Shed Hunting and YOU

	If you have ever gone hunting for shed (dropped) deer and moose antlers, or if you have just thought about it, if you have found zero antlers or 1000 antlers, if you buy, sell or collect antlers; you need to read this.

	Yes this is going to be long, and yes you might completely disagree with it, but you still need to read this through. Please note: This letter is NOT about antler "ownership", real or perceived, this is strictly about human behavior and attitude.

	My husband, Rob and I are the original founders of the New Hampshire Shed Hunters Club (NHSHC) which was the FIRST such club in N.H. and one of the first in all of New England. We started the club as a way for people with the same passion- hunting shed antlers- to share photos of their finds, to exchange tips and to just be able to connect and converse with fellow shed hunters.

	As a whole the people we met along the way were nice respectful people. Time passed and the club responsibilities grew too great and we passed the leadership of the club along to James Smith Jr who is just as passionate about shed hunting as Rob. The passage of time has also brought other changes, some good and some not.

	Shed antler hunting has exploded in popularity, it's  become popular with the young, old and in between. That is the good. 

	The commercial aspect of shed hunting has always been there, but that too has increased tremendously with the jump in antler prices to feed the Asian and dog chew markets. This is good AND bad. As more people come to shed hunting- for hobby or as a business- we are starting to see a huge and ugly change. There are people being drawn to shed hunting we have never encountered before and that is what we NEED to address.

	In the past shed hunters have been a pretty respectful group. They get to know what the vehicles of other shed hunters look like and the areas favored by each other and generally avoid "poaching" a fellow shed hunters traditional areas. They ask permission before crossing land owner's property except in huge tracts of public access land, they go out of their way to cultivate posted landowner access permission and they never steal from anyone.

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	The new, ugly change we are seeing relates to competition and also in part to the commercial aspect. There are new groups of shed hunters who make a special point to "stalk" the roads looking for the vehicles of other shed hunters and then come back and scour the woods another day, or slip in ahead of them further along the property. They follow other shed hunters and steal found antlers that were tied to trees for pickup on the way out, this is causing a human danger element as altercations in the woods are increasing. They sneak (tresspass) onto posted land to obtain shed antlers. They also go out during hard winters with deep snow pack on snowshoes or snowmobiles and pressure already stressed deer and moose herds out of their "yards" in their quest to get ahead of other shed hunters and in the process pack trails for predators to more easily acccess these animals: something an ethical shed hunter would never do.

	We as responsible, ethical shed hunters owe it to the animals we love and respect AND to our fellow shed hunters to regulate ourselves BEFORE the State steps in and regulates it for us by implementing seasons or fees. If the State ever decides that shed hunting is at all causing a decline or is detrimental to the well being of the animals, they could shut down winter shed hunting altogether as has happened in many Western States. No antler in your collection or your sale bin is worth THAT!

	Like with ethical hunting we cannot let these "bad seeds" sully the reputation and public image of the ethical, responsible and respectful TRUE shed antler hunter. By using common sense and courtesy the ability to hunt shed antlers will continue without regulation.

	In closing, there IS room in the woods for everyone regardless of why you shed hunt, but greed should never play a part or be taught to the new generation.

	Sincerely;
Diane & Rob Richardson Jr