Ethics VS Law

[Gr8 White Jr]

I was out last weekend checking my trail cam and doing a little varmint calling as well. While hicking around I came across a beded calf elk laying about 20 yds from me. I watched as it lay there, not moving hoping I would just move on. I looked around for mama but she was nowhere to be found. After a few moments of me watching the calf it could no longer keep its baring and stood from its bed. It turned to walk away and I noticed it limping. As I payed closer attention to its right front leg I could see it was completely broken right above its knee. I'm not talking about a fracture, I mean the bone was completely broken through. The calf's leg was dangling so wildly its hoove actualy hit the calf in the head and back several times as it tried to run. As I watched it I was feeling terrible for the poor animal and the big question came to my mind as I stood there, rifle in hand. Do I put this animal out of its pain? The laws says no but I could tell that the calf had to be in excruciating pain so to me the ethical thing to do is to shoot it. I stood there watching it for a good 20 minutes or so debating with myself on whats the right thing to do. I used my cell phone to call the operation game thief hotline and told them I needed to get in contact with the Game Unit Officer. I left my number to give to the officer so he could contact me. I ended up leaving the calf to fend for itself. The officer left a message on my voicemail later that evening saying that there is nothing they can do and to just leave it be. I continue to think about the calf and I feel terrible for not shooting it when I had the chance. I am a firm believer in "whats right is right and whats wrong is wrong" and my gut tells me that I did the wrong thing leaving it there dispite what the law says. Any opinions?

[Coues79]

That is a tough call. I would hate to come across that situation too. As a law abiding citizen, the best thing IMO would be to let it be. There are laws and rules put into place to protect wildlife. I'm not saying it is the ethical thing to do, but imagine the trouble we could have if there was a loophole that stated it was ok to put down animals that appear to have death from an natural injury be imminent. All sorts of trouble could occur.

 

Another thing, imagine if a warden were to hear the shot, find you and the dead animal. You'd be in a boat load of trouble, not to mention the possibilities of not huntin' for a few years.

 

Not an easy call man, but I think you did the right thing.

[shortpants]

That's life in the wild. Non-hunters have to watch things like that on t.v. While that is very sad to witness you are lucky to be able to experience mother nature first-hand. You did the right thing. It would be heart wrenching but it is the right thing to do.

[Gr8 White Jr]

Another thing, imagine if a warden were to hear the shot, find you and the dead animal. You'd be in a boat load of trouble, not to mention the possibilities of not huntin' for a few years.

 

Thats the thought that made my final decision to just leave it be.

[Snapshot]

I am a hunter through and through. I hate to see any animal suffer, and I always strive for quick humane kills. Speaking only for myself, I feel ethics would be my choice, and I certainly don't feel that putting a suffering animal out of its misery should be grounds for any type of lawful punishment. Even though that calf probably will not last too long with that injury, it certainly would be hard to watch knowing the animal is in extreme pain. If any agency wanted to convict me for my choice of ethics vs. law, I could live with that, as I will be judged by a much higher force at a later time.

[Arizona Griz]

Touch decesion. You made the right call but I am sure it was hard to do. I don't know what I would do if I had been in your shoes.

[bobbyo]

It is hard to say what I would do in that situation, But i think I would of shot it( Hoof hitting the head!) . Is man not part of mother nature? I feel the right thing to do is more important than the law. Not judging, just my opinion.

Bob

[Hooked_on_Coues]

Calling G&F is the right thing. Them telling you there is nothing they can do is the wrong thing.

[fatfootdoc]

When I lived in Flagstaff in the 90's some friends of mine found a blind mule deer fawn standing in the middle of the road so they took it to the game and fish office so it would not get hit by a car and the officer just took it out back and killed it. That seems pretty bad but it would have died anyway, however my buddies were not real thrilled about it. But yeah man that is a tough call to have to let that thing suffer that way. AG

[tucrats]

Very sad, but a real "reallity". You only saw one of hundreds or more that have had mothernature weed out the weak.

The life cycle of prey and preditors is in place and "Nature will take it's course". Very sad, but definitly a hard call to make, I'm sure I would have had a tough time with it as well, however the life cycle continues. jimmya

[110orbust]

Came across a similar situation where a deer hat been hit by a car. It was sitting on the side of the road with 3-4 broken legs but still alive. Don't know how long it had been there.

[hunter4life]

That is a tough call. I think that calling the warden was the right choice because it sounds like you were in an area with cell service. When you are in an area without phone service the choice is a lot tougher. Here in NM I have called the warden twice for antelope with dislocated hip joints from when they got caught up jumping a fence. Both times the warden came out and the first time the warden shot the antelope because it was in pretty poor condition from being in the fence for 1-2 whole days and the warden said that once the hip is dislocated they can't get it to stay back in place. The second time I had actually seen the antelope get hung up and was on my way over to free it when it ended up freeing itself. It was dragging its hind leg but was in otherwise good condition. I called and the warden took a look at it and didn't want to kill it as it was healthy otherwise, so he was going to check on it over the next couple of days. The leg never became usable again and I found the antelope dead about a week later.

At least in NM there is something that the warden can do, and I would think it is the same way in AZ.

Nature can be cruel at times and I hope that a predator kills that calf soon, however it is probably just as likely that the calf will die a slower death due to dehydration or sepsis.

[Outdoor Writer]

Okay, some of you will find this post will contain some contradiction to it because what I recommend is not exactly what I did.

