Wanton Waste in Tennessee

[whiskey]

I wanted to make my fellow hunters aware of Tennessee's current "wanton waste" laws. First, there is a federal law that prohibits the "wanton waste" of waterfowl. This would also apply to all waterfowl hunting in Tennessee.

The State of Tennessee has a "wanton waste" law for WMA's. The wording is listed below and can be found under WMA general regulations, linked below.

"Wanton Waste

Hunters are to retrieve all crippled or dead game if possible and prohibits disposal of dead wildlife on WMAs."

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - WMA Regulations

The State of Tennessee does not have a "wanton waste" law pertaining to private land, as best I can tell. I have spent about an hour searching the web and TWRA site and I have found several references to the fact that the law DOES NOT exist.

Below is a link, off site, to TNDEER forum where a participating member is a TWRA biologist. I am a member of the board and trust that the information is legitimate. In the thread, the biologist confirms that the "wanton waste" law only applies to WMA land.

http://www.tndeer.com/tndeertalk/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=977781&page=12

So.... here is my opinion. As an ethical hunter, I don't condone shooting "commonly edible animals" and leaving them to rot in the woods. I don't shoot deer for food only. I enjoy the sport also. I understand folks that love to hunt, but don't want to eat the meat. So long as they donate the meat to someone, I am good with that. I understand coyote hunting and not eating, so I can understand raccoon hunting and not eating. I understand prairie dog shooting and not eating. Turkey, Deer, Squirrel, Rabbits, upland game birds all fall in to the edible category for me. I don't shoot them without eating them, or ensure they are going to be eaten by someone else. The same goes for fishing for me. I don't keep fish to take home and throw in the trash. Shame on you if you do, but you aren't breaking the law, best I can tell.

Should we be contacting our TWRA officials and pushing for a change in the law? Like stated in the TNDEER forum thread, "A guy gets in trouble exceeding a bag limit to feed his family, but the same guy could shoot 100 deer and leave them lay LEAGALLY." OR should it be within our rights to do what we want with the "bag limits" the state sets for us?

Let's keep this a civil discussion and try to expand folks knowledge of where we stand as a hunting community.

[quietguy]

A good and timely reminder.

I would also note that Tennessee Wildlife Federation has several processing centers that participate in the Hunters for the Hungry program.

[Okey]

I understand prairie dog shooting and not eating.

Once you acquire a taste for them nothing else will do.

Okey

[DaveS]

TWRA should practice what they preach as far as leaving animals dead or dying on WMAs.....nuff' said!

[Guest GunTroll]

Yep. I kill all sorts of inedible animals that most consider a nuisance of sorts. You mentioned a few of them. P-dogs kills are in the thousands for me. Even with those I get the ...." pulling this trigger will end its life. Are you sure you want to do that" I'd think to myself. I usually pull the trigger but I think that the day I no longer think about a few pounds of a pull ending a life, I should put it away for I've gone over to the dark side .

I'm still bothered at times about the final seconds of a few animals that I ended. Go ahead and laugh if you will. I'm a softy alright.

[-boatman-]

My wife will not cook or eat wild game. This is the reason I only hunt coyote. I do not think it's right to kill just for the sake of sport and I will not do it. Animals were put on earth for us to use, not waste and I think it's wrong. I enjoy watching the wildlife on my property and while I would have fun popping a rabbit at a hundred yards I just can't do it.

[hotsauce]

I am with you on what you said concerning wildlife not being wasted. It is ethically wrong. I however do not support further legislation to control what happens on private lands. Private lands are for their owners to determine what is right. If you want to make a change do it with education and peer pressure if possible. Current game laws are enough regulation.

Edited August 14, 2011 by hotsauce
after thought

[Guest clownsdd]

We don't need another law on the books.

[ShaunM]

TWRA should practice what they preach as far as leaving animals dead or dying on WMAs.....nuff' said!

You wouldn't be talking about hogs?

[JAB]

I am with you on what you said concerning wildlife not being wasted. It is ethically wrong. I however do not support further legislation to control what happens on private lands. Private lands are for their owners to determine what is right. If you want to make a change do it with education and peer pressure if possible. Current game laws are enough regulation.

This.

We don't need another law on the books.

And this.

[DaveS]

I just don't believe in the killing of anything, for the enjoyment of killing. If you take a "furbearer", use it's pelt and/or meat. I have seen so many bucks and does on our WMAs with just horns and/or backstraps removed and the rest left laying. I have found piles of rabbits laying on the edges of parking lots on our WMAs, and un-countable numbers of ducks and doves tossed in the bushes on those same WMAs. We need the "wanton waste" laws, even on private land. Each land owner, manager, or any person who leases land must ensure that they or anyone they allow to hunt, abide by the most elementary of moral standards by assuring harvested game is removed, or DO NOT allow these people to continue to hunt your property and waste our natural resources. If our grandchildren are to enjoy the hunting rights that we enjoy today....WE MUST....WE MUST police ourselves and those that we allow to hunt with us!

I don't mean to be on a soapbox, but we must instill some kind of moral standards for folks to follow, to preserve our resources. I work too hard, put in too much time and money on the property that I manage, that I will NOT tolerate "wanton waste" of any type! You shoot it....you remove it! Except right now, and I haven't signed any permission slips.....

