There is a difference in " hunting" and wildlife managment. Usually they both meld together, but they are seperate things.

Hunting is recreational and mostly done for personal enjoyment or satifaction. So unless you are one sick person, you would not shoot something just for entertainment or for the heck of it and then leave it lay.

Wildlife managment is self explanitory. Managing wildlife. This includes population. Keeping animal populations balanced (not just " in check" ). If a particular preditor population is out of balance, then strictly from a managment standpoint, killing that animal and not using it is up to the person who killed it. An exterminator is a type of wildlife manager. He keeps bug populations to an exceptable level. He also does not keep the roaches or mount the big ones.

Now, most people here are not just wildlife managers (that is only a by-product of what we do). We are hunters. This means that we hunt mainly for recreation. By this we are held to personal ethics and state laws. Just like in baseball you must play by the rules and players held to a personal code of ethics. That is why we were brought up with the " if you kill it you have to use it" statement.

Like I said, from a managent standpoint, killing it and not using it is ok. But if you are a hunter, harvesting an animal and not using it is unethical to me. But this is all not black and white. That is why it is up to the individual to decide what is ethical for himself. Just like it is up to the individual to decide what a trophy is to himself.

That' s my view of it anyway.