From: jsemrad@ems.cdc.com (Joe Semrad)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals
Subject: Re: ethics and rec.hunting
Date: 8 Apr 92 22:19:16 GMT
Reply-To: jsemrad@ems.cdc.com
Organization: Empros Systems International, a division of CDC

In article <4625@cluster.cs.su.oz.au>, andrewt@cluster.cs.su.oz.au (Andrew Taylor) writes:
|> About a week ago this was posted to rec.hunting:
|> 
|> > For the past month, a woodpecker has been coming around between
|> > 7:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. and pecking the hell out of my house.  I
|> > already tried putting up owl decoys and stuff like that but that
|> > only worked temporarily.  I want to kill the woodpecker but I can't
|> > very well run out of my house and shoot it because my neighbors might
|> > see me and report me or something like that. Does anybody have any
|> > ideas on how I can put some sort of trap on my roof to catch Woody?
|> 

Actually rec.hunting doesn't seem like the right place for this question.
I was surprised to see it posted there.  Wasn't a similar question posted
here awhile ago (or was it rec.backcountry? I'm not sure)?  I didn't think
this was the right place for that question either.  I ignored it when it 
appeared in r.h for that reason.  I suspect others did as well.
What this woodpecker has to do with hunting is beyond me.  Sounds more
like pest removal.

|> Now woodpeckers are all protected species, some are even endangered,
|> and its illegal to either trap or kill them. Also its likely to be
|> unnecessary, the larger woodpeckers tend to be timid and scaring the bird
|> a few times will discourage it.
|> 

The poster said he tried to scare it with owl decoys and it only worked
temporarily.  I don't know what "stuff like that" means, but apparently
he tried something else as well.  You have to give the guy some credit.
If he were the total slob that hunters are portrayed as by anti-hunters
he would have shot it right away with an air gun.  He also mentions
trapping it as well.  Perhaps I am wrong, but I assumed he meant some
kind of live trap.  His statement that he wants to kill the bird is wrong.
I would fault him for that.  I think what he really wants to do stop the
noise and damage to his home.  At least he has tried and is considering
other options besides shooting.  He is correct that he would be reported
should he shoot, not only because the bird is protected but because
most cities have laws against discharging firearms.

|> Now you'd expect an outcry from all these ethical hunters because
|> 
|> a) The only thing stopping the poster from shooting a protected,
|>    species is fear of discovery - hardly ethical.

But a legitimate fear.

|> b) The poster wants help in illegally trapping a protected species.

Again, I assumed live trapping for later release.  Depending on local
laws this may be legal if the bird is causing damage.  It may require
a special permit as well.

|> c) The unidentified woodpecker might even be a threatened species.
|> 

If so it is probably illegal to bother it at all.  He should call the
DNR in this case and get their advice and help.  The poster did not
say if it was threatened or not so we can't tell on this one.

|> But the three replies were:

Three replies seems pretty good for a question that has very little to
do with the subject of the newsgroup.

|> 
|> 1) a joke

Everyone enjoys a good joke.  (I don't even remember reading this one so
don't flame me about it being bad!)

|> 2) a suggestion that the poster check for termites

This is valid.  I think this advice was given here (or rec.backcountry)
as well.

|> 3) a recollection from someone who (when younger) was going to
|>    shoot a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers (threatened in many areas)
|>    for the same reason but didn't when saw how pretty they were
|>    and instead scared them off.
|> 

A HUNTER said this!?  Ohmygosh!  We'll have to take away his hunter club
membership card and secret decoder ring!  :-)

|> Instead the raging debate in rec.hunting was whether it was ethical to shoot
|> an Elk that is a kilometre away.
|> 
|> Andrew Taylor

Gee, hunters arguing about ethics.  And I thought we didn't have any. :-)
Did you follow the thread Andrew?  The majority of hunters thought long
shots were unethical for a variety of valid reasons.  Even the few supporters
seemed to agree that it was ethical only under certain conditions, with
special equipment, and by extremely talented shooters.

BTW, how do you know the poster of the woodpecker article is a hunter?
Perhaps he is just a frustrated homeowner trying to find advice where
he can.  You seem to be trying to bash the users of r.h based on this
one post that is only marginally related to hunting.

Joe
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