# Hunter Ethics



## bird-dogman (Apr 7, 2010)

I went to the Berlin Wildlife Area Saturday to chase pheasants. Arrived late as usual (about 1100) to avoid the crowds. 

Shot my two birds in a couple hours unloaded my gun and worked the fields on the way back to the truck. My dog didnt want to quit hunting! 

About half way back Aero(my French Brittany) goes on point. After trying unsuccessfully to flush the bird, I tell Aero to hunt dead. After a few seconds he finds a dead rooster. I pick it up and can't decide whats wrong with it. It had a broken wing and leg and appeared to have been shot. Then it hits me, the bird has no tail feathers and showed no signs of mutilation from a predator. It was also still warm and soft. The only conclusion I can come to is that some SPORTSMAN shot it was over his/her bag limit and left it to rot ! 

I placed it in plain view on one of the frequently traveled paths. Hopefully someone will pick it up.

I hope my conclusion is wrong.


Jim


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## Poohflinger (Feb 2, 2010)

Why did you jump to that conclusion? Maybe a hunter knocked it down, it was a runner and died unfound? Maybe that particular hunters dog was not as great as your dog in finding downed game? Maybe they hit it and it flew into another group of hunters field only to escape being found. Maybe it was simply "One that got away". I'm sure you aren't so quick to judge if it "got away" from your hunting party. Possibly a hunter right now is sick that he lost a rooster at the zoo they call Berlin public hunting.


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## BigDub007 (Apr 1, 2010)

I have had the birds run from me when wounded its a part of hunting........I am sure no one left it to rot ......


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## firstflight111 (May 22, 2008)

or it fell out of someones back


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## longhaulpointer (Mar 12, 2009)

if you only wing a bird they can survive for a long time. i feel bad if i hit a bird and can't find it, but something will eat it. coyotes need an easy meal every once in a while. as for a hunter shooting an extra bird???? if they would do that why not just take it home to?


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## GETTIN' THERE (Apr 17, 2007)

Also....a lot of us do not have a dog. While very few do get away, every now and then over the years we loose a downed bird. It is the way it is. You can search and search, but sometimes to no avail. You say get a dog.... for two weekends a year...no I don't think so. Don't have the money for the game preserve's and the State has taken away a prime weekend and given it to the kids to hunt deer.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

bird-dogman said:


> I went to the Berlin Wildlife Area Saturday to chase pheasants. Arrived late as usual (about 1100) to avoid the crowds.
> 
> Shot my two birds in a couple hours unloaded my gun and worked the fields on the way back to the truck. My dog didnt want to quit hunting!
> 
> ...



i think your jumping to a severe conclusion a bit to fast... I'm guessing it was a runner that died while running and was never found.


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

the missing tail feathers made him suspect someone pulled them out and left the bird.


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## fakebait (Jun 18, 2006)

I agree that someone just wanted tail feathers and left the bird. It could of died a number of ways but; someone had to take the tail and leave the bird behind to rot. I never found a dead bird ever that did not have its tail ! Whatever happen it is still a waste of such a bird.


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## GETTIN' THERE (Apr 17, 2007)

"Just saying"

but, I have killed many a pen raised bird without tail feathers over the years.


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## longhaulpointer (Mar 12, 2009)

GETTIN' THERE said:


> Also....a lot of us do not have a dog. While very few do get away, every now and then over the years we loose a downed bird. It is the way it is. You can search and search, but sometimes to no avail. You say get a dog.... for two weekends a year...no I don't think so. Don't have the money for the game preserve's and the State has taken away a prime weekend and given it to the kids to hunt deer.


glad you feel that way, dogs aren't something you can leave in a kennel, bring them out a couple of times a year and think they'll hunt


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

My guess is that it is a bird that a hunter shot and just never found. If I had found it along the trail and didn't have my limit yet and it was still warm, I'd have taken it home with me. My dad found a rabbit like that once. It was tucked under a fallen tree and its head had been chewed off. It's body was still warm. We assumed that a hawk or owl had killed the rabbit, took part of it to eat and stashed the rest for later. We were the oppurtunistic hunter/scavengers in this case.


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## coydog1254 (Dec 5, 2010)

I think it is very plasible that it fell out of someones game bag or necker. Runners, unintended lose, dropping all run through my mind when someone mentions that kind of thing. Very few *hunters* take game and just decide to leave it before searching as much as humanly possible to retrieve the game. Very few poachers are willing to get far enough away from their truck to get caught for a bird. I would assume the best and be glad that nature recycles everything.


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