A local podcast host has spoken to the Chronicle about how changing her lifestyle is protecting the natural environment while enhancing the voice of people in the community.

Abigail is the host of The Grit: Stories from Women in the Wild and Beyond, which was the first podcast in the UK for women who hunt and fish.

The podcast promotes women’s journeys and boosts the representation of minority groups in the community.

Abigail was a vegan before joining the hunting community and eventually tracking down her food.

“The more I learned about the hunting community, the more I realised how wrong my initial conceptions were,” she said.

“My podcast is all about promoting women, essentially, and I use my role in the hunting community to do that.”

“I am a part of the LGBT+ community, and I am very open about that. I think the composition of the hunting community would shock a lot of people.”

“At a recent deer management show, my wife came with me, and we had a pride flag up. Nobody challenged us.”

Abigail is keen to promote hunting as a lifestyle for others, not a sport. She spoke about how sustainable getting your food in a natural way can actually be.

“Take the large scale international beef industry as an example,” she said.

“It is very bad for the environment. It has led to mass deforestation in some parts of the world and contributes to high greenhouse gas emissions.”

“I can have a carbon negative impact through hunting. Controlling large populations preserves habitats for plant and animal species found in woodland environments and allows them to flourish - including the deer themselves”

“I will wear it on my forehead that hunting is conservation.”

The townie-turned-hunter also points out that you can’t simply do what you want.

Hunting in the UK is not permitted on forestry land by the general public, meaning those who can do it must obtain permission from private landowners to go out.

People who live off the land in this way also need firearm certificates before they can pull the trigger on most guns and cannot use bows and crossbows.

Separate licenses are also required to shoot deer in specific instances, qualifications which are required to submit deer into the human food chain, and it is illegal to ‘drive’ (chase) them.

Abigail’s mission is to break down the stigma around the wider hunting community, and through her podcast, is showing it in a new light.

“Everyone is welcome. But if you want to be a vegan or a vegetarian that is absolutely fine. I wouldn’t judge you.”

“I really don’t expect everybody to have the capacity to pull the trigger. My wife was horrified when I told her what I wanted to do but she’s now my biggest advocate.”

“But it is people like her who I hope I can reach. My target audience isn’t necessarily people who are already hunters.”

“I want to be starting conversations which break down the stereotypes people have about this way of life.”