Politics & Lobbying
Most wildlife control operators (WCOs) I know hate politics and lobbying. They don’t like the compromises and the betrayals and the slow pace that it takes for political change. Unfortunately, this attitude amongst WCOs means that we are subject to the whims of the anti-WCOs. If politicians only hear one side then that is the side they will
follow. Politics and lobbying are slow. Politics and lobbying take time, inordinate amounts of time. You have to continue to make your voice heard in order to convince people to your side.
Other actions needed for political change include joining state and national associations. Numbers matter. Large organizations have money and money is power. Not just for ads but also for people to take the time to lobby and write politicians to block and propose legislation or rules. Money allows paying someone to represent your interests before regulators and hearings. I think you get the picture. I have provided tips for low level lobbying in a previous blog.
My podcast below goes into further details. Enjoy.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.Dr. Niamh Quinn
Dr. Niamh Quinn is Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor with the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, California. As her title suggests, Dr. Quinn is a specialist in wildlife damage management (California culture requires the name to be a bit softer and politically correct). I invited her on the “Living the Wild Life” vodcast to talk about her research with urban coyotes and control of rats. Dr. Quinn has been doing some fascinating work in both of these areas and she was kind enough to share her findings (preliminary though some were) with our Pest Geek Podcast audience.
Our talk was so productive I had to break it up into two shows, part 1 and part 2. Enjoy.
Part 1 with Dr. Niamh Quinn
Part 2 with Dr. Niamh Quinn
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Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.
Lobbying Government
This blog entry is about how wildlife control operators WCOs should be lobbying government.
Lobbying government? Yes, I am arguing that WCOs should be spending at least a portion of their time lobbying state representatives and agency personnel. The fact is
animal rights protest industry activists are constantly lobbying government officials to ban this method or restrict that tool. Year after year, they are writing letters, attending wildlife board meetings and lobbying state officials in an attempt to “protect animals”. In the meantime, WCOs are out doing their work ignoring the effects of animal activists working behind the scenes trying to get their agenda made into policy and/or law. It seems to me that WCOs only act when something has entered committee or when signatures are being collected for a ballot campaign. While I certainly commend that needed effort, it is short sighted.
Think Long Term
WCOs need to stop playing defense. We need to get into the politics game and begin flexing our political muscle if for nothing more than to make the animal rights protest industry waste effort fighting us. Animal activists have been fighting for decades because they know it takes time to make policy changes. WCOs need to stop thinking short term and think long term. What do you want your industry to look like in 40 years? Can you plan that far ahead? The antis do.
Take Action
What actions should WCOs take when lobbying government?
- Join a national association. Numbers matter when an association lobbies on your behalf.
- Join or create a state association. National organizations can’t do everything. Politics is local you need to get in the local fight.
- Watch your language. Do not use terms that reinforce the ideology of the animal rights movement.
- Educate your clients. Be sure your brochures explain to your clients why the tools you use are needed to help keep costs down and protect your client’s property and well being.
- Lobby government.
- Invite your game warden to ride along with you.
- Tell your state representative what you do for work and why it’s important. Better yet, visit him/her.
- Tell your associations to spend more time lobbying. WCO associations do great on training but need to put more resources on lobbying.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.
Taking Better Cell Phone Pictures
One of the tragic occurrences with pest control operators (PCOs) and wildlife control operators (WCOs) is how often they take poor photographs. So many beautiful photos and the opportunity being in the right place and the right time affords oneself, is lost due to careless mistakes with a camera. This blog post focuses on how PCOs and WCOs can go about taking better cell phone pictures.
The first step to taking better cell phone pictures begins with keeping your hand steady. You probably don’t think you are doing anything wrong, because when you look at your cell phone, the picture looks clear. But if you used your fingers and zoomed in on the photo you would notice that the edges are often blurry. This is why when you send a photo to a friend and he opens the image on his computer screen the photo looks terrible. This blur often happens because we take photos with one hand and then press the button with our thumb. This creates “shake” and causes the edges of the photo to be blurred.
Stop this shake by using two hands and being intentional, not rushed with the shot. Next keep your elbows close to your body so that the camera is held more securely as demonstrated in the photo to the left. Holding your elbows against your body reduces shake by increasing stability of the camera.
Try this method next time and you will see an incredible improvement in the clarity of your photos. With better photos you can improve the chances of making money on your photos.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.
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