Your Hunting Ethics
 

On another post I was asked what I thought was Ethical hunting. The more I thought about it the more difficult it became as times are changing and my views should be changing also ...Right?
Wasn't to many years ago that we spanked our kid's, drove without seat belts, smoking was the in thing and on and on. Our views have changed on all sorts of matters and now some will call them Unethical.
There are so many variables here with Geography,Religion, Upbringing as well as many more the views are endless.
Bottom Line.
I feel that as long as we continue to be meat eaters and use their byproducts the killing and or harvesting of animals must always remain ethical or we are contradicting ourselves.
So I feel ethical should mean to me anyway the taking of an animal in a QUICK AND HUMANE fashion hunting being one of them. If you think about it the taking of an animal in an enclosed pen should be ethical as this is how we all get our beef and other meat from the butcher. On the other hand we would not call this hunting, rather harvesting.
Where you draw the line between these 2 (Hunting,Harvesting) should be left up to you and your beliefs due to the above mentioned criteria.
This post was put here in order to explain MY OPINION on the subject and your views may differ and will be RESPECTED whether I agree or not.

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

A very interesting topic, and one that is sure to get heated if the past is any indicator;)

I noticed you used two words, "hunting" and "harvesting."

I may point out that the state of Nevada uses both in regards to the taking of big game, and I too, can see the differences.

My example, if you draw a Bighorned sheep tag, you are not eligible to apply for 5 years, if you "harvest" an animal, you are not eligible for 10 years.

I like that wording and have no problems using it.

Here is my take on the subject. Hunting is the pursuit of something, be it a game animal, new job, house, whatever. However harvesting would have to do only with something that has lived in the past. We harvest crops, birds, fish, and in this case, wild game. I feel that in regards to wild game hunting, the hunt should be the fair chase of the animal, and the obligation to harvest it in the most humane manner that you know how.

Ethics do play a large role in this factor. I will "hunt" past legal shooting hours but, will not "harvest" after that time. There is nothing saying you can't stay in the field after shooting light, to put the final stock on an animal to see where to set up in the morning.

I won't harvest an animal with anything other than is legal, nor will I hunt an animal with anything that is other than legal, ie: helicopters, planes, ATV's etc, depending on the rules that are stated in the regulations for the peticular animal I may be hunting.

I also feel that ethics have a lot to do with what you feel is fair to the animal. I don't like the idea of chasing deer with dogs, nor hunting over planted food plots for the specific purpose of bringing in game (with the exception of baiting predators including but not limited to bears, mt lions, and coyotes). Even if dogs or food plots were legal, I would still opt not to harvest and animal because then hunting simply would not be fair chase.

I honestly don't know of any other way to describe my take on the ethics of hunting, as this is a very general subject and admittedly has a lot of gray areas from place to place.

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

Montana Bob & Charlie Brown, I agree with both of you.
I myself have never hunted/harvested a big game animal inside a high fence. I have no desire to either.
I however have no problem taking a dog to a bird farm. I can work/train the dog & harvest birds at the same time.

What the heck does this make me??????

Signed,

Screwed up in Montana:D

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

I think it is important to note that ethics and law are not always the same thing. Being illegal, doesn't necessarily make it unethical and vice versa. To me ethics is simply doing the right thing when nobody is watching, therefore, the real debate is how we define "the right thing".

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

Interesting post-I believe that being "ethical" entails following the laws and regulations as they are written and pertain to what you are either harvesting or hunting. I believe that the Golden Rule is probably thrown in the mix as well. I believe in the quick kill and the use of all that I harvest or hunt and as such have carried a gun into the fields many times and not shot anything as I could not accomplish the above. So guess my opinion would seem to fall in the area that legal and ethical are probably tied together in some fashion for me.

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

I guess thats why we have this bison controvery here in yellowstone. Ethics. Whos? As you homeboys know its perfeckly legal to shoot big game here in montana with a 22, but its not ethical, kinda like shooting an animal swimming and no one around. Your the one whos got to live with it. I have never been on a canned hunt in my life and for those that do, its glad to know that you know the difference betwen being a hunter an a harvester. I myself like to think of myself as an ethical hunter as opposed to a meat harvester. Bobby

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

I think that ethical hunting is being totally respecful of the quarry. I was rabbit hunting a couple of days ago (cottontails--just out busting some brush with a new huntin' buddy) We didn't see many rabbits (jumped 5, killed 1--really thick cover) I had a chance to shoot one that was holding underneath some brush--I didn't--was taught that it was unethical to shoot a rabbit unless he's movin' (with a shotgun) --just an example. It's giving the animal every chance to live by playing fairly. With canned hunts, I'm afraid there is no chance of that. not only that. Animals (mammels particularly) that you hunt are suppposed to be wild. If you have a stuffed cow's (cow cow) head in your living room, no one assumes that you had to hunt for it. If you have a massive whitetail mounted ( that you shot in a 10 acre pen)--you re probably not going to say HOW you got it, you'll probably portray yourself and that hunt in a much different mannner---if you didn't, then why would you have it mounted or have even shot it under those conditions. therefore, by misrepresenting youself, you my have some kind of erroneous influence or effect on somebody regarding a tradition and way of life that I hold sacred. just my opinion
hb

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

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.

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

I think anyones ethics will be governed by what you feel inside. You have to live with your decisions. I was always raised to believe it was unethical to shoot a bird on the ground. The ethical thing to do is shoot while the bird is still flying. Recently the laws in my state were changed regarding duck hunting. It's now legal to shoot ducks sitting in your decoy spread. It's legal but it don't seem ethical! If you're dove hunting and the dove sneaks in behind you and by the time you see him he is perched. You can flush him and shoot before he gets away and it's legal but it don't seem ethical when he's hardly flying at all. On the other hand, if I'm hunting turkeys and I happen to flush a gobbler and shoot him, it's legal but it don't seem ethical. In some states it's legal to spot game from the road using a vehicle and shoot from the road. It's legal but it don't seem ethical using a mechanized vehicle to gain an advantage. Just my opinions, thanks!

RE: Your Hunting Ethics
 

Ethical to me is abiding by all the rules in place for whatever & whereever you are hunting & see that the animal is given proper respect & it's meat be taken care of for someone to use. UNETHICAL to me is a person using any method & any way to kill an animal just for the horns or antlers & brag about how BIG it is & stating about how it was a fair chase, legal kill for recognition or some other conjured up story.