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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > Hunting Ethics - Editorial
Hunting Ethics - Editorial
Tim Mancillas - JHO ProStaff
- San Diego, CA
December 05, 2004
The views and opinions represented here are those of the author, and may not always reflect those of this publication.
I’m walking down a back hunting trail of Croatan National Forest and I hear some voices. As I approach, I see two (obviously) dirt-poor farmers standing on the road next to a beat up, Chevy pickup. They look over, up through the shadows of their Wal-Mart camo caps and greet me with a cordial, “mornin’”.
Being curious, I reply back, “Morning, how y’all doing today?”
“Fine” they reply, and immediately look behind me, as if searching for anyone else following behind me.
So then, just out of curiosity (since a warm front had just blown through, and it was unseasonably warm for whitetail hunting), I ask them, “You guys get anything today?”
“Oh…we’re just out here trying to get us some meat ‘fer the freezer, and we’re doin’ alright.”
I think to myself, “Well, I’m glad someone is having luck.”
So, I wish them good luck and pass down the side of the truck heading down to a swamp bottom I had scouted earlier in the season. As I pass by the bed of the truck though, I notice three sets of hooves, poking out from under a tarp. Hmmm… As I ventured farther down the trail, I looked back to see the two farmers, passing an old battered thermos of coffee between them and then one taking an old, well used Ithaca 12 ga. shotgun and stowing it in the truck. “Three deer, in one day, by two hunters?” I thought to myself. “That’s poaching! That’s unethical!”
But is it?
Much has been written about what is ethical and what isn’t. Some will quote the regulations of what is legal to be taken and how (as well as the science behind it) and others will argue the loopholes in the logic. Personally, I think that right and wrong lie somewhere in the middle.
Those two farmers (dirt poor as they were) were legally wrong to have taken that many deer in one day. Period. But I don’t think they were unethical hunters. Judging from the work boots and overalls; the shells on the dash that were definitely not new (and probably last year’s leftovers) these guys were (to me) obviously putting meat in the freezer to feed their families. Is that unethical? After much thought, no, not in my opinion.
On the flip side I remember walking up on a nice sized buck laying on the side of the road…with only its head removed. Legal? Yes, I believe in North Carolina (at the time) it was legal. Was it unethical? Hell yes! I have no greater contempt than that of people who hunt only for the horns. In my opinion it’s arrogant, selfish and disrespectful to nature, the animal and the delicate balance of the world around us.
I have seen and read many a debate about what is legal and what is ethical. It is often hotly debated and leads to many (unfortunately) fierce arguments. The bottom line is that only our conscience can tell us what is right or not. Laws cannot be written that will govern man’s actions; they can only be written to threaten reprisals against certain actions. As the saying goes, “Being honest (or ethical in this case) is doing the right thing when no one else is looking.”
As hunters, I believe we are faced with that conscience more often than most. More times than not, we hunt alone, miles from any other soul. Miles from the nearest game warden, and with the tools for taking the life of an animal, we are often confronted with the question of ethicality. Can I really make that long of a shot? What happens if I only wound it? How far will it run? How long would it suffer? Will I be able to track it in this terrain/weather? Will it just crawl off somewhere to die, slowly and painfully?
While I would legally be within my right to take the shot, that is not the important question. The important question is whether I should be taking the shot. (i.e. Is it worth the risk of a bad/wounding shot?) Only we know what our shooting limitations are and therefore only we can answer that question.
As we move further into this new millennium, we are seeing resurgence in the shooting sports and hunting. And though many may call it by newer, more “people friendly” names like “harvesting” or “taking” an animal, hunting still remains the oldest and most respected skill that we humans know and intuitively understand. The only difference is that we no longer do it for the reason of physical survival. In this day (I believe) we do it because it is ingrained into our human psyche.
Much like our need to breathe, we have a need to hunt. It is a need that transcends time. It focuses the mind, heightens the senses and awakens that primal predator, whose cries echo in our very souls. And while it is good to recognize that need, it is also necessary to recognize the responsibility that goes with it. We no longer live in a world that has unlimited bounty. We no longer live in a culture where religion governs our respect of nature. We live in a culture governed by laws and with limited resources… where lawyers and judges determine what is right and what is wrong by the letter of the law and not conscience. So we find ourselves in a struggle, balancing what the laws declare and what our conscience tells us is the right thing to do.
As near as I can tell, the only way to ensure that hunters do the right thing is to lead by example. With so many people returning to hunting, it is no surprise that many hunters today come from families that didn’t hunt when they were children. They never had the examples of ethical hunting and often make bad decisions. It is up to us, those that know, to pass along that knowledge. We need to be there to warn of a bad shot, to encourage for a longer stalk, and show how to take a better shot. We must be there to point out that, although someone may have come back empty handed, they did so because they refused to take an unethical shot, and therefore are the better hunter for it.
Ethics are something that can never be legislated, they can only be taught. So the next time hunting ethics become a topic of conversation, remember; lead by example, do the right thing and pass it on. We’ll all benefit in the end.
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