globe.

There are only a few spots available per hunt, so go to SacredHunting.com and complete their 2-minute application. Discounts are available when you let them know you heard about them on the WildFed Podcast. Learn more about Mansal and Sacred Hunting on Episode 59 of the WildFed Podcast.

 

Meet Paul McCarney

 
 

Paul is an environmental social scientist, hunter, and conservationist. He currently lives in Whitehorse, Yukon (traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council). He has a PhD in environmental studies and is interested in understanding and engaging in the full complexity of the social-ecological systems of hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation. Through his work and writing, he hopes to connect people and their knowledge to contribute to positive and inclusive hunting and conservation communities.

Website | Instagram @paul.mccarney

WildFedComment