Ethical question on hunting does

[Rob]

I have not spent much time hunting doe deer before.  This time of year, many does are still with their yearlings.  I would assume that the yearlings are old enough to survive without their mothers, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger on a doe with a yearling nearby.

What are the ethics behind this one?

[Henrydog]

IMO if the GMU is open for does than it is perfectly ethical.  There is a reason those units are open for management

[Rainier10]

Ethics are the toughest thing out there and something that you have to decide for yourself.  I can say that it is legal, the fawn will probably make it through the winter and you have to decide from there.  Keep in mind there is no guarantee that the fawn will make it through the winter even with it's mother.

I think this is one that many hunters struggle with.  Good luck on your decision.

[Mudman]

I think Fawn mortality depends more on winter weather, predators, cars and food not mommy for company.  Sure it makes it harder to stay safe but doesn't directly cause death.  Heck they may stay more concealed an do better from that?  Does lead em on roads all the time.

[JLS]

I have not spent much time hunting doe deer before.  This time of year, many does are still with their yearlings.  I would assume that the yearlings are old enough to survive without their mothers, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger on a doe with a yearling nearby.

What are the ethics behind this one?

Having the doe around will not have a significant affect on the likelihood of survival for the fawn.  However, if you can, shoot a doe without a fawn.  She is barren for a reason, either age, low fertility (this is a hereditary trait), bad teeth, etc.  By removing her, you are reducing competition for cover, food, bucks that are better spent on the does that have fawns.

[pianoman9701]

They allow doe hunting in certain units for reasons of wildlife management. When the population reaches a certain ratio of bucks to does, they'll add antler restrictions or allow doe hunting by draw only. And yes, the fawns are old enough to fend for themselves. No ethical dilemma here unless it's one you create for yourself.

[Widgeondeke]

the only way I wouldn't take a legal doe is if the fawn was a late bloomer and still had spots.  Other than that, pick the biggest bodied doe and BOOM.   

[npaull]

Those yearlings are all about to be kicked out by the does anyway. They do not die if the doe is killed. I do not believe there is any ethical problem at all shooting a doe with a yearling.

[boneaddict]

I choose not to, one because that means she is fertile and could have a baby again next year.  Coupled with my disagreement with current deer management practices. I don't believe an antlerless hunt should be going on right now with the current herd status for most locales.   I don't think money and oppurtunity to appease the population should be the reason for an antlerless hunt.   

[Chesapeake]

Not sure about ethics but I can tell you it'll all but break your heart to be trying to gut a doe while its yearling stands by looking totally lost and confused without even the gumption to run away. I cant help but think a bit more time with mom around would help with survivability. Its not like the does ever kick them out like bears. They seem to hang with the same family group for life.

I try hard not to kill does or cows with yearlings. Not that I'd fault a guy for taking a legal animal.

[EmeraldBullet]

If it's legal it's because a state paid biologist said that too many does exist for the current habitat. I'm not a bio so I will take their word for it and if they are wrong then shame on them.

[elkboy]

I have tried to err on the side of not taking a doe that is clearly accompanied by a yearling.  I do hunt whitetailed deer in the Palouse, which means that I usually have a clear view of the deer as they move out into agricultural fields.  This means I usually have the luxury of making that decision!  Making that judgement with blacktail does would be harder in the dense cover of the west side of the state. 

I did glance at the scientific literature, and the consensus across papers seems to be that yearlings don't pay a major survival penalty if their dams (mothers) are harvested in the fall of the year.  Buck yearlings may actually do better if their mother is harvested, since the young buck will not be forced to emigrate from their mother's home range (Holzenbein and Marchinton 1992, J. Wildl. Mgmt). 

All that said, I have taken more does than bucks in my time, since I am basically a meat hunter.  Also, a tag filled with a doe instead of a buck can help correct low buck:herd ratios in some areas.   

Good luck.  Kudos for thinking broadly about the herd! 

[Bango skank]

I have not spent much time hunting doe deer before.  This time of year, many does are still with their yearlings.  I would assume that the yearlings are old enough to survive without their mothers, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger on a doe with a yearling nearby.

What are the ethics behind this one?

Having the doe around will not have a significant affect on the likelihood of survival for the fawn.  However, if you can, shoot a doe without a fawn.  She is barren for a reason, either age, low fertility (this is a hereditary trait), bad teeth, etc.  By removing her, you are reducing competition for cover, food, bucks that are better spent on the does that have fawns.

Youre saying if a doe doesnt have fawns this time of year its because shes barren, due to health issues.  Im going to have to strongly disagree.  A high percentage of does in my area have no fawns by october.  The reason is predators, not the does health.  Bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, hell ive seen vultures take out a newborn fawn.

[Bango skank]

Those yearlings are all about to be kicked out by the does anyway.

Not until next summer when shes getting ready to drop new fawns.  Even then the doe fawns will commonly start hanging out with mom again to some extent when fall rolls around.  Bucks usually move on to establish new home ranges around 1.5 yrs old.  Ive seen one stick with momma until he was 2.5.  Just my observations.  Im no deer biologist.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Ethics are up to the individual to define. I am not sure this falls into ethics category myself, but if asking how I go deciding whether to take a doe or not I will share.

My decision to shoot a doe is based primarily on my personal assessment of herd quality and dynamics in the specific location I am hunting. For example within a given GMU I may hunt an area on private timber or state land and observe low deer numbers, low fawn survival, high hunter success and TO ME taking a doe does not make much sense even if legal. However I could drive 15 minutes away to a private land apple tree and have a dozen deer invading Mrs. Smiths prized lawn flora and not hesitate to shoot and be excited for the opportunity. I also tend to wait till very late on archery tags and do attempt to take does that appear to be solo. But that is an emotional response and not based on actual scientific data that fawns are less likely to survive.

In the end if hunted legally, meat taken care of and used properly, and killed as humanely as possible you have fulfilled your duty as a hunter IMO.