Ethics practice questions for Alberta

Ethics questions

1. 1You wound an animal and it crosses onto private land. What is the correct action?

   1. AFollow it immediately, since you have a duty to retrieve it
   2. BStop at the boundary and seek the landowner's permission before entering
   3. CAbandon the animal
   4. DWait until dark and retrieve it quietly
   Show the answer

   BStop at the boundary and seek the landowner's permission before entering

   The duty to retrieve a wounded animal does not override property rights. Crossing without permission is trespass regardless of your reason, so permission comes first.

2. 2What is the ethical limit on shot distance?

   1. AThe maximum range of the cartridge
   2. BThe furthest you have ever hit a target
   3. CThe range at which you can reliably place a killing shot under the conditions in front of you
   4. D300 metres for all rifles
   Show the answer

   CThe range at which you can reliably place a killing shot under the conditions in front of you

   The cartridge's capability and your capability are different numbers, and the second one changes with wind, light, rest, and adrenaline. The ethical limit is the smaller of the two on that day.

3. 3You have permission to hunt a quarter section, and you find a gate closed across the approach trail. How should you leave it?

   1. AOpen, so you can drive out quickly at dusk
   2. BClosed again after you pass through, because gates get left the way you found them
   3. CClosed only if you actually see cattle in the field
   4. DIt does not matter once the landowner has said yes
   Show the answer

   BClosed again after you pass through, because gates get left the way you found them

   A closed gate is usually doing a job, like holding livestock where the owner wants them. Leaving it open can cost a rancher a night of chasing cattle, and it costs every hunter who asks that landowner for access after you.

4. 4Hikers come around a bend while you are packing a harvested deer out to the trailhead. Why does your conduct in that moment matter?

   1. AIt does not matter, because hunting is legal
   2. BMost non-hunters form their view of hunting from scenes like this, so quiet, respectful handling of the animal protects access for everyone
   3. CYou should hide in the brush until they have gone past
   4. DYou should stop them and explain the regulations
   Show the answer

   BMost non-hunters form their view of hunting from scenes like this, so quiet, respectful handling of the animal protects access for everyone

   Most Canadians neither hunt nor oppose it, and what tips them one way or the other is what they happen to see. Hiding feels polite, but a calm, matter of fact pack out does far more good than disappearing.