 

In this particular case, I think it was handled well and the game folks made the right decision by saying just let Nature takes its course. Of course, it's difficult to know what actually caused the calf's broken leg, but an assumption can be made that it was also a natural occurrence, i.e not caused by man. It is also possible -- though not real likely -- that calf might indeed survive and perhaps live the rest of its life on three legs. It wouldn't be the first or the last critter to do so. I have seen at least two deer that seemingly got along just find that way, albeit they certainly couldn't travel as fast as if they had four good legs.

 

Now for the hypocritical part:

 

I owned a resort outside of Durango, Colo. and guided hunters there during the mid-1970s. After one combo elk/deer season was over, I had a two-day break and one afternoon decided to try filling my deer tag not too far from where I lived.

 

I had walked in about a mile when I came across a heavy and fresh trail of blood. Thinking someone else had wounded a deer -- the ONLY season opened in that area at the time -- I followed the blood trail. About 300 yards later I kicked up a cow elk that was lying between several cedar trees. As she ran off uphill, she fell repeatedly, and I could see the blood still streaming from high on her dangling right rear leg. The next time she stopped, I put a 140 gr. bullet into the back of her neck.

 

Obviously, I knew the consequences of what I had done but was prepared to face them anyway.

 

After I field-dressed and quartered the cow, I hung the meat in a tree and headed back to my truck. When I got home I called the local game warden, who I knew well. I was his only Hunter Ed instructor in the area, and I often rode with him on summer horseback patrols in the Weminuche Wilderness high country.

 

I explained what had happened, and I recall his words to this day. "I'll put the horses in the trailer and come pick you up in the morning. We can go get it and drop the meat off at the school." And so we did.

 

BUT...when we returned to the truck and had loaded the quarters in the back end, Gene took out his knife and proceeded to cut the tenderloins out and stuck them in a plastic bag. He handed it to me and said, "Take these home for your troubles."

 

So now you know the rest of the story, but...

 

Here in AZ, I doubt I would do the same thing now in the same situation, mostly because of different circumstances. Gene knew me, and he also knew I wasn't a poacher or that I would even mistakenly shoot an elk during deer season. And the obvious wound, though I could have certainly inflicted it, was evidence enough for him. That might not be the case with a game warden elsewhere.

 

The moral: leave injured game to its own fate unless you have a legal tag to hang on it or have excess money to possibly pay the fine. -TONY

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Okay, some of you will find this post will contain some contradiction to it because what I recommend is not exactly what I did.

 

In this particular case, I think it was handled well and the game folks made the right decision by saying just let Nature takes its course. Of course, it's difficult to know what actually caused the calf's broken leg, but an assumption can be made that it was also a natural occurrence, i.e not caused by man. It is also possible -- though not real likely -- that calf might indeed survive and perhaps live the rest of its life on three legs. It wouldn't be the first or the last critter to do so. I have seen at least two deer that seemingly got along just find that way, albeit they certainly couldn't travel as fast as if they had four good legs.

 

Now for the hypocritical part:

 

I owned a resort outside of Durango, Colo. and guided hunters there during the mid-1970s. After one combo elk/deer season was over, I had a two-day break and one afternoon decided to try filling my deer tag not too far from where I lived.

 

I had walked in about a mile when I came across a heavy and fresh trail of blood. Thinking someone else had wounded a deer -- the ONLY season opened in that area at the time -- I followed the blood trail. About 300 yards later I kicked up a cow elk that was lying between several cedar trees. As she ran off uphill, she fell repeatedly, and I could see the blood still streaming from high on her dangling right rear leg. The next time she stopped, I put a 140 gr. bullet into the back of her neck.

 

Obviously, I knew the consequences of what I had done but was prepared to face them anyway.

 

After I field-dressed and quartered the cow, I hung the meat in a tree and headed back to my truck. When I got home I called the local game warden, who I knew me well. I was his only Hunter Ed instructor in the area, and I often rode with him on summer patrols in the Weminuche Wilderness.

 

I explained what had happened, and I recall his words to this day. "I'll put the horses in the trailer and come pick you up in the morning. We can go get it and drop the meat off at the school." And so we did.

 

BUT...when we returned to the truck and had loaded the quarters in the back end, Gene took out his knife and proceeded to cut the tenderloins out and stuck them in a plastic bag. He handed it to me and said, "Take these home for your troubles."

 

So now you know the rest of the story, but...

 

Here in AZ, I doubt I would do the same thing now in the same situation, mostly because of different circumstances. Gene knew me, and he also knew I wasn't a poacher or that I would even mistakenly shoot an elk during deer season. And the obvious wound, though I could have certainly inflicted it, was evidence enough for him. That might not be the case with a game warden elsewhere.

 

The moral: leave injured game to its own fate unless you have a legal tag to hang on it or have excess money to possibly pay the fine. -TONY

 

Well put. Unfortunately the "Bunny Huggers" can't see how humane hunting is compared to how good ol' Mother nature does it.....

[Gr8 White Jr]

It is hard to say what I would do in that situation, But i think I would of shot it( Hoof hitting the head!) . Is man not part of mother nature? I feel the right thing to do is more important than the law. Not judging, just my opinion.

Bob

 

I have always said the same thing. I always told myself that if I ever came across this situation I would choose the ethical thing to do over the law with no hesitation. Its amazing how hesitation sets in though when you're standing there living this situation. Hunting is my life! I beleive I was put here on this earth to hunt. Every thing about my life revolves around my passion and obsession for hunting. It is what fills my heart and soul and the thought of loosing the right to participate in what I consider my reason for living creates alot of hesitation. Its extremely frustrating and its a battle of right and wrong that I don't think I will ever be able to settle. I know that alot of people think that they know what they would do, because like I said before I thought I knew what I would do, but I think its a situation that you will never know how you will handle untill you experience it.