Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.I would imagine if hunters worked to combine data, knowledge, and responsibility, we could get to a place where everyone can process deer where they die.
The two downsides to doing it are the concern for disease, and aesthetics - you don't want to see carcasses everywhere when you're hunting.
On disease, it's pretty simple. Humans created the breeding ground for all deer diseases. Not that they didn't exist already. Just that we artificially created overpopulation in the virus or bacteria's eye, with baiting, fencing in deer to breed, take urine, vehicular transport, or high fence. If you kill a deer and it dies near a water source, or in it, this is pretty much the only kind that would be better served to move. Besides that, in every case, it can be shown pretty easily that chopping up a deer where it dies is always less impactful on the population when it comes to disease. How can I say that? Deer die all the time all over wild places, and diseases don't run rampant. If you kill a deer, "eat it where it lays". Unless of course, that's in a watering source.
On aesthetics, I personally have no issue seeing a gut pile or carcass in the woods. It seems awfully hypocritical to go in the woods to kill things, and be offended by seeing dead things. Bring deer into urban areas, processing, and dumping the waste also creates an externality that I don't have to deal with directly, and that's pretty crappy too. On top of generating more risk of disease, transporting an animal into my environment, so that I can then dump the waste into a place where it is far less likely to decompose with little effect, seems silly.
One thing that drives me insane, is these dynamics actually makes disease worse. How? People don't want to cart a bloody dead carcass back to their garage or camp. So what do they do? They process, and then dump guts, or carcasses off of bridges, ditches, gullies, etc. No one likes to haul stuff to high ground - we lazily dump downhill. What happens then? It puts viruses and bacteria in the water sources that spread them. All of this can be avoided by doing things a lot more like they are done naturally. But that requires knowledge, data, and responsibility. We have two of the three. It requires us to execute based on the things we know, and to hold to account those making the rules.
Sorry, I'm done. What I meant to say, is that if hunters are willing to work together, we can push legislative bodies to reckon with the science, and make rules that make sense. But it won't happen so long as our shallower tastes and preferences win. We know that transporting animals and putting animals in one spot is what causes all of these problems. We know that leaving a carcass where it is, is far less impactful on nature (with lone exception of in/near a water source). I am for packing out animal bits I intend to consume, and leaving the rest. I hate deer carts, sleds, atvs, all of the jazz. For the reason above, and because they all have shortcomings. Packing meat on my back is as old as time. I'm doing it regardless of terrain. And I'm willing to put time/resources into changing rules so that we all can do it everywhere we hunt.
Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.
I get the DNR wanting info, but it seems like you're doing their work for them. The only places I've hunted in alabama that required a weigh in either allow ATVs for retrieval or actually have DNR guys to assist with extraction.Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.
I would imagine if hunters worked to combine data, knowledge, and responsibility, we could get to a place where everyone can process deer where they die.
The two downsides to doing it are the concern for disease, and aesthetics - you don't want to see carcasses everywhere when you're hunting.
On disease, it's pretty simple. Humans created the breeding ground for all deer diseases. Not that they didn't exist already. Just that we artificially created overpopulation in the virus or bacteria's eye, with baiting, fencing in deer to breed, take urine, vehicular transport, or high fence. If you kill a deer and it dies near a water source, or in it, this is pretty much the only kind that would be better served to move. Besides that, in every case, it can be shown pretty easily that chopping up a deer where it dies is always less impactful on the population when it comes to disease. How can I say that? Deer die all the time all over wild places, and diseases don't run rampant. If you kill a deer, "eat it where it lays". Unless of course, that's in a watering source.
On aesthetics, I personally have no issue seeing a gut pile or carcass in the woods. It seems awfully hypocritical to go in the woods to kill things, and be offended by seeing dead things. Bring deer into urban areas, processing, and dumping the waste also creates an externality that I don't have to deal with directly, and that's pretty crappy too. On top of generating more risk of disease, transporting an animal into my environment, so that I can then dump the waste into a place where it is far less likely to decompose with little effect, seems silly.
One thing that drives me insane, is these dynamics actually makes disease worse. How? People don't want to cart a bloody dead carcass back to their garage or camp. So what do they do? They process, and then dump guts, or carcasses off of bridges, ditches, gullies, etc. No one likes to haul stuff to high ground - we lazily dump downhill. What happens then? It puts viruses and bacteria in the water sources that spread them. All of this can be avoided by doing things a lot more like they are done naturally. But that requires knowledge, data, and responsibility. We have two of the three. It requires us to execute based on the things we know, and to hold to account those making the rules.
Sorry, I'm done. What I meant to say, is that if hunters are willing to work together, we can push legislative bodies to reckon with the science, and make rules that make sense. But it won't happen so long as our shallower tastes and preferences win. We know that transporting animals and putting animals in one spot is what causes all of these problems. We know that leaving a carcass where it is, is far less impactful on nature (with lone exception of in/near a water source). I am for packing out animal bits I intend to consume, and leaving the rest. I hate deer carts, sleds, atvs, all of the jazz. For the reason above, and because they all have shortcomings. Packing meat on my back is as old as time. I'm doing it regardless of terrain. And I'm willing to put time/resources into changing rules so that we all can do it everywhere we hunt.
View attachment 30985
I built this to haul my meat out. Spare parts, junk mowers, and E-bay. I have been updating it every year since about 1998 and finally happy with it.
Believe me when I say I've tried it all and the sleds are the best if you don't have flat, solid ground. Age makes you seek easier ways to accomplish your tasks.We’ve just been introduced to the boss on the final level of “no one makes a thing to do it my way, hold my beer”...
All the rest of you DIY guys have been put on notice. Step your game up boys!