Edited August 17, 2011 by wd-40

[Guest adamoxtwo]

I agree. If a land owner has a problem there are steps that can be taken to remedy those problems. If there is a situation not on the books a call tot he local Game warden is usually a quick and easy solution. They are more level headed then TWRA and will use common sense and better judgement when giving permission to take care of pests.

[DaveS]

You're right Adam. We cannot MAKE people act in a manner of our choosing. They must do that on their own. All us land managers and owners can do is say "no" to hunters whom have little or no morals, and waste game.

[Caster]

My wife will not cook or eat wild game. This is the reason I only hunt coyote. I do not think it's right to kill just for the sake of sport and I will not do it. Animals were put on earth for us to use, not waste and I think it's wrong. I enjoy watching the wildlife on my property and while I would have fun popping a rabbit at a hundred yards I just can't do it.

I don't understand this post at all. Is the coyote some kind of subspecies that doesn't deserve the same respect?

I don't have a problem with hunting at all, I plan to take a deer or two this winter myself, but I'm firm believer in eat it, or leave it.

[DaveS]

I don't understand this post at all. Is the coyote some kind of subspecies that doesn't deserve the same respect?

I don't have a problem with hunting at all, I plan to take a deer or two this winter myself, but I'm firm believer in eat it, or leave it.

I think for every deer you take, somewhere you can thank a Coyote hunter for it. Just take the thing out of the woods and use it. A tanned "yote" pelt is very pretty if you'll tan it and hang it on a piece of old "barnwood" and hang a rusty trap on it. Very, very nice! It will add a lot to your "man cave".

[quietguy]

I don't understand this post at all. Is the coyote some kind of subspecies that doesn't deserve the same respect?

I don't have a problem with hunting at all, I plan to take a deer or two this winter myself, but I'm firm believer in eat it, or leave it.

Coyotes are not a native species, and hazardous to the balance of the ecology of the State. They upset the natural balance. They also have the misfortune of being essentially inedible and worthless pelts.

Edited August 18, 2011 by quietguy

[Guest GunTroll]

I don't understand this post at all. Is the coyote some kind of subspecies that doesn't deserve the same respect?

I don't have a problem with hunting at all, I plan to take a deer or two this winter myself, but I'm firm believer in eat it, or leave it.

All animals deserve respect. I pay it with a clean kill and a moment of though/reflection with my God. Coyotes get the same treatment even though I do not eat them.

[DaveS]

Coyotes are not a native species, and hazardous to the balance of the ecology of the State. They upset the natural balance. They also have the misfortune of also being essentially inedible and worthless pelts.

I'm not trying to argue, but your statement of "coyote" pelts being worthless....you are wrong Sir! I've made my fortune with coyote....

[Caster]

Coyotes are not a native species, and hazardous to the balance of the ecology of the State. They upset the natural balance. They also have the misfortune of also being essentially inedible and worthless pelts.

Uhh not a native species? Really? Well, they've been here longer than white man.

[quietguy]

Uhh not a native species? Really? Well, they've been here longer than white man.

In Tennessee?

I'm not trying to argue, but your statement of "coyote" pelts being worthless....you are wrong Sir! I've made my fortune with coyote....

Do tell

[Guest Appalachian]

The wasting issue seems to be a hot toppic on sevral forums, one guy on a fish'n forum has made a few post about bow fisherman tossing ther dead carp next to trails that lead to fish'n holes, another post but different forum was simalar, bow fisherman were discarding the carp next to a boat ramp (I used to bow fish & still have my gear so dont think I'm bash'n).

even tho carp breed like house cats & thers plenty of them just remember ther used to be so many passenger pigeons that they could block out the sun & not forget the buffalo herds, anything left unregulated gets ran into teh ground.

All this said I really like my coyote hunt'n, but I aint gonna eat one, not unless its a have to case.

[Guest GunTroll]

Buzzards have to eat too! I hear that Asian carp issue is bad news for some waters.

When I lived near the Snake river in WY we use to kill white fish on sight. Mostly catch and stake on the bank. Osprey made short work of them, if the eagles weren't around.

Prairie dogs are another that gets/needs number check. You can't kill enough of them. They are the west version of our hog problem. The waste land aka prairie dog town, is worthless to ranchers/landowners unless they charge you to blast them. I do not eat them but have killed thousands probably. I also didn't make anything out of their potential disease ridden hides. Coyotes sure thanked me when I left for the evening. Which in turn I killed them if I was lucky, which made the rabbits happy and so on.

Crows kill and destroy thousands of song birds and eggs I hear. Not sure what their predator is other than us. Not sure what use their body is either.

All things need to be kept in balance. While killing and forgetting might be difficult to some. Its needed.

[Caster]

You want real wanton waste in TN? It's not poor harvesting practices on the part of the hunter. It's natural resources and land being vacuumed up by too dang many people. The reason some believe animals such as the coyote to be a problem is not because they are actually a problem, it's because they have no where else to go because the home they've had for hundreds of years is now paved with a walgreens on it. Want to reduce wanton waste, balance the animal population and have a good hunting season most every year? Reduce the people population or at least make people stop breeding more.

[DaveS]

So, some people and feral hogs are in the same catagory?

[DaveS]

Crows kill and destroy thousands of song birds and eggs I hear. Not sure what their predator is other than us. Not sure what use their body is either.

All things need to be kept in balance. While killing and forgetting might be difficult to some. Its needed.

What do ya'll think of our "crow" season?