Hunter Education Course

Chapter 12: Ethics & Wildlife Management

Imagine the following scenario. One day, you wake up at dawn, jump into your hunting clothes and step outside for a day in the woods. As you look around, you notice a lack of movement in the branches of the trees and an absence of squirrels scurrying around the forest floor. The woods are silent. As you walk through the woods, you become aware that something is not right. You remember what it used to be like and now something is strangely different. You finally figure out that you cannot hear birds chirping, and the squirrels are not playing around the big white oak tree. The deer that used to be by the lake are nowhere to be found.

You think, "Where did they all go? What happened, and why?"

This scenario could be all too real if hunters did not act as stewards of the land. As a collective group, hunters practice wildlife management and conservation to ensure that generations to come will enjoy the wildlife just like we do. In this chapter we will explore the components that make up successful wildlife management practices and explore conservation efforts by hunters and non-hunters alike.

Habitat

Wildlife make their homes in backyards, large tracts of wooded land, marshes, swamps and even the desert. There are five requirements to good habitat. If all five requirements are met, the hunter will find many different types of wildlife. They are:

Food

All animals need to eat. If grasses, nuts, berries, seeds, bugs and browse are available, animals will come to eat.

Water

All animals need water to survive. The water could come from a lake, pond, river or small creek. When it is not present, animals will travel far to find it.

Cover

Animals, just like people, need cover. This protects them from weather extremes and helps them hide from predators and care for their young. For some, adequate cover could be just be a large tuft of grass, a fallen tree, a cave or a brushy area.

Space

All animals need room to roam. Some require larger amounts of space than others.

Arrangement

Animals need the food, water, cover and space arranged in such a way that it is conducive for them to stay in that area.

If all of the habitat needs are met, you should see wildlife. Wildlife biologists work with landowners to create and manage habitat for wildlife.

Carrying Capacity

Each piece of land is analyzed for its carrying capacity. The carrying capacity for a piece of land is the number of animals that the land can sustain without damage to the habitat or the animals. The quality and number of wildlife on any given piece of land is affected by the following factors:

Disease

Examples of this are chronic wasting disease, Hemorrhagic fever and parasites.

Climate

Drought conditions dry up watering holes, and snow and ice cover food sources. Too much rain can damage nesting sites.

Predators

Predators prey on the very young, old and sick animals.

Starvation

This usually occurs when there are too many animals and not enough food.

Hunting

Hunting removes the overpopulation of wildlife in a given area.

Accidents

Loss of habitat to development increases the occurrences of wildlife being hit by vehicles.

The greatest threat to wildlife is the loss of habitat. When humans clear land to build homes and shopping centers, the natural balance of the habitat is upset. When this balance is upset, some of the wildlife will leave, others will stay. If there is an abundance of animals and not enough food, the wildlife is susceptible to a host of diseases and possibly starvation. It is important that all hunters do their part in creating and protecting the habitat for all wildlife. Hunting is a wildlife management practice to keep a specific population of wildlife at an optimum level.

Wildlife Management Practices

These are efforts by private landowners and conservation organizations to enhance wildlife and the land that supports wildlife. This works to ensure that the wildlife will be maintained at healthy populations. Not only do we have to study and understand wildlife, we have to understand how humans interact with and utilize wildlife. These are some wildlife management practices:

Fires and Selective Burning

Provides new growth in forests and open lands.

Edge Control

Creates habitat for upland birds, small game and some big game. Instead of cultivating right up to the edge of the woods, farmers leave a swath of land around the field to create shelter and food for the wildlife. It is cut every two to three years.

Food Plots

This creates winter feeding areas for wildlife. These plots are small areas planted with a mixture of grasses and clovers in open areas in the woods and on old logging roads.

Timber Sales

Selective cutting of trees opens the canopy of the forest, allowing the understory to grow. The understory becomes food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. Clearcutting opens large tracts of land and encourages browse to grow. These areas are also planted with small trees, which will provide shelter for wildlife.

Hunting

Through the sport of hunting, we can manage the population of the wildlife. Hunting maintains the correct number of specific wildlife for a given amount of habitat or area. Hunting regulations and daily bag limits are determined each year for the duration of the season. Bag Limits are the maximum number of game animals a hunter may harvest in a given day or hunting season. Please check with your local regulations to ensure you are aware of the bag limit for the specific game you are hunting to avoid prosecution and/or fines.

Trapping

This reduces the quantity of certain type of wildlife in a given area. Trapping is used for relocating specific game to areas that have known depleted populations.

Conservation Easements

Private landowners sign contracts agreeing that their land will not be developed.

Wildlife Refuges

Government agencies and private landowners purchase land to preserve the natural beauty and the wildlife present in these areas.

Nature's Hunters

Predators are animals that prey on very young, old and sick animals. They are part of nature's way of balancing the wildlife population. For example, an overabundance of mice in a given area might be followed by an increased presence of foxes and hawks. These predators will kill and eat the mice until the mice population is significantly reduced. The number of predators in an area is directly proportional to the abundance of wildlife species they feed on. Coyotes, foxes, wolves, bobcats, hawks, falcons, eagles, osprey, and owls are all predators. Hunters donate or volunteer time and money to help all aspects of wildlife management. Hunting that is regulated does not endanger wildlife. No North American game animal has ever become extinct because of sport hunting.

