Bear meat ethics

[woodman]

My belief is that the meat should be hauled out and used. If you are worried about the taste, should you even be hunting it at all. Also, you could have it made into sausage and pepperoni. I have always said that I think that my butcher could make sawdust taste good as sausage with all of the spices and such that he uses.

[Jonathan_S]

I'm just saying that there are spots where bears might hibernate.

 

[Kittman]

Personally, I would have a hard time believing that any bear meat properly rubbed & seasoned and put in a smoker for 16 or so hours would not be good eating.

[ctwiggs1]

My belief is that the meat should be hauled out and used. If you are worried about the taste, should you even be hunting it at all. Also, you could have it made into sausage and pepperoni. I have always said that I think that my butcher could make sawdust taste good as sausage with all of the spices and such that he uses.

   Why hunt it if you're just leaving the meat behind.  Trophy hunters kind of scare me - seems serial killer-ish.

Curtis

[runamuk]

Personally, I would have a hard time believing that any bear meat properly rubbed & seasoned and put in a smoker for 16 or so hours would not be good eating.

well talk to Alaskans who live with and eat bear, apparently salmon eating bears taste like dead fish  they will use the meat for the dogs, and the hides are always kept and used...

[ctwiggs1]

Personally, I would have a hard time believing that any bear meat properly rubbed & seasoned and put in a smoker for 16 or so hours would not be good eating.

well talk to Alaskans who live with and eat bear, apparently salmon eating bears taste like dead fish  they will use the meat for the dogs, and the hides are always kept and used...

That makes sense - if the tag is cheap enough then the meat would be good dog food, so I guess I have to stand a little corrected on my previous statement.

I've heard the same thing.  My dad grew up in Alaska and has always hated bear meat because of it.

[Kittman]

I don't need to talk to Alaskans about their Grizzly Bear meat situation, this is a Hunt-WA site.  I've harvested a couple of black bears in this state over the years.  The first one was better the at second one.  So the second one became sausage.  The point here is there is no good excuse to waste after harvesting.

[runamuk]

I don't need to talk to Alaskans about their Grizzly Bear meat situation, this is a Hunt-WA site.  I've harvested a couple of black bears in this state over the years.  The first one was better the at second one.  So the second one became sausage.  The point here is there is no good excuse to waste after harvesting.

and the OP was talking about bears in Arizona so not from here so possibly does relate to AK in that its a different place with different forage and just generally different than here.

The only bear I ever ate was from here as a kid we ate lots of bear sausage it was awesome....my sisters then moved to Alaska and experienced bear that tastes nasty like dead fish.... I have not eaten bear from AZ where they may be eating who knows what    its like the difference between grass finished beef with that gamey fat and grain finished beef with delicious fat

[Kittman]

I am Totally LOL.  I grew up on a cattle ranch in N.D. and there the grass fed beef is absolutely the best beef that can be had.  There is no "Gamey" taste like what you would experience on an animal standing up to its knees in a muddy feedlot being finished with grain.  Have that Grizzly meat smoked I say.

[Bean Counter]

Why would bear in AZ hibernate?  Legal or not I'd been giving him some strong words for thought.  The AZ bear I've eaten have all been fantastic!  Bad worm infestation would be the only time I'd ever waste a bear fall or spring.

I was talking to the son who doesn't strike me as a hunter. It would have seemed weird to me to give him the third degree about something his dad chose. Its possible it was left with a  guide or he was hunting on the Rez or something. Legal or not the wastage bothers me more than if he had done something overtly illegal like hunting over bait, just my opinion though. 

[MisplacedAlaskan]

I find it interesting that meat has to be consumed by a human or used by the person for some purpose in order to not be considered wasted. Of all the carcasses I have seen left in the filed, meat taken or not, nothing has ever gone to waste in my opinion.

[RadSav]

I believe it comes down to Respect for the life taken.  If we as hunters lose respect for our quarry it lessens the sport itself.  Taking a life in vain for truly trophy status and/or personal recognition doesn't make us much as stewards of the land.  Sure there are cases where culling and predation control is itself a means of preserving health and survival of other species, but it must be done with deliberation and forethought.  Otherwise we are no better than the wolf and the image we portray helps no cause other than the destruction of our own hunting heritage.

I almost did not make the trip to the remote NWT location for my sheep and caribou because I feared of the waste from being unable to return with the majority of meat.  After a long talk with the outfitter I was assured the meat would not be left for the birds and wolves.  I was so pleased when we landed in Norman Wells to see families waiting for us at the air field.  I had never thought in the remote wilderness so many would have a shortage of meat.  But there are few access points for the poor and disabled to actually obtain it for themselves.  And shipping beef in to such location certainly is not a cost effective proposal for any but the wealthiest among them.  After the greetings and many thanks I almost felt guilty I had not left more. 

If these AZ hunters were hunting on the San Carlos I doubt it went to waste.  Each time I have been there everything the hunter chose not to take the tribes were happy to consume.  With as good eating as those bear are in that region I personally hope that is the case.  In my experience that is quite the well run reservation.  And the animals there are treated with great respect!

[sled]

  My Spring Bear Is The Best Game Meat I've Ever Eaten So far

[mountainman]

Waste of meat is never a good thing. As stated above, if it is big game and you are not planning to eat it, don't shoot it! I harvested my 25th bear last fall...all twenty were used to feed my family. Some were gamey. And turned into jerk...some so succulent that the hams would make your mouth drool! None went to waste!

[Payne]

I think if you shoot an animal you should do something with the meat. I agree with what RadSav said, it's about respect.