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by empathy_m 848 days ago
It sounds like there's a distinction between looking for a corpse with a flashlight and looking for new things to kill with the flashlight, and that the latter is sometimes prohibited (some discussion at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlighting ).

Also seems like it would be tough to do the former without accidentally doing the latter.
2 comments
krisoft 848 days ago
> Also seems like it would be tough to do the former without accidentally doing the latter.

Like put away your gun? I have walked in forests with a flashlight without killing anything many many times. The trick is to not bring a gun to the experience.

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bluGill 848 days ago
If you are recovering down game you should have a gun on you. Sometimes you discover the animal is not dead, just in pain and will die many hours in the future. The ethical thing is to deliver a clean kill - which requires a weapon. Shooting a gun at close range under light is not dangerous. Most uses of a gun at night are stupid and recklessly dangerous, but this is one of the exceptions where it is safe.

Note that the above is at odds with telling if someone is illegally hunting at night. Which is why it is often prohibited.

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BytesAndGears 848 days ago
> The ethical thing is to deliver a clean kill - which requires a weapon.

Isn’t a knife also well suited to this purpose? Assuming the animal is on the ground and not able to move well. Though I guess it depends how injured they are

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bluGill 847 days ago
No. An animal is unpredictable and can still kick.
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krisoft 847 days ago
One could argue that the fact that the animal which you are trying to kill has a chance of hurting you back makes that the only sporting option.
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peterleiser 848 days ago
The defense attorney said: “Both the arresting officer and the undercover officer — both a game warden for over 30 years each — testified that it is illegal to recover downed game at night without a weapon”
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Johnny555 848 days ago
But also, they couldn't point to a law prohibiting it:

He says that during the trial, neither game warden could recall ever citing a hunter for trying to recover downed game at night — nor could they point to a single section of the state’s game code that supported their position. That code was amended in 2018 to allow the use of tracking dogs when recovering deer and other big game.

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bell-cot 848 days ago
Reaction: "That's your story, eh? Okay - if you can describe and find that corpse, then I won't arrest you."
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