caorach
Well-Known Member
The following is worth a read, it is from the "ethical consumer" optics report:
1.3 Who to buy from?
Recommended companies are Canon Inc., Fujifilm HoldingsCorporation, the Olympus Corporation and Kenko TokinaCo., which were the only companies covered that could notbe directly linked with the sport hunting industry. The RSPB’sown branded optics, supplied by Viking Optical, also do notsponsor hunting or promote shooting equipment.
The other five companies with weaker links to sport huntingmay also be a good choice. The main brands in this groupare: Celestron, Opticron, Pentax, Visionary and Kowa.
Consumers who hold animal rights issues close to heartmay want to avoid companies committed to hunting. Theseare: Nikon, Bushnell, Vortex, Meopta, Minox, Leica, Steiner,Burris, Swarovski, Leupold, Vanguard, Zeiss, Hawke, Bresser,National Geographic, Acuter, Barska, Visionking, Bosma andAlpen brands.If environmental issues guide your purchasing choices, thenyou may wish to avoid companies that glamorise trophyhunting. In particular companies whose images and footageinclude animals such as lions and bears where the potentialnegative impacts of selective hunting have started to beevidenced. These include Alpen, Steiner, Swarovski, Burris,Bresser, National Geographic, Zeiss, Leica, Minox, Vanguardand Vortex optics.If you’re going to change what you buy because of this report,remember to tell the company about it and let them know why!
You can read the whole document, if you can face the writing style and sense of victimhood and entitlement, here:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/portals/0/downloads/optics%20report.pdf
Needless to say the companies mentioned in the final paragraph are the ones you should be buying from if you want to keep hunting alive, and want to be able to buy telescopic sights from the likes of Swaro and Zeiss in a few years time. Buying from the companies in the first paragraph sends a clear message that supporting the antis can make you cash and, ultimately, chases companies away from involvement in shooting related sports. So, you need to think long and hard about any optics you might be looking to buy this Christmas as making the wrong call gives leverage to people trying to get your sport stopped. Thankfully, if you want a camera, Sony are currently supplying sensors to Nikon and are way, way ahead of the likes of Canon who are still back there in the stone age so not only can you support shooting with your purchasing but you can also end up with the best gear.
1.3 Who to buy from?
Recommended companies are Canon Inc., Fujifilm HoldingsCorporation, the Olympus Corporation and Kenko TokinaCo., which were the only companies covered that could notbe directly linked with the sport hunting industry. The RSPB’sown branded optics, supplied by Viking Optical, also do notsponsor hunting or promote shooting equipment.
The other five companies with weaker links to sport huntingmay also be a good choice. The main brands in this groupare: Celestron, Opticron, Pentax, Visionary and Kowa.
Consumers who hold animal rights issues close to heartmay want to avoid companies committed to hunting. Theseare: Nikon, Bushnell, Vortex, Meopta, Minox, Leica, Steiner,Burris, Swarovski, Leupold, Vanguard, Zeiss, Hawke, Bresser,National Geographic, Acuter, Barska, Visionking, Bosma andAlpen brands.If environmental issues guide your purchasing choices, thenyou may wish to avoid companies that glamorise trophyhunting. In particular companies whose images and footageinclude animals such as lions and bears where the potentialnegative impacts of selective hunting have started to beevidenced. These include Alpen, Steiner, Swarovski, Burris,Bresser, National Geographic, Zeiss, Leica, Minox, Vanguardand Vortex optics.If you’re going to change what you buy because of this report,remember to tell the company about it and let them know why!
You can read the whole document, if you can face the writing style and sense of victimhood and entitlement, here:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/portals/0/downloads/optics%20report.pdf
Needless to say the companies mentioned in the final paragraph are the ones you should be buying from if you want to keep hunting alive, and want to be able to buy telescopic sights from the likes of Swaro and Zeiss in a few years time. Buying from the companies in the first paragraph sends a clear message that supporting the antis can make you cash and, ultimately, chases companies away from involvement in shooting related sports. So, you need to think long and hard about any optics you might be looking to buy this Christmas as making the wrong call gives leverage to people trying to get your sport stopped. Thankfully, if you want a camera, Sony are currently supplying sensors to Nikon and are way, way ahead of the likes of Canon who are still back there in the stone age so not only can you support shooting with your purchasing but you can also end up with the best gear.
