Are there any ethics in turkey hunting?

[MickThompson]

Seeing a couple parallel threads regarding ethics and turkeys, so here's the question- where do you draw the line? A method of hunting? A distance from the barrel? Property lines? Not baiting? Or?

Was Aldo Leopold (father of wildlife management) a turkey hunter? His thoughts on the matter-

"A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than a mob of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact."

"Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching—even when doing the wrong thing is legal."

I'll offer in this brave new world of Instagram, Facebook, online forums and social media, we may now have that audience if we seek it out.


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[AT Hiker]

Im close to concluding that my expectations of the hunter is to high and possibly unrealistic.
I'm not perfect and in my young and immature days I'm sure I muddied the waters but my mentors along the way have steered me, in what I think, the right direction. I'd like to think my ethos of hunting and conservation would be shared by many on here, it seems we are the outliers though.




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[Bone Collector]

Im close to concluding that my expectations of the hunter is to high and possibly unrealistic.
I'm not perfect and in my young and immature days I'm sure I muddied the waters but my mentors along the way have steered me, in what I think, the right direction. I'd like to think my ethos of hunting and conservation would be shared by many on here, it seems we are the outliers though.

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Maybe so, but probably less than you think. I think this issue is no different from any other faced by human beings, and goes back to the root of the problem, which is humans are bound to fail at various points when it comes to decision making (think sin). Sometimes the events of a season cause you to do things you normally wouldn't. Is it the norm, are you a bad person, or did you just make a poor decision? If the latter, I hardly think that defines ones ethos.

I'll offer in this brave new world of Instagram, Facebook, online forums and social media, we may now have that audience if we seek it out.

Absolutely and i think these things could be a big part of the cause of the poor decision making. Pressure to succeed in your fellow hunters eyes can cause people to do the wrong thing. Before all this, no one knew what you killed or how you killed it, unless you showed them a printed photo and told the story in person. Now we post pics to get congratulated and we discuss topics to offer wisdom. Once one gets a reputation for being good and/or knowledgeable, it is expected they kill their quarry on a regular basis, lest they lose credibility, so with that pressure comes bad decision making.

Also I have had conversations, both publiclly and privately on this forum and others, with members, advising them if you make a poor decision, figure it out by yourself, not online, because you open yourself up to getting bashed if you air your dirty laundry.

 

[Setterman]

I try to always do the right thing, I don't trespass, I don't bait, don't shoot more than I'm supposed to or out of season. I respect other huntersy giving them a wide birth. I also don't kill snakes I come across, or leave trash behind.

I did kill a wounded owl last year that had a broken wing. I didn't have the gear to get him to the truck without getting mauled, and I was miles from any road to do so. I felt the ethical thing was to kill it.

Honestly I was bad news 20 years ago, at that time I was a punk college kid and didn't act in a manner that I should've. I didn't have mentors other than guys my own age. I trespassed, I shot more than I should each season, but never baited or hunted out of season. I got a nice citation in Alabama for shooting two one morning and that's when I started to understand how stupid/selfish I was being, that was 20 years ago last week and ever since then try to act as ethical as possible.

 

[woodsman04]

I try to be ethical. I follow the rules but also don't just set around clover fields and chufa plots ambushing turkeys. I just don't think that's ethical.
Just my opinion though.


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