KTKA

Robert Lee, Texas — What might seem fun to most 9-year-old girls does not hold much interest for Carolyn White.

When asked what she thought of Barbie dolls, Carolyn replied "they're not really fun."

What about shopping and going to the mall?

"They're boring too," she said.

Carolyn prefers spending her Saturdays hunting deer.

"It's wonderful. You feel like you can do anything, and it's really cool," she said.

State wildlife agencies around the country are sponsoring all-girls hunting trips. Its an effort to woo girls to what used to be a man's sport and to try to keep hunters from becoming an endangered species.

The sport is in a nationwide decline.

"Girls and women has been an untapped resource for us. And that's one of the reasons we now have some unique programs that are designed to facilitate and cultivate that interest," Texas Wildlife Association Spokesman Greg Simons said.

Others are catching on too, with designers producing pink camouflage clothing and fashion lines with names like "Foxy Huntress." Gun manufacturers are even making pink rifles, though they weren't a big hit with one all-girls Texas hunting group.

However, the efforts are working. About 15 percent of this year's youth licenses in Texas went to girls. That's triple the number five years ago. And hunting teachers say girls actually pick up the sport more quickly than boys.

"They don't put as much pressure on themselves which allows them to focus and concentrate," Simons said. "They don't show off like boys do? Well they don't have that machismo character hanging over their heads."

Hunting opponents say this sends the wrong message.

"We at the Humane Society of the U.S., we want to see children respect animals we want to see them love animals and not go out in the woods and kill animals," Humane Society Senior Vice President of Campaigns Heidi Prescott said.

And the girls admit not all of their friends at school are impressed.

"Some of them think it's wrong. They say they wouldn't be able to kill something so cute like Bambi, but I don't really see it that way because I'm really actually helping the environment by controlling the animals," 15-year-old Mary Kate Redding said.

Carolyn points out that hunting keeps the deer population in check, plus she brings home a pretty unusual trophy.

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