Idaho Mountain Express: Hunting derbies show disrespect

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Hunting derbies show disrespect

At the Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Summit last August, it was noted how lucky we are here in Idaho to have the diversity of wildlife that we have. And because Idaho’s wildlife belongs to all of us, we all share a duty to conserve wildlife and their habitat. Conserving must carry some need for respect, but I fear that there are “harvest” practices that do not require respect, sportsmanship or ethics. Allowing wildlife derbies to take place is anything but respectful.

Seventy years ago, Aldo Leopold described and defined a land ethic. I believe it is time for an open discussion about a wildlife ethic. The Boone and Crockett Club, an old and respected sportsmen’s group, provides a good model. Boone and Crockett advocates fair chase defined as “the ethical, sportsmanlike and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that trapping and baiting give the “hunter” a huge advantage. And these days with the array of vehicles that can facilitate the hunt, the motorized hunter has even more advantage.

The Boone and Crockett Club’s website includes the following tenets: 1. Obey all applicable laws and regulations. 2. Respect the customs of the locale where the hunting occurs. 3. Exercise a personal code of behavior that reflects favorably on your abilities and sensibilities as a hunter. 4. Attain and maintain the skills necessary to make the kill as certain and quick as possible. 5. Behave in a way that will bring no dishonor to either the hunter, the hunted or the environment.Isn’t it time to begin this conversation?

Christine Gertschen

Sun Valley
buy cialis
comprar cialis
acheter cialis

About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged: