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A Meat Salvage Ethic
Posted by Michael Strahan on Dec 06 2005
Hi folks,
There have been some interesting thoughts posted below in the "Longest Pack" thread concerning meat salvage ethics. We jumped topics there and started to wander (happens all the time here, so no big deal really), but I thought a separate thread on this might be productive.
Any time we start talking about ethics, we get into areas that are highly personal and individualized. As a result, there's a tendency to place value judgements on other people if their views are different (especially if they are opposed to ours). If we can discuss this without it becoming a personal attack, we might be able to learn some things from each other here. That said, I'll offer a couple of thoughts to get this started, knowing that I've already said a lot about this before. I would be interested in your ideas on this too, whether you agree or not.
I want to nip the "thought police" idea in the bud. My goal here is not to tell people how to think, but simply to challenge your thinking a bit, and to share some ideas that I'm learning about too. I'm a work in progress, and I doubt I've originated any of this; like you, I've learned from others and am trying to refine my thoughts into actions that make sense to me in the field. One way we can avoid raising each other's hackles on this is to avoid accusing each other of trying to be each other's conscience. I'm not trying to do that; I'm just expressing some thoughts. Some thoughts are stronger than others and will probably come across that way. But none of it is intended as a personal attack on anyone.
LEGAL VS ETHICAL
For some these two terms go together. Something is ethical simply because it's expressed in law. I disagree somewhat. In the case of meat salvage, I believe our present laws came about because our culture has re-defined appropriate behavior in the field. In times past, our culture has been all over the map on this one. There were times when complete salvage was a requirement borne of survival. Simply put, the whole purpose of hunting was to obtain meat. To fail to salvage the animal was unthinkable. Strictly trophy hunting would be akin to going to the grocery store and coming home with nothing but pictures and empty grocery sacks. It just wasn't done. Later, as life became easier, people had more disposable income, etc., trophy hunting became popular. During that time, the priority was on the recreational aspects of the hunt, with less emphasis on keeping the meat (I know this is an over-simplification). Then people started believing that it was "wrong" to leave the meat behind, and eventually laws were passed requiring it. I could be mistaken, but I believe that's how we got to where we are today. There's a lot more that could be said regarding the history of this, but I'm more concerned with where it leaves us today. Do our present laws really make sense?
BIOLOGICAL SENSE?
Not long ago a federal refuge biologist made an interesting point to me. His question still rings in my ears, because it was such a departure from what I keep hearing from the hunting and non-hunting community concerning meat salvage. His comment was, "What makes more sense; to remove the meat from the field and convert it to human waste in the sewage system in New York, or to leave it in the environment from whence it came?" This really made me think. Really, would any of us dare to suggest that leaving the meat behind makes more sense from an environmental perspective? If any of us were public officials with responsibilities in this area (as a number of you are), it would be career suicide to make such a statement. But it is these sort of questions that to me get to the heart of some of the issues. So my question to you, dear friend, is exactly that. Why is meat salvage so important to us? Should it be a legal requirement? More importantly (because this is where our laws come from), are there solid ethical reasons to keep the meat?
I guess I'm sticking my neck out here, but know this: I still haven't totally made my mind up about this, and I'm trying to work through it. It would be fair to say that I have questions but not answers to all of my questions. So try not to pound on me too hard, okay? I'm trying to learn.
I'm interested in your views on this.
Regards,
-Mike
Next: Use it all twoatlow8 Dec 09 2005
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