Another unprotected species which causes a lot of damage is the Groundhog/woodchuck. You or a friend may have some near by or on their property. Groundhogs live mostly in the northern part of the country and hibernate during the Fall and winter. They come on my property every spring/summer digging large burrows under my home foundation, tool shed, and all over my property, so they are fair game. The first few years after I bought the house I thought I only had 1 or 2 and left them alone. Little did I know I had 2 dozen or more living on my property(!). I found their burrows behind trees and bushes and when my 6yr old son (at the time) sprained his ankle when he tripped on a freshly dug hole in the front yard while running, I started shooting "them" thinking I had 1 or 2. Every day there was a new one on the lawn and had me really puzzled. I thought it was the same one coming back to life to haunt me or a neighbor was putting new ones in my yard I had no idea at the time that G-hogs can give birth to 4 or 6 young, and that all the neighbors had a ton of them too. By the end of the summer I had shot about 20 of them, and continue to shoot them 14 years later. So I say shoot them if you got them.Harry
That makes all sense in the world eliminate "PESTS" and make your best friends a tasty treat , I like the way you think
To answer your original question in my own formulated opinion on this subject....WHAT CAN BE SHOT ETHICALLY?NOTHING if you cannot ensure a quick and efficient kill to minimize the suffering of the quarry and to prevent loss of wounded quarry. Do not take shots that you are not almost positive you are capable of making, whether it is skills, distance, or environmental factors like wind. Disregard the following reasons if you can't satisfy this requirement.Invasive species and pests Animals that are in season according to state and federal law.And this is a rule I follow that I consider part of my personal ethics but do not feel others are ethically bound to follow4. Quarry that I intend on making use of in some fashion. The smaller animals (monks and birds) I will quickly skin/pluck and remove problematic lower organs/head and add to a container in my meat freezer. When I have a decent amount, I fry them up whole with some olive oil, then throw in my deluxe Ninja blender (bones and all) along with some veggies and blend until there are no bone fragments (the Ninja pulverizes them). This is served to my 3 dogs as a substitute meal from their normal and trust me.... the drool comes down like faucets when I start cooking it.Side note: My parent's cat loves it too, I've brought some over for herThat's how I operate!
You can check your States Hunting Reg's for "Nuisance" animals/birds, In other words, animals that you can legally take w/out the need for a license, and then check the list for the ones you would like to "Ethically" dispose of, I don't know what animals may or may not be on your states list, but for Ontario, that list would contain "critters" like Grackle(Starlings), English Sparrows, Skunks, G/Hog's, musk-rat, rats, mice, 'possums,etc,. So, If any of those things are "problematic" for you, you can take care of the situation, and still go to bed w/ a clear conscience. Andy.
Quote from: sfttailrdr46 on February 13, 2014, 06:56:29 AM That makes all sense in the world eliminate "PESTS" and make your best friends a tasty treat , I like the way you think It does make sense, but I will not be having a Daiquiri that was made in that Ninja.
Down here, we have the Nutria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coypu) that has been doing severe damage to costal marshes. Hurricanes are able to rush in closer to the costal communities because of the receding coastline. There is a $5 bounty on the animals. If you want something to shoot and make some cash in the process, "Come on down".
You didn't say what kind of gun you have. If you have a high-powered .22 or larger kill every coyote you can with headshots. A quick google search shows that Maine has coyotes. They are invasive although the state regulates them a furbearers. If you have the juice in your airgun and its open season for them there, kill as many as you legally can. Coyotes are the scourge of the woods east of the Mississippi. State biologists usually like them because they decimate deer populations (which biologists are generally in favor of) but for the average joe who is hunting the same deer and small game the coyote is nothing but unwelcome competition. Kill them all.