Yes it should be mandatory! And, if you are taking it somewhere, do as much yourself as you can, your butcher will appreciate it. You keep them happy, & they keep you happy.

I think it goes back to tradition also, hunting used to be just for sustenance,you shot it, you gutted it, then you took it home to your rockand ate it.

I guess though, as long as you aren't disrespecting the animal, and just discarding the carcass after sawing off antlers, it doesn't matter in the end who gutted it. My way has always been you get one hands on help, after that I only coach, that's how I learned.