We are looking forward to getting Why Women Hunt into the hands of one of our reviewers who hunts. We know that a large majority of our searches here at The WON come from women who hunt or want to learn more about hunting, and that’s exciting. We anticipate running this book review early in the fall. ~BB
This fall they will feed their families locally-sourced free-range meat that has been foraging on natural grasses, leaves, nuts and berries—clean, delicious food without a trace of chemical additives.
And they will be pilloried on social media by strident voices who otherwise advocate that we move away from industrial food production and eat locally-sourced, healthful food.
They are women hunters.
It may surprise many to learn that this fall more than 1 million females over age 16 will enthusiastically take to America’s woods and waters to ethically harvest wild game. And thanks to hunter-led and funded conservation programs, the pheasants and ducks and deer they bring home are in most places across the American landscape more abundant than since frontier times.
According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, 10.3 million American males hunted in 2016, a number that has been steadily declining in recent decades as traditional wildlife-sustaining habitat is obliterated by strip malls and tract housing. Fewer distracted suburban young men are hunting. However, according to the exhaustive survey, 1.1 million women hunted in 2016—and their participation is statistically holding steady.
These dedicated outdoor women—of all ages, professions, education and cultural backgrounds—make up an increasing proportion of licensed American hunters.
Why Women Hunt by author and hunter K. J. Houtman of Minnesota, the first book of its kind, is an intimate look at the lives of 18 individual female hunters across the country, Alabama to Alaska. Their diverse personal stories explore what motivates them to connect, spiritually and physically, with the natural world in one of humankind’s most ancient food-gathering rituals.
Book website address: www.whywomenhunt.com
Wild River Press: www.wildriverpress.com
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
