Regarding the VA regs, here is what VA says about wounding deer (and it's only required to tag deer killed by the hunter, not deer that are "probably killed" by the hunter or wounded by the hunter and then killed by coyotes, etc.):
"It is unlawful to...kill or cripple and knowingly allow any non-migratory game bird or game animal to be wasted without making a reasonable effort to retrieve the animal and retain it in possession."
All of that said, my ethics are not dictated by what's legal. It was legal to exterminate Jews in Nazi Germany, but that doesn't make it ethical. And, likewise, just because it's illegal doesn't make it unethical. My parents let me drink a small glass of wine with Thanksgiving dinner whenI was technically under the legal drinking age. I don't think that was unethical. Others may disagree, but that's ethics for ya...just like bellybuttons, everyone's got em and each one's unique. I respect just about anyone who takes the time to really think through an ethical issue honestly and then acts according to what they think is right, not just what's convenient/advantageous.
For me, the tag is my exchange and record for bringing something physicallyout of the woods, meat or antlers. If a wild animal ends up getting the meat and I don't get anything, then what happens in the forest stays in the forest! The coyotes got my deer instead of another animal.
Given the number of tags we get in VA, for me it really has nothing to dowith using up a tag. We get two either-sex and four antlerless tags, plus you can get an essentially unlimitednumber of damage tags if you're a farmer, etc., and have a deer problem. I only bow hunt and have never used all of my tags, so that really is not the issue.