What Can Hunters Do To Help?

Hunters can help with wildlife management and wildlife conservation by joining organizations that help in the efforts to protect wildlife. Hunters can volunteer their time to conservation organizations. If you know a landowner, ask if you can help the wildlife by building brush piles for small game, build a fence row out of dead branches or plant some trees that will provide food for wildlife.

Anything you do to improve the quality of our natural resources benefits not only you, but also future generations of hunters and non-hunters alike. So, grab your gloves and head to the woods, wetlands or fields with your family and friends. Build some habitat for our wildlife friends.

Being An Ethical Hunter

Imagine that you are in the woods during hunting season and you are deer hunting on a piece of property owned by one of your friends. She tells you that there are too many female deer running around, eating crops and destroying property, and she wants you to help cull the herd. She states that she does not want anyone to shoot the antlered deer just the female deer. She gives you four special female damage tags, and you have your own state antlered tags. Females and males are legal to harvest. After sitting in the woods for hours, you hear a loud noise. You look over your shoulder and see the biggest antlered deer you have ever seen! He is just over the property line, but appears to be heading towards the fence line. What would you do?

It comes down to a matter of ethics - between what is right and what is wrong. The way we think about or judge what is right or wrong comes from our surroundings and the people we associate with. The influence on every individual to do what is right or wrong comes from, but is not limited to, the following:

• Parents
• Family
• Church
• School
• Work
• Peers

Our individual ethics shape who we are and what we will do...when no one is watching us. It forms our character and defines us as a group of individuals called safe and ethical hunters. Our individual and cultural ethics involving hunting define us - positively or negatively - to other hunters and to the general public who are non-hunters.

Others judge your ethics through your attitude and behavior.

The Four R's of Ethical Hunters

1. Respect for Self

• Learn everything they can about the game they are hunting.
• Know and understand why bag limits are set, adhere to the daily bag limits, and know the legal seasons of the game animals being hunted.
• Practice marksmanship long before the hunting season to ensure a clean, swift harvest of game animals.
• Plan and prepare before going on a hunt.
• Do not drink alcohol or do drugs while firearms are being handled or when hunting.
• Follow all the safe firearms handling rules.
• Carry their hunting license and required game tags with them while hunting.
• Understand that the enjoyment of the hunt is more important than the quantity of game harvested.

2. Respect for Others

• Do not intentionally interfere with another hunters hunt.
• Teach others about hunting and share their knowledge of the sport.
• Do not use foul language or crude behavior.
• Do not openly display harvested game animals where it might offend a non-hunter.
• Dispose of the entrails of game animals in a way that is mindful of the general public.
• Get to know the landowner long before the hunting season starts.
• Always ask for permission to hunt before the hunting season begins.
• Obey a landowner's wishes on where to hunt and take care of the land as if it were their own.
• Offer the landowner a part of the game harvested.
• Help the landowner with chores from fixing fences to wood cutting.

3. Responsibilty for Actions

• Do not turn their heads on game violations—they report any violation.
• Work with and cooperate with law enforcement officials.
• Understand that their actions reflect directly on how others view them and the sport of hunting.
• Admit when they have done something wrong.
• Understand they can and will be held accountable for their actions.
• Ensure harvested game animals are properly field dressed so no meat is wasted.
• Will pass up a shot if it is unsafe or if the shot will not produce a clean and swift harvest of a game animal.

4. Respect for Resource.

• Only take fair shots. Know the distance to your target.
• No shooting game in hard times (stuck in snow, crossing water, etc.)
• Humane Shots Only. No shooting game when accompanied by their young. Young animals will starve without parents.
• Obey local laws. Don't over hunt.

Signs are not Targets. What Would You Think if this was Your Land?

The Public is More Critical of Hunter Behavior than of Hunting

When members of the public see hunters behaving in an unethical or offensive manner, that reflects badly on everyone who engages in this sport. Ethical and safe hunters understand that our behavior sets us apart from non-ethical hunters.

The way we dress and act is important. You would not go into a store or a restaurant with dirt and blood all over your clothes. Ethical hunters bring an extra set of clothes with them, so if they need to go to town or to a public place, they will not offend others. Ethical hunters do not drive around with game tied on the hood of their vehicle.

The way we talk is important. When we are in public, we have to be careful not to say or relate stories in a manner that might offend the public. Using words and phrases to describe an exciting story of a hunt might be acceptable in the hunting camp, but when you are out in public it might be offensive. Using the word "harvest" instead of "kill" is a good example how to take others into consideration when in public. Safe and ethical hunters have to always act in a safe and responsible manner while out in public as well as while hunting. We must also be aware of the unethical display of slogans on t-shirts, clothing or bumper stickers, such as; "If it Flies, It Dies!" or "Happiness is a Gut Pile!

After reading this chapter on attitudes and behaviors, reconsider the scenario about deer hunting on your friends property.

Would you have shot the antlered deer that was walking towards the fence line?

Your behavior and the future of hunting depend on whether you measure up to being an ethical and safe hunter.

How do you measure up?

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