After reading coyotehunter's thread entitled "Keeping Yourself Current with the Radical Treehunging Greenies" (http://www.coyotehunter.net/forums/view ... p?f=2&t=20) I was left with alot of questions about our sport. Coyotehunter cited a newspaper author who was critial of our practices and ethics. While I agree that these people can be frusterating, it seems we can't just write them off as completely nutty-- we need to have strong arguments to support our position. Though that critical newspaper author touched a nerve, he also brought up some valid points we need to address.
Like many of you, I suppose, I've always considered myself a bit of a tree-hugging-hunter (if that makes any sense). A conservationist sportsman. Because I love it so much, I want to protect it. I usually rationalize hunting by thinking/saying that, because I honor the animal with ethical shots and put the carcass to good use, its okay. For example, I think stalking and shooting a deer-- in many ways-- is more ethical than buying meat from a mega-farm. What about coyote hunting, though? To my knowledge, most of us don't eat coyotes.
Don't get me wrong-- I think coyote hunting does make ethical sense. Otherwise I wouldn't do it. This is a wonderful sport and its a much needed ecosystem management tool. I think the ethical argument for it needs to be fleshed out. In order to protect our sport, we need to have this discourse-- especially on a site like this that's visable to the world. I think we need a coyote hunter code of ethics or something (i.e. define ethcial shots, etc).
So why does the world need coyote hunting?
What makes it ethcial?
Are there any methods you think are unethical?
Just the same if I Knocked the guts out of one and he crippled off I have enough respect to find him and end it even if its not the prime fur time of year. Its the ethical thing to do right? 