Ethical Dilemma
- Thread starter powder burner
- Start date
when I hunt near home (seldom) I can afford to be overethical. I get the looks from the rest of the party that I didn't crack a shot at a running deer @125 yds (a shotgun smoothbore was all I had).... BUT
When I am up in the bush, working my way to the place I hunt, one can be sure I'm all eyes on the road and surroundings. If the moose happens to be there, all for the better, if a grouse finds it sunny dowm my road.... it gets hot on the grill.
I hunt my spots and the roads between them. I go hunting before dawn and I get back after dusk. everything in between is hunting.
When I am up in the bush, working my way to the place I hunt, one can be sure I'm all eyes on the road and surroundings. If the moose happens to be there, all for the better, if a grouse finds it sunny dowm my road.... it gets hot on the grill.
I hunt my spots and the roads between them. I go hunting before dawn and I get back after dusk. everything in between is hunting.
i haven't hunted as of yet, down the line i'm sure.
i always imagined hunting to be alot more sporting than happening to see one while driving to a hunt. comparing it to fishing, for me it's not a numbers game, and it's not luck i'm interested in, it's a skillful catch i'm looking for.
but we all go out for our own reasons
i always imagined hunting to be alot more sporting than happening to see one while driving to a hunt. comparing it to fishing, for me it's not a numbers game, and it's not luck i'm interested in, it's a skillful catch i'm looking for.
but we all go out for our own reasons
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
arch1965 said:It puzzles me how some people still refer to themselves as hunters when using truck or cars. Whether you are five feet out of the vehicle or 50 feet, if you have not complied with the hunting regs you are a POACHER..
The regs are in place to sustain our natural wildlife resources for ALL of us to enjoy and feed ourselves. They are also in place to provide a level of "fair chase" and define a stand alone class of a true sportsman.
Road POACHERS are classed right up there with low life criminals. That's why it is illegal. As far as I'm concerned the penalties for POACHING are to soft. There should be an automatic jail term and ten year suspension of hunting privledges. If caught again or after the jail term completed, they should be sentenced to two years plus a day. Perhaps a little time in a medium or max pen might change their way of thinking.
Besides road POACHERS and other types are just screwing all of us "true fair chase sportsman".
My 2 cents.
Arch
The only problem with that is the jails in Alberta are already too full. Many people who go to jail often are worse off coming out than when they went in.
People who get caught poaching are liable to fines which can reach pretty high under Alberta's court system. When was the last time an impaired driver actually got the sentence they deserved? It would be hard to find a convicted impaired driver who got penalized the same amount in fines when compared the tune of what a POACHER got $$$$$$$$$$$ Poach a grizzly bear and you can receive a maximum of 100,000 or imprisonment for not more than 2 years in Alberta.
A person convicted of an offence against this act (Wildlife Act-Alberta)is liable to a fine of not more than 50,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year or both.
Deterrence in the form of hefty fines probably educates the perpetrator more than a slap on the wrist and a weekend in jail
Also:
A wildlife officer or wildlife guardian may seize anything that the officer or guardian believes on reasonable and probable grounds may afford evidence of, or was used in, the commission of an offence
This should be enough to keep the average hunter honest.
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Geezuz... every time Ethics comes up in a thread it turns into a s**t storm.
I previously said that a record book deer shot by road hunting is less worthy.. only in my opinion... I never said it shouldn't be in the book or that it wasn't ethical! And I certainly would not critisize anyone for doing so...
When are people going to realize that Ethics and Morality are and always will be a strictly personal issue.
That is the problem that I have with the whole Fair Chase movement... it is good in theory but impractical in practice.
Your own beliefs, ethics and morals with regard to hunting are born of your own local and familial traditions and hunting regulations and nurtured by your hunting experience.
For someone to preach to you that how you hunt is wrong and less ethical than theirs is simply stupid and only serves to divide us as hunters and weaken our fraternity!
I previously said that a record book deer shot by road hunting is less worthy.. only in my opinion... I never said it shouldn't be in the book or that it wasn't ethical! And I certainly would not critisize anyone for doing so...
When are people going to realize that Ethics and Morality are and always will be a strictly personal issue.
That is the problem that I have with the whole Fair Chase movement... it is good in theory but impractical in practice.
Your own beliefs, ethics and morals with regard to hunting are born of your own local and familial traditions and hunting regulations and nurtured by your hunting experience.
