Man, what a tough question.

I think it comes to individual preferences. For me, ethical means fair chase, no high fences, no shooting from vehicles, and every scrap of meat comes out and gets processed. Then it has to get eaten. I know a lot of guys who religiously have their big game processed then it sits all year long, and they eat it maybe three or four times in the whole year. That is not ethical, and just as big a waste as leaving it in the field to rot.

I have no problem taking a young dog to a bird farm to get some work, but that ain't hunting either, and I have seen too many guys who hunt their dogs on pen raised pheasants come home empty handed when heading to Kansas for the real thing.