Chris Dorsey, host of Sporting Classics TV and co-founder of Dorsey Pictures, was given the industry’s Ray Scott Trailblazer Award by the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in recognition of his many contributions to the outdoor industry and wildlife conservation. The banquet and induction ceremony took place aboard the General Jackson showboat in Nashville, Tennessee, along the Cumberland River on August 17th. After being introduced by 4-star General Walter Boomer, Dorsey used his time at the podium to address the escalating cultural war against hunting and called for an organized industry effort to address this threat to the sporting lifestyle.
“The cultural war against hunters and hunting being waged in the mainstream media and social media, in celebrity circles, and in corporations, government bureaucracies and schools is having a profound impact on the future of our way of life,” said Duncan Grant, Publisher of Sporting Classics.
“The latest numbers from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service surveys should send tremors throughout the outdoor industry. We’re down five million hunters since 1960, down $11 billion in hunting equipment purchases since 2011 and have fewer than half the number of waterfowlers we once had. Hunters now comprise less than five percent of the national population.
“Everyone who attended the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame awards and induction ceremony in Nashville last week was made acutely aware of these facts, and the overall impact of anti-hunters and their surrogates in the media, the celebrity world and elsewhere are having on our way of life.
“In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Sporting Classics TV host and veteran media analyst Chris Dorsey shared his concerns for the future of hunting. He challenged members of the outdoor industry to engage in a serious and concerted mainstream effort to tell our story and to celebrate all that we have done for conservation in America.”
