Härkila proudly supports FACE

Härkila was founded in Scandinavia where hunting has always enjoyed great public support. As hunters, we often take it for granted fact that we can hunt. But it is not a human right to be allowed to hunt: Recreational hunting is only possible with the acceptance of the majority of people in the societies we live in.

We therefore need professional representation on many levels to secure the future of our passion. There is a great need to inform the public and decision-makers about why we hunt and the many benefits of hunting.

In Europe, most national legislation affecting hunting and conservation comes out of the European Union. It is complex political machinery and as hunters, we should pay very close attention to what happens in Brussels. Such a task requires political expertise, massive background knowledge, and human resources.

FACE ON THE FRONTLINE

FACE – which is short for the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation – represents seven million hunters from 37 countries. This makes the organization the largest democratically representative body for hunters globally. FACE mainly works in with the European Parliament and the European Commission as well as the Council of Ministers using its members, which are Europe’s national hunting associations. Of course, it engages with many other international political scenes where decision affecting Europe’s 7 million hunters are made.

FACE was founded in 1977 and has been working with European politics as a pro-hunting international NGO since. The organization became a member of

the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1985.

The secretariat is based in Brussels, because that is where the European Parliament and other big EU institutions are based. Representatives from the member organizations govern the organization to ensure that the different hunting cultures of Europe are always fairly represented.

Monitoring EU politics is a huge task, and there is a lot to do in the office. FACE offers fact-based advice on hunting policies to any decision-maker who needs it. Without the effort of FACE, hunting in Europe would quickly be in dire straits.

RAISING AWARENESS

Nevertheless, surprisingly few hunters are aware of FACE and its essential role. That is mainly because FACE is an umbrella organization for national hunting associations across Europe. This means that individual hunters are represented via membership of a national hunting association and not as direct members of FACE. From a communications perspective, FACE currently focuses its resources on Brussels and not on mainstream society.

This lack of awareness is a problem for FACE when it comes to fundraising to support the organization's work. FACE has fourteen employees in total, which are not many people to represent 7 million hunters, although they do a stellar job.

SECURING THE FUTURE OF HUNTING

In light of the importance of FACE, we at Härkila actively and financially support the organization's work. It is clearly in the interest of both the future of hunting and all the dedicated hunters who wear Härkila clothes with pride.

As a leading hunting clothing brand, we believe that we are morally obligated to give something back to the

hunting community by supporting the fight for the future of our shared passion. Hunting is, after all, at the heart of our company.

We cannot simply sit back and hope for somebody else to act. We hope that this initiative will inspire others to do the same.

To learn more about FACE's work, visit their homepage.