Misunderstood?

[Dan Salter]

Hmmm..Ok im on several internet meeting sites etc...and on my "profile page" i state im into conservation and wildlife and nature watching...

But then....all i seem to get contact from is Vegetarians, Animal rights activists and the anti hunt brigade? oh....and people saying " Hi i love wildlife too , I have 3 german shepherds a rottweiler, 18 cats a parrot and a gerbil"...erm?

I see the vegetarian and animal rights people as a world away from the things im involved with and the people i mix with but the two seem to get lumped in together?...When i tell them my hero is "Hugh fearnley whittingstall" they soon get the message.

I fit into none of the above categories and dont ever plan too ( except the categories i stated, wildlife lover and conservation..)

I love meat...im not against any "Country ways" i am against the obvious Badger bating etc...and to be perfectly honest i dont like dogs, never have never will and im fed up of sitting in dog poo during my volunteer days lunch breaks (or seeing poo bags hung on trees)ha ha.

I realise there are going to be those here that do cross over and are probably anti everything and vegetarians but dont you all agree as a whole that a conservationist is NOT in the same bracket as an animal rights activist?...or am i totally wrong as usual?

I dont see why being "GREEN" immediately means you have to be anti "huntin' shootin' fishin'" as well?

and when looking for courses at uni/college in the "conservation sector" i keep getting steered onto Veterinary/RSPCA/animal welfare type things?....no no no im sure my local vet would not know his/her Meadow Brown from his/her Gatekeeper? (ok maybe he/she would but you get my point?...even the people working the university dont seem to understand the difference between conservation and environment and saving abandoned cats? )

Dan

and i have been as careful as i can with my language and anything that may offend as i seem to be a star of that round here so far ...so if i have then please before shouting at me understand i really dont want to upset ANYONE and i really tried with this one but i feel i wanted to discuss it here.

[nightshade]

There there Dan, I got my interest in all things wild because I used to shoot and fish etc
You cannot win over everybody as certain sections have closed minds.
Treat everyone to a fair hearing, people are often more firmly wed to ideas and theories than facts,be true to yourself,educate where you can, (I write as nightshade to avoid the wind ups)

[DL]

You could simply be the victim of a hoard of rubbish search engines

[eeyore]

fair enough dan , i'm not in a shouty mood tonight anyway

as far as universities go you usually find the conservation courses under either countryside management or environment

[Dan Salter]

Oh yeah i know eeyore thanks i have found the courses and applied but i was talking about when i first started visiting uni's/colleges etc

[Wild-Woman]

I think you'll make a fine conservationist. You've got the passion and that's 99% of it.
Oh-and you come from KENT. ww

[Hornbeam]

Me? I'm so misunderstood I even misunderstand myself.

[Gill Catton]

Dan I totally know where you are coming from. Whenever I'm involved in construction site supervision - (making sure those boys in yellow do as they are told ). I see them judge me the instant I walk in 'oh here we go' looks on their faces, they are all - including the gaffa are expecteing me to be over zealous, holier than thou animal rights activist type.......
They almost breathe a sigh of relief when they discover I'm a little more pragmatic in my approach.
In my last job - which was a big engineering company they couldn't understand why the team of environmental consultants were a little unhappy when given business cards with 'environmentalist' as job title - a title which is bound to be misunderstood.......

[Wild-Woman]

My husband is a construction manager and has total respect for his environmentalist visitors.The lady bat consultant is very well respected, as is the archaeological teams and ornithologist consultant who helps them if there are nesting birds etc. And the lady crane drivers are brilliant too! Things are changing-especially on my husbands sites!!

[carlj]

I quite like vegetarians - tasty and full of fibre

I wear leather shoes, have never fished due to lack of interest, shot only clay pigeons and those man-shaped targets (in RAF). But I am no dreadlocked activist, even though I'd fight tooth and nail to maintain what I consider my local plot.

What does depress me, are those people, whose only contact with the natural world is a documentary on the telly.

Much of the British landscape/wildlife, is a result of man's intervention, through farming, shooting, hunting.