When Nick Zigelbaum found out that the meat his friend Nick Chaset was enjoying at a barbecue had come from wild game, he was instantly intrigued. In their urban community, hunting was a novel idea. His interest led him to take part in a wild pig hunt, and through that experience, Zigelbaum understood what had been missing from his understanding of the relationship between people and food. He realized that all living things kill to eat, and that modern society alienates people from that reality, resulting in a lack of respect for the food and a loss of connection with nature. Zigelbaum and Chaset had an idea. They would found an organization that would provide resources for people who wanted to discover hunting.
The Bull Moose Hunting Society is Born
Zigelbaum and Chaset named their organization The Bull Moose Hunting Society, after the Bull Moose Party of President Teddy Roosevelt. Each chapter has two coordinators who manage local events, which can include guided hunts, informational programs, and shared information about sustainable, locally produced food. In addition to providing a place to learn hunting skills, the society promotes awareness of the integrity of food. When people exclusively buy food that is grown, killed, and harvested remotely, then packaged in plastic and shipped to market, they lose a sense of the origins of that food, and are less likely to honor it in preparation and consumption. Zigelbaum believes that people who maintain their awareness that meat is the product of animals eat less meat and appreciate it more. He says, “Our ultimate goal is to make people aware of the life that was taken to provide the food that you eat.”
The society relies upon its membership for guides and instructors. “Everywhere we’ve organized a chapter, people have come forward to help us out,” explains Zigelbaum. BMHS prides itself on the diversity of its membership. Although most members are men and women in their mid-twenties to early thirties, several are in their forties and fifties. The oldest active member is eight-two. Anyone who is interested in starting a chapter can find information about getting started on The Bull Moose Hunting Society's website.
Zigelbaum says, “I think of myself as a cultural organizer more than anything. One hundred years ago, community hunters shared skills and knowledge. One result of urbanization is the loss of that knowledge and the connection to wild spaces.” The Bull Moose Hunting Society seeks to restore that sense of community and connection.
A Defense of Hunting
When asked about future plans for the organization, Zigelbaum replies that, in addition to helping the society expand, he and Chaset are considering writing a book. The book would be a defense of hunting, explaining how and why hunters take part in predation. Although many people have long been deeply involved in the heritage of hunting, the sport is foreign to a large percentage of urbanites. The Bull Moose Hunting Society wants to empower people to rediscover themselves as hunters and to reconnect with the natural environment. The introductory message found at the society’s website says it best:
“Bull Moose is an organization dedicated to providing a means for those of us who have lost our instincts, our predatory skills and our connection to the wild world to get those parts of ourselves back.”
Brenda Layman - I grew up in eastern Kentucky in a family that hunted, fished, hiked, and camped regularly. Although I moved to Ohio to become a teacher ...
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