Hen Question

[rundrave]

is it still wasting when you come upon a frozen hen pheasant, that died stiff from the storm. Is it rightfully yours to take? Are you wasting a bird if you dont take it?

a coyote, racoon, or other predator kills a hen pheasant, leaves it behind, you find it? Is it rightfully yours to take? Are you wasting a bird if you dont take it?

your dog picks up a hen pheasant, dead or alive, if he killed it or just picked it up. Is it rightfully yours to take? Are you wasting a bird if you dont take it?

Not once are you ever in possesion, not once in my opinion, and I believe by LAW are you allowed to take it. I dont consider it wasting, because the LAW says I am NOT allowed to take it.

We are making a very simple thing, way more complicated than it is.

Your dogs instinct is to fetch retrieve and hunt, mistakes happen and by all means it was not done on purpose. Leave the bird behind, its the LAW.

[CaptainMusky]

It doesn't matter HOW the bird was taken!!! If you hit it with a truck, caught by a dog, or shot it, regardless you CANNOT have a hen pheasant in your possession. End of story. Like I said before you can twist it around however you want, retrieve to hand, is different than in the game bag with the intention of keeping. Just because the dog brings it to you doesn't mean you have intentions to keep it. My dog picks up sticks and brings them to me, does it mean I have to bring them home?

You never answered the very important question whether or not you felt it was worth sacrificing all those things for a hen to eat. The bird will not go to waste. If you are so concerned about it going to waste, you better never leave the field with a wounded bird rooster not in your bag.

I can only believe your motivation for keeping this going is to hear yourself speak (not literally) because any logically thinking individual can see the obvious answer here.

[CodyDawg]

Ah, I love ethical questions. You know who is right? Everyone. The people who believe you should let it lay and predators will put it to use are completely right in their convictions and there is nothing wrong with that. The people who say to take it home and use it are completely right in their convictions. IF they are willing to pay the price if caught. Ethics are a tough thing to discuss. there was an article on ethics in a recent PF magazine, check it out.

One question that has stuck with me is this, can you be illegal, but ethical? Can you provide an instance where you would break the law because of your ethics? For instance, would you break the law to put down a suffering animal? For those of you that say no, consider this:

You are in your deer stand and your neighbor shoots at 11 am. 10 minutes later, here comes a doe with its jaw shot off, hobbling on 2 legs, and dripping blood. You do NOT have an anterless permit. Do you finish it off and get your neighbor? Stop here and make a decision.

Maybe it turns out, your neighbor, who is from some little town in Oklahoma, crawled out of his tree and went home. Now you are in possession of an illegal deer, if you shot it. If you did not shoot it, mebbe you and your neighbor track the deer and never find it, but it dies a terrible death. How do you feel about that? You can see how tricky it can get.

For the record, I think there are situations where I would break the law. HOWEVER, I would be fully prepared to face the consequences of the action. Incidently, this is a great topic to discuss with kids...just don't push them too hard, let them make their own decisions.

[koutdoors]

"You never answered the very important question whether or not you felt it was worth sacrificing all those things for a hen to eat."

Have done and will do again. Doing the right thing sometimes comes with a risk. In this case though, I truly don't see much of one...

[CaptainMusky]

So you don't think you will ever get caught. Just HOW often do you bring hens home? I have hunted pheasants for nearly 20 years and I spend quite a lot of time in the field every year. In all my years, I have had a dog catch a hen 2 times and accidentally shot one once. To me, it sounds like you have your excuse all prepared and plan on bringing hens home on a regular basis.

Codydawg, good scenario. I think ethics are more close to morals than laws. You can be immoral but not break any laws and vice versa. Morally you way want to shoot that doe to put it out of its misery, but if you do, you could break the law. It's quite the quandary, do you shoot the deer or leave it go? I was pressed with a very similar situation except it was a car deer accident. The deer was still alive, but definitely not going to make it. We called the Sheriff and he came out and took care of it. When on the phone with them I told them I could take care of it as I had rifle in my truck. Their comments were that under no circumstances should I do that as I could face criminal charges. CO's also have this "executive" decision capability and I would err on the side of caution. It is a tough thing to do, and it doesn't feel well watching an animal struggle when there is something you could do about it. Based on previous experience I would call the CO and have them come out or advise what to do.