Noticed that California has wanton waste laws that state you have to recover and eat your kill. Does this apply to varmints? Do you have to eat that ground squirrel?

jesunter

I think all states have laws requiring one to make an effort to recover game. I have never thought about how it applies to varmints in terms of simply just leaving them laying there. Dunno how they could enforce the eating part even for regular game. What are they gonna do, send an officer to your house to make sure that you cook and eat every rabbit that you shot.

I used to live in California, and we shot lots of ground squirrels at the range I used to go to. They got shot with everything from .22 all the way up to .338 Lapua Mag. ust use a big enough cartidge, and there won't be enough left to wither pick up or eat.

I was born in CA and lived there most of my life. I grew up shooting ground squirrels. As far as I know, that regulation only applys to game animals, not varmints, although the local indians were hunter/gatherers and used a lot of small game we wouldn't consider.