Ethical Dilemma?

[hoochiepapa]

First off, we in the west do not just take what we want and leave the rest. It has been the norm in my family to take out every edible part, and the law. If you have seen that on tv, I'd like to know what program that was! Boning out is not that hard, just time consuming, but you can take plastic bags or game bags that you can get at any sporting goods, and hang what you can't carry out the first time, and go back. I have made several trips when the distance is far, and take the whole day to pack out an elk. When trees are sparse, I find the shadiest area I can and hang the meat on fencing with baling wire I carry in my pack.

 

[smo]

That's insane...if they really believe that then there's no telling what regs they might have in place...and if they're concerned about the spread why would they protect them?


Some of the hunting clubs did bring in hogs and turn them loose :youcrazy: :shake: I guess they thought that would give them something to hunt after the deer season. What they got was over run by hogs and mad farmers for their crops being ate up :cursing: I think the regs put in place to protect hogs is stupid However it does not stop landowners and permited hunters from taking hogs the way I read it. As for the OP I see alot of deer left laying along the roadways with just the hind quarters & backstrap gone. POACHERS :td: :barf: :nono: :shake: :cursing: :cursing: :cursing: I would not do this find a hunting buddy or someone willing to help you. When I see those deer laying along the roads i think of the tree huggers what would they do if they saw it....just another chip out of the tree to take away our hunting rights.

 

[USMA65]

Mike, take a deep breath. I have always been an ethical hunter, and will continue to be one. Obviously my choice of words and references to hunters on TV could have been better delivered. What I was trying to question more than anything was what I saw western hunters doing as far as quartering and boning out a kill. I had never done that before, and now that I find myself physically restricted was trying to get some ideas about that practice. I have to admit that I thought western hunters were leaving rib, neck, shank meat, etc, in the field. My question was more in the line of asking advice, not meaning to denigrate anyone or start a fight or cause contention. Forgive me if I did otherwise.

 

[cynthialee]

Smo,
You make a good point about rileing treehuggers.

Although I have never taken a big game animal (yet) I just figured anything left behind would not be waste, but scavenger food. Buzzards like food also. I don't mind leaving a bobcat a bone or two to pick over or a bear a lucky found snack. But leaving stuff behind that treehuggers could find and make unreasonable hay over didn't come to mind until your post.

 

[fort fireman]

I've seen one person cut up a deer in the field. He was a friend of a friend sort of thing. We were muzzleloader hunting over outside of Morganton NC by Linville gorge. he shot a little doe and she ranright down over the hill into a realy deep revine. This was several years ago and if memory serves me he skinned her out, cut the shoulders, the back straps, and the hind legs from the knee up. i cant remember if he kept the head or what. Pretty much all that was left was the rib cage and spine. Had he not done that it probably would have taken all 6 of us to get her out of that revine. As soon as he got back he threw it in a big cooler and went to the top of the hill to get phone reception and did the phone check in. He brought out everything that he could eat with the exceptionof the rib meat. But lets be honest. Not much meat there and not much you can do with them.

 

[nchawkeye]

Exactly, if we were Indians, we would eat the marrow, tongue, brains, boil the hooves for glue, use the sinew, tan the hide, etc.....

 

[Loyalist Dave]

maybe...,

As my degree is in anthropology, with emphasis on forensic archaeology, I am familiar that throughout the world, aboriginal people might or might not "entirely" use a kill. It's a myth that "They always used the whole animal wasting nothing". Single kills were normally consumed, yet there are reasons why they might not. The primary reason would be an excellent hunt in a short amount of time yielding several animals, for as there are only so many hands to process the "products" from the downed game, and only so many stomachs, thus if the full animal can't be processed before rotting set in..., you don't use the whole animal. This is true most often when going for really large animals such as moose, bison, elephant, giraffe, muskox, etc.

Back to the thread...
Legality is one thing..., ethics is another..., it's not illegal for the farmer to shoot a game animal on his property out of season with a crop damage permit, and allow it to rot. It's a huge waste though, and I'd say in my area where you could find folks with about a half day of phone calls who would come out and get the meat when it was shot.., unethical. Also, as a kid I saw a fellow illegally shoot a doe, but the people who got the meat badly needed the meat. Also illegal but I'd say not necessarily unethical. Now we can shoot does in many parts of the state as the deer herd is so huge here.

I think if you waste a harvested animal simply because you don't care, that's unethical.

I think "how" you hunt is aesthetics, and if you simple sit in the hot tub as in this famous photo on the back porch and shoot them, or open the kitchen window and shoot them from inside the house as a feller in my town does..., you are really cheating yourself, it's ethical as the deer don't have to be in the back yard and can flee at any time, but please don't broadcast such methods to the locals as the PETA folks are out and about..., heck they were headquartered a block from where I am right now for many years. EGAD!

LD

 

[Black Hand]

Exactly, if we were Indians, we would eat the marrow, tongue, brains, boil the hooves for glue, use the sinew, tan the hide, etc.....

I am in agreement with Dave - MAYBE, depending on the circumstances.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Deep breath taken. :haha:

 

[VTdeerhunter]

USMA65...I hope your injury is only temporary and that you are looking at a full recovery.

I have quartered and packed out many animals; elk, bear and deer...but have never left anything other than the gut pile behind. Yes its a lot of work, especially on bigger animals that would mean many trips, but IMHO you owe it to the animal. I bet if you ask around now (before hunting season) you would be able to pull together a call list of people who would help. Additionally, look at ways to modify and simplify the steps needed to get your game out.

A few years ago I tore apart my shoulder and needed massive repairs to keep my arm attached to my body...needless to say dragging anything that year was out.

I taught myself to shoot better left handed, when the deer dropped I gutted him where he fell, then rolled him onto one of those plastic flexible sleds that you can roll up into a tube (they make dragging on any surface so much easier), tied the deer to the sled (actually did this after he fell off for the third time :cursing I used a wide belt around my waist to pull the sled, which took all the pressure off my shoulders. Took my time and easy does it to the truck. I had bolted one of those ATV winches to the bed of the truck and brought my ramps with me. Set the ramps in place and winched the deer into the bed... :thumbsup:

I am lucky enough that my injury has come back 80% or so, but I still use the winch and ramp trick :grin: Good luck in your season and again I hope the best for a full recovery for you...

 

[ryanhogg]

show a young guy how to shoot a deer with a smokepole and get him to drag it. I'd offer to drag one for you if i wasn't 2000km away.

 

[gjr902]

Interesting topic. My answer is "it depends" I would never leave a deer, and only take the meat. It pisses my off to no end, coming across a deer in the Vt woods with the back straps cut out and the antlers or head missing. That is un-ethical IMHO
Shot a nice turkey in SD this May. We were camping and there was no way to store the entire bird. So I clipped the wings, legs, breast, tail, beard, and a bag full if feathers. I hated to toss the rest of the bird in the dumpster, but I really had no other choice. I was able to feeze and refrigerate the parts that I kept, and they made the long trip home to VT in a cooler with lots of ice.

My next trip I will buy one of those big coolers that plug into the truck and a 120v outlet. I need one big enough for a few birds, because I dont want to waste them and I want to do a full mount.

So, it depends. Do what you feel is right and is legal. I'm always up for a road trip. I'll drag Vt Deerhunter with me and we can both haul out your kill.