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It's defined in the Hunting Regulations...
Posted by Michael Strahan on Oct 20 2005
Akres,
Thankfully, the law clearly defines this for us. Check the Alaska Hunting Regulations < http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/regulations/pdfs/general.pdf >. If you look at page 22 in the definitions section the term "edible meat" is clearly defined.
The short story is that there is no allowance for rutty caribou meat. You are allowed to lose a small amount of meat in the butchering process, and you don't have to save bloodshot meat or viscera. Other than that, it's all yours!
So when a rutty caribou is tossed in the dumpster, people get upset. Not only has the intent of the law been violated, but so have the ethical principles behind the law. That's my take anyway. The truth is that our laws don't make perfect sense from a purely environmental perspective, because they allow us to completely remove material from the ecosystem from whence it came (how many acres of willow does it take to make a pound of moose meat? I'll bet it's a LOT). I maintain that our laws pertaining to clean salvage of game meat are rooted in a culture where food was hard to come by and it was seen as an unconscionable waste (from a human self-interest perspective) to leave it lying on the ground. I think the majority still carry those views, and I believe that is the root of our laws in this area. But from a purely biological / environmental perspective, it probably makes more sense to just take the cape and antlers or even to not hunt at all. I don't say this to offend anyone's conscience in this area, but just to stimulate thinking. I'm open to opposing views, but the law is clear as to our obligations. I'm not by any means suggesting that we change those laws either. I think there are many other reasons why it's a good idea to require complete salvage of game meat by hunters.
Interesting discussion.
-Mike
Previous: Edible (Definition????) Akres Oct 19 2005
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