Hunting Ethics

Here in Wyoming, it is illegal to shoot an animal (requiring a tag or permit to hunt) and leave it lay. Predatory animals (yotes, coons, jackrabbits, and now WOLVES:D) are a different story all together. And, as far as I'm concerned, if someone is just out for a nice rack to mount on the wall, ebay is just a click away. There are a lot of families out there that could use the meat if someone else doesn't want it. When I hunt, it's all about filling the freezer. I mean, how could anyone not enjoy a tender Elk backstrap cooked over an open flame?
 
Whack'em and let the scavengers have them. There are pleanty out there and they don't have a breeding season. As soon as a litter is weined, the sows can get pregnent again, with another 6-10. All year long.

As far as spoiling, it takes a little longer than 3 hours to spoil. I've had to let some lay, in a South Carolina summer, 5 hours or better before even getting them to the boat.(multiple tracking jobs/dragging) They were just fine. So if you kill a small one, under 50 lbs, field dress and tote it back with you. I like wild hog better than any pork I can buy at the store.
 
On my Florida NWP I am allowed to hunt the pythons as well as the others i mentioned.... I just forgot since I am now in the panhandle and they do not survive the winters here.
IMHO I want the animal dead and on ice in under 2 hours. If I cannot assure myself of that I either leave it lay or leave it live.
When I trapped pigs I would keep them alive at home awaiting phone calls from those I had informed I had the pig they requested. I did not dispatch that pig until I had a hand shake from them and they got fresh meat. Pork is easy enuff to taint.
Brent
 
For managed species and big game, I won't hunt unless I have previously made arrangements for all the meat. I can't fit it all (even a small antelope) in my own freezer, so I have to call around and get friends to make room.


However, when it comes to nuisance species...

If I don't plan taking all of it, I don't take any part.
I leave them where they fall. Mother nature takes care of the rest.
 
In my opinion, this would qualify as pest control or varmint hunting. In the same way people don't eat or otherwise use the crows they kill, the mice they catch in a trap, the feral cats they shoot, the cockroaches they poison, I would say that it's fine to destroy (as opposed to harvest) destructive species, particularly those that are not native.

Of course, that's as long as it's legal and when there are good reasons or extenuating circumstances that prevent or severely complicate the harvesting of the carcass.
 
Now not looking at it legaly but moraly,

What is the moral difference in shooting a hog and leaving it for the buzzards or shooting bambi and leaving it for the buzzards?

Both animals you can eat. Both animals are very rarely a threat to your safety. Both make cute pets. And in many cases some of the hogs are bigger than stags. (Hogzilla) http://www.flickr.com/photos/bunnyscotch/514869451/

.
 
SUPER-DAVE, There is no difference in either. Its a living big game animal that you can eat the meat of. Until your state lists them under a varmint catagory then you should follow all rules and moral standards that apply. Its up to you to make the decision of what to do but I would try to stay within reason of getting the hog out to butcher and fill the freezer with some nice loins and chops. If you dont eat or want it im sure someone you know would be happy with a few packs of meat. Another question, Would you be able to bring some instant ice packs and roll foam for keeping the meat cool? Those things dont weigh alot and would keep the meat from spoiling. You would just have to line a larger pack with the foam, break the ice packs and layer the meat so it cools evenly. Those things may weigh only about 10lbs and put your mind at ease that you didnt make the wrong decision. Good luck, Mike
 
As ya'll read the following please remember I asked these things of "momma" when I was but a 4 or 5 year old boy at first than I got more curious as I got a bit older. I am not in any way holier than thou...
So where does the line lie? What is okay to kill for sport and what ain't? We know it ain't okay to hunt humans but they are the only animal able to rationalize. deer don't harm us but do feed us.... But why swat a bug? Most don't inflict pain nor spread disease but pretty much all bugs are killed wantonly by humans. Where do we decide? The laws give us rights and restrictions.
So I leave it up to each and every individual.... it is a very personal decision... so long as we don't break the law....
Brent
 
Hunting is a sport.
Ethical hunting is debateable for each instance involved.
There is no set standard of what is ethical, and what isn't.

If you, as a hunter, have issues with your decisions to hunt, don't repeat your 'mistakes', or stop hunting.
It wouldn't be a Sport if there was no risk of failure.

And remember; what you think is unethical, could be just the opposite to another person.
 
If it is a game animal, I DO NOT hunt it unless I am going to eat it. As far as "nuisance" animals, I guess that would depend on what the definition of a nuisance or pest/vermin animal is. Wild hogs are usually good eating in my experience however, they are problematic and can be extremely dangerous. I also, would say that this is a personal judgment call unless the animal is protected by law.
 
