Ethics vs. legality

[7mmfan]

I know this has been asked before, and its something that we all have to deal with from time to time when out in the woods, so I'm going to bring it up and get opinions.

If you are hunting with someone who has an unfilled antlerless tag, and you see a cow who is OBVIOUSLY wounded, limping/dragging a leg, mouth hanging wide open and lagging behind the herd, what do you do?

You don't have the tag, but you know there is a tag that could go on it, putting the animal out of its misery and to good use. Do you shoot, or do you live by the letter of the law and watch it limp away? Its a very tough decision because most of us are people that live by the letter of the law, and that's that. And to watch these animals, that we care about so much, suffer, just doesn't make sense.

Thoughts?

[quadrafire]

I would go get my hunting buddy and let him/her finish it off, IF they wanted it.

[pianoman9701]

I would go get my hunting buddy and let him/her finish it off, IF they wanted it.

Good answer.

[Curly]

What if you shoot it and at about the same time your buddy with the cow tag shoots a cow.  Then you'd be screwed.  It's sad, but I'd have to let it limp away.

[PolarBear]

I would go get my hunting buddy and let him/her finish it off, IF they wanted it.

If he does not chose to shoot it you have to let nature take it's course or risk getting nailed for poaching.

[Bob33]

There are instances where the ethical choice is not legal. For example, if I hit a deer with my vehicle and it was suffering, and I could not contact an enforcement officer, I would probably finish it off.

Shooting an elk without a legal tag is not something I would do in this instance.

Nature is very cruel.

[7mmfan]

Good answers guys. Its a tough decision, I have a hard time seeing any animal suffer, but the law is the law. And you're right, there are to many variables out there that could cause the situation to go from ok to very bad, very fast.

[Woodchuck]

So here is a little story some of you may have heard before but kind of applies. We had spotted a large bull in the same spot in a drainage that was carrying a front leg. The ol guy was not going far. I called it in, wanting for someone to put this guy out of his misery. The warden brought another hunter (who is a member on here) to camp. We went after the "hurt" bull who had moved quite a ways down the drainage. The member did in fact harvest said bull. Upon butchering, there was no open wound, no foreign object imbedded, nothing. That bull had been surving just like that for quite some time. Them critters are tougher than a lot of us give them credit for. 

[kentrek]

this gets down to the argument of what you pay for when you buy a tag..some say you pay for the opportunity to hunt while others say you pay for an animal.. obviously the second would make it justifiable to "party hunt"..so regarding ethics toward your case its up to your opinion on the previous argument..

if the cow was that wounded then it shouldnt be too hard to go get your buddy an come back to kill her..thats the safe way to do it..i would like them to allow a regulated party hunting tho

[Colville]

Sometimes doing what's right isn't legal. Sometimes doing what's wrong is. Just the way it is.

Intent has a lot to do with it. If a guy shoots a dying to slow, suffering critter that he can't legally tag, lets it lie but solves that problem for the animal. He's done the "right" thing. He assumes the risk of punishment and right or wrong, will receive punishment if found out.  He's beyond ok in my camp.  Guys push the limit when they do that, then want to take the meat. When you can personally profit from the action it will always call into question your intent.  And that's why the law is the way it is. If we were permitted to take the meat on that animal lots of guys would kill them and claim they found it in a bad way so that they can profit.  Most of the laws like this can't be ambiguous without people driving a freight train through the gaps in the law.  I'm from the camp that says do the right thing, don't profit from it, keep your mouth shut.  A clear conscience is your reward.

[Mike450r]

Might depend on the responding wildlife agent but I went to pick my kid up at my parents several years back in May or June,  know it was somewhere around that time because I had to get him to a baseball game and defnitely wasn't deer season.  Anyhow, I pulled into the driveway and saw a doe that had impaled herself on my parents fence.  The post was through the flank coming out near the tail.  She had tried to get loose for awhile it looked like and was very torn up.  I shot her on the spot without even thinking about it.  I got a little nervous after I had time to think about it so I called WDFW and an agent came out.  I left for the game but he talked to my parents and he was fine with what I did,  didn't say anything about needing to call them first, just took her away.

I doubt I would shoot a limping cow,  in fact I have seen a quite a few limping cows but a cow in a similiar situation as that doe,   yep.

[pianoman9701]

Might depend on the responding wildlife agent but I went to pick my kid up at my parents several years back in May or June,  know it was somewhere around that time because I had to get him to a baseball game and defnitely wasn't deer season.  Anyhow, I pulled into the driveway and saw a doe that had impaled herself on my parents fence.  The post was through the flank coming out near the tail.  She had tried to get loose for awhile it looked like and was very torn up.  I shot her on the spot without even thinking about it.  I got a little nervous after I had time to think about it so I called WDFW and an agent came out.  I left for the game but he talked to my parents and he was fine with what I did,  didn't say anything about needing to call them first, just took her away.

I doubt I would shoot a limping cow,  in fact I have seen a quite a few limping cows but a cow in a similiar situation as that doe,   yep.

Down in this neck of the woods, shooting all the limping cows would fill quite a few tags a day with the hoof rot.

[Kioti]

What if you shoot it and at about the same time your buddy with the cow tag shoots a cow.  Then you'd be screwed.  It's sad, but I'd have to let it limp away.

Good one...yup thats a tuff one....
Like it was said...I would go get my hunting partner and have him tag it....if not...then that cow is on her own.

[Colville]

Big difference between an elk with a limp and one down in a ditch with a broken back, or guts hanging out. Elk are crazy tough. I wouldn't shoot a limping elk.   

[Curly]

Down in this neck of the woods, shooting all the limping cows would fill quite a few tags a day with the hoof rot.

I was thinking the same thing.

My dad had a disabled hunter Toutle cow tag last year and he shot and missed a cow in a small herd of cows.  When they took off running, all of them were limping.  At first I thought, he hit one and then later realized they all had hoof rot.

The next day I ended up shooting a cow for him and it had a little bit of hoof rot too.