A Girl’s Guide to Ethical Hunting
Unfortunately, not all hunters are ethical. Every hunter needs to respect our wildlife and land and respect the laws. Always take a clean shot. Eat or donate your meat. Use respectful terminology. Leave the land better than you found it. Pick up trash; don’t litter. Develop your property or public land on behalf of the land and wildlife.
A few basics:
Take a clean shot. If you can’t hit a target, you shouldn’t shoot at an animal. The goal is to always deliver one fatal shot as quickly and painlessly as possible. Does it happen every time? Unfortunately, no. Skip a shot or wait for a better opportunity. Be steady. If you don’t deliver a fatal shot, it’s your responsibility to follow, find and shoot as quickly (and humanely) as possible.
All ethical hunters will practice their marksmanship before going in the field.
Give non-hunters some grace. Throw a cover over a harvested animal when driving down the highway. Use caution when showing certain people photos of your hunt. My mom still, to this day, will not look at any photos of me with a dead animal. It doesn’t help either of our opinions of hunting to rub them in her face; it’s just not necessary.
“Killing” can be the term you use when speaking to hunters, but use the word “harvesting” when speaking to children or new hunters and in certain circumstances. With a kid or new hunter, you will have to tell them to shoot the deer and they’ll know the deer is dead, but by using the term harvest, it demonstrates we do it for food and conservation purposes.
Unfortunately, the terms do have to be used around people who don’t agree with this form of conservation.
Eat or donate the meat. Have enough respect for an animal to have the meat processed and eaten at your own home, given to friends and family or donated.
Unfortunately, the donation of meat can be difficult sometimes if there isn’t a drop-off location nearby. Before harvesting an animal, do your research so you know where to take it post- hunt. There are also usually processing fees to drop-off/donate, but it’s worth the money.
Leave the land and wildlife better than you found it. Never litter and always pick up your trash. For that matter, pick up other people’s trash.
These are just a few of the tips for ethical hunting. What tips did we miss?
Carly Brasseux is a determined and passionate freelance outdoor writer, published author, business owner and social media/marketing consultant based in Texas. In a world where women are the fastest growing segment of the hunting population, she is a major proponent of those women wanting to learn more about the outdoors and hunting. Her handle, Miss Pursuit, is an expression of her enthusiasm for all things outdoors, from educating women through her experiences learning to hunt over the last decade, to getting out with her kids to explore the wild. Her expertise in social media and marketing, as well as her vast network of people in the outdoor industry, have given her the influence to make an impact for years to come. Pro-Staff for ReelCamo Girl and team member for Huntress View.
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