If I'm not going to eat it, I don't shoot it...just the way I was raised.
Click to expand...

It's not always possible for an avid hunter to fill an elk and deer tag and eat all that meat--- along with quail, chukar, sage grouse, and plenty of waterfowl, etc. I was raised to hunt. Not stop and eat it all before I went out again.

All game was properly processed for consumption, and that not eaten given to those who appreciated it. Unlike gamefish taken by the fly rod than can be released to fight another day.


Meat hunting and sport hunting are equally honorable pursuits, in my opinion, but quite different---though it's certainly possible to accomplish both at the same time.
 
In my personal opinion yes it is unethical and immoral to kill a animal if you don't intend to eat it. Again I say that is my personal opinion and I don't attempt to impose it on others. I have over the years passed on many deer and turkeys because they were out of season or the rules stipulated that you could only harvest a particular sex.
 
What would Native American have done with a feral pig problem?

If I kill 5 pigs, one was a sow with piglets.
Six piglets got away, orphaned.
I only intend on eating one pig.
It is going in the freezer with the deer, and fish.
Am I a unethical hunter?

Would I still be a bad hunter if I had bobcat meat in my freezer as well?
What about that coyote, or fox I killed?
Various rabbits and armadillos?

No?
Yes?

I follow the laws provided unto me.
Those laws are in place because of ethics.
If it is legal, it is fair game.
If I want it for food, I will take it. (bobcat backstraps)
If I don't want it, I leave it for the buzzards. (fox: of which I have its tail and face; and coyote's)

If you have an ethics issue with me, try and pass new laws and/or join PETA.
Until otherwise told, I will continue to enjoy hunting, killing, population controlling, and eating.
This includes my taking of trophys, as I see fit, within the law.

I'm no 'shoot it cause I see it', hunter.
Many tasty animals have passed my bore because I was hunting other prey. Far more than I actually shoot.
It is a sport, after all.

May your hunts be as enjoyable as mine. (salut' to ATTT)
 
As far as ethics....

Here is a question.

I have a land owner asking me to come and take care of his mountain lion problem, near Abilene.
The mountain lions, about five of them to date, love feral pigs.
If I were to kill off a serious percentage of the population of lions in that natural funnel, feral pigs would find their way into Abilene.
On his property, about 20 miles south of town, hunting both animals is legal. .
In Abilene, firing even a pellet rifle is illegal.
Would it be unethical of me to hunt the lions?

There are two sides of this.
I can take trophy's and meat now, and possibly force hunting of pigs within Abilene upon its citizens.
Or, I can leave the status quo as is, and let this fearful family deal with the lions on their own.

I have yet to decide.
But I am thinking of hunting lions. :rolleyes:
Trophy's now, and pig meat later.
Both positives, from my selfish standpoint.
 
cyotes are a problem in maine, especially when there so overpopulated theres unlimited bag year round and they walk around cities at night........kill them all day and how would you use cyote pelts anyway?
 
Lets not all get stupid now. Hunting in the old days was a way to feed yourself and family and still should be. I dont think I have ever seen a section in the hunters education test or booklets that tell you to leave the animals you kill to rot. I think our forefathers would roll in their graves if they knew people are shooting game animals for the "sport" of it that they at one time survived and depended on. I for one cant believe that any ethical hunter would shoot an edible game animal without eating it. It dont matter if their destructive or not. What about all the deer that live in cities that dont allow hunting, Should we shoot and let them rot also??? They are in the same place of hogs with being destructive and eating themselfs out of house and home. I just cant believe what im hearing from hunters in this thread. Is everyone a hunter posting in this thread or are you a Tacticool guy that is offering an opinion? I think every ethical hunter that holds his head high should think of whats being said here of shooting and leaving a big game animal to rot. It dont matter if their a pain in the neck or not, Its still an animal that every hunter should respect the life they give up to put meat on our tables. Im DONE with this and your the ones that have to live with your decisions. And I can feel good about my ethics being passed down to the next generation of hunters that I teach.(including my children that love pork)
 
Game Hunt

I just got in from a spring squirrel hunt. Great day in the field. After carrying the one I was lucky enough to drop around in the woods for 2-3 hours, he smelled like fresh ass when I got him home. :barf:Eat that? Nope. Do I feel bad? Nope. Will I go out tomorrow? Yep. Will I bother to lug them around in the heat? Doubtful unless I meet someone else who would want to deal with them. Bottom line is TWRA says we need a spring hunt to control population so I will do my part and it's way better than being at work!
 
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