For someone to preach to you that how you hunt is wrong and less ethical than theirs is simply stupid and only serves to divide us as hunters and weaken our fraternity!
arch1965 said:
So where are all these people arch? Certainly not in this thread
No slam here but what the hell are you talking about? People that hunt in your area? Personally I've seen and heard of all kinds of gong shows in the bush around here but none that are illegal and none that could be conceived as poaching. The only poaching I hear about are convictions in the news paper once in a while. Is it different where you hunt?
Why do some people take one look at a statement and run with it?
What about the disabled individual that still wants to be out in the woods at a chance at harvesting a animal. The only option they have is to sit in a truck and wait by the field.
There is always exceptions to the norm.
What about the disabled individual that still wants to be out in the woods at a chance at harvesting a animal. The only option they have is to sit in a truck and wait by the field.
There is always exceptions to the norm.
BIGREDD said:Geezuz... every time Ethics comes up in a thread it turns into a s**t storm.
I previously said that a record book deer shot by road hunting is less worthy.. only in my opinion... I never said it shouldn't be in the book or that it wasn't ethical! And I certainly would not critisize anyone for doing so...
When are people going to realize that Ethics and Morality are and always will be a strictly personal issue.
That is the problem that I have with the whole Fair Chase movement... it is good in theory but impractical in practice.
Your own beliefs, ethics and morals with regard to hunting are born of your own local and familial traditions and hunting regulations and nurtured by your hunting experience.
For someone to preach to you that how you hunt is wrong and less ethical than theirs is simply stupid and only serves to divide us as hunters and weaken our fraternity!
Thank You!
I don't find anything wrong with that. Nobody every said you have to spend all day in the bush walking around to have a successful kill. If you are driving and you see an animal, get out walk towards it and shoot it, Well hey, you had a easy hunt in my books but nothing wrong with that.
Also this is all personal choice!
Also this is all personal choice!
arch1965 said:It puzzles me how some people still refer to themselves as hunters when using truck or cars. Whether you are five feet out of the vehicle or 50 feet, if you have not complied with the hunting regs you are a POACHER..
The regs are in place to sustain our natural wildlife resources for ALL of us to enjoy and feed ourselves. They are also in place to provide a level of "fair chase" and define a stand alone class of a true sportsman.
Road POACHERS are classed right up there with low life criminals. That's why it is illegal. As far as I'm concerned the penalties for POACHING are to soft. There should be an automatic jail term and ten year suspension of hunting privledges. If caught again or after the jail term completed, they should be sentenced to two years plus a day. Perhaps a little time in a medium or max pen might change their way of thinking.
Besides road POACHERS and other types are just screwing all of us "true fair chase sportsman".
My 2 cents.
Arch
You are aware that there are other provinces and territories other than the one you live in, right?
In BC it's perfectly legal to be on a forest road, (except in special areas) see a moose, stop your truck, jump out, load rifle and shoot.
No poaching there...
Hey Martinbns, I think you are wrong on a couple of points of Alberta law. It is my understanding with the changes this year about OHV(quads) that you can't be touching them when you discharge a firearm. The old law said that you had to be 50 yards from the quad before firing and now that is no longer the case. Also, it is my understanding that other than antelope you can shoot from beside the truck as long as you aren't touching it. With antelope you have to be 50 yards from the vehicle before discharging your firearm. Hope this clears things up.
BIGREDD said:
Well said Red,
Vehicle hunting is not unethical by any stretch. If you have no legs or can't walk what choice do you have?
Even shooting from a vehicle is fine if ok with the CO.
"Most hunters" prefer to walk or get out in the bush but fair chase should be defined as a combination of what is legal and practical for the individual hunter.
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
There are differences between ethics and laws.
Laws have nothing to do with beliefs, ethics have everything to do with beliefs.powder burner said:
That is why a #### storm starts up every time someone disagrees with a method of hunting or whatever......
No way should we be judging others based on our own personal standards.
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
Gatehouse said:Yes, but we define a POACHER as a LAW breaker, not aperson who breaks our PERSONAL ethics..
I agree. You just said it better than me. Thats what I was getting at.
I think some people dont realize that the laws in their province can be different in other provinces. Whats illegal in their province may be legal in another province.
this is a whole other bag of worms, but in some states it's legal to shoot coyotes over a spotlight. It may not sit well with some peoples ethics, but it is legal in that state.
