04/25/2026
This may ruffle feathers, but it needs saying.
Watching the trend of people dancing around a fallen gobbler isn’t celebration — it’s disrespect.
(The trend involves two or more individuals clapping/high 5-ing each other in a circle while playing an explicit song, some with body gestures of mockery or outright mockery to the turkey).
Somewhere along the way, parts of turkey hunting have traded reverence for performance, and too much of this new generation seems more concerned with content, clicks, and how many likes a bird can generate than the weight of the life taken. Look at the photo attached and see how many likes and comments this disgusting trend post received.
A wild turkey gave its life. That should still mean something.
The woods don’t promise you anything. They don’t owe you a gobble, a shot opportunity, or a filled tag. Every bird earned is a gift of grace, not a stage for theatrics. You literally took the time to set your phone up, pull up tik tok, play a song and record yourself dancing around a deceased animal. This is a trend of a joke. So with this being said, the reputation of the rest of us is trashed. Our view, trashed. Our tradition, trashed. It’s sad & embarrassing. If you are old enough to pull that trigger you best know what you are doing and the weight of what you’re doing.
This pursuit was built on woodsmanship, humility, restraint, and respect for the bird. Those things used to be understood without being said.
Maybe what troubles me most is not the trend itself, but what it reveals — a decline in ethics when attention starts outranking honor.
A turkey is not a prop. It is not a punchline.
Honor the bird. Respect the hunt. Carry yourself accordingly.
Woods & Co. Media does not support this and would never participate in such content. I said what i said and quite frankly feathers should be ruffled.
-Anna Woods.
