Shooting A Doe With Fawns? (Should/Shouldn't I)

If we're talking mule deer, I'd give the mother with fawns a pass, because around the next corner there's a half dozen or more dry does just standing there.

If we're talking WT deer, then I'd have to make the decision at the time, and it would depend a lot on how much meat was already in my freezer and how much season I had left. There's an open season on WT does around here for a reason, so ethically I might just take that doe regardless of what is standing next to her.

I think the OP made the right decision for himself based on the situation. I think others might be just as right to make the opposite decision.
 
Shoot a fawn. Take the doe and the fawns would likely die. The adult is a prime breeder and letting it live to breed again means the population will be healthier as a result. Dr. Geist, the premier deer biologist in North America, would agree too! If the area is rife, over-run, and infested with that deer species as an invasive species, it might be a different story, but generally, leave them be or take the fawn.
 
My brother in MB farms 7000 acres. Because of the declining deer in the area he shut down all his hunters to shooting does. Big or small. Limited them to bucks only. He started that about 5 years ago and says the deer numbers are doing very well right now. Right choice in my books.
 
IMO there is no right or wrong if you shoot or pass on the doe or fawns. It becomes more of a question of conscience. One person's view on ethics may differ from an other person's view. If it were me in the situation I would have passed on the shot as well. If someone decided to shoot the doe or a fawn I would not condemn them for doing so provided of course it was done from a legal standpoint.
 
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