Article pulled from The Idaho Statesman
For over a century, the concept of “fair chase” has been foundational for wildlife conservation and our continued opportunity to hunt. Theodore Roosevelt and the founders of the Boone and Crockett Club established the concept of fair chase and made it mainstream in 1887 when they started the organization — and it is just as relevant today as it was 140 years ago.
As defined by Boone and Crockett, fair chase is “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the game animals.”
Advancements in technology have been constant throughout the history of hunting and conservation. While every hunter wants to fill their tag, states manage wildlife with an expectation that a certain percentage of available tags will be filled. If hunter success rates increase, states may reduce the number of tags offered or limit hunting seasons and opportunities — or in some cases consider restricting certain types of equipment. The Boone and Crockett Club supports the use of legal technology to the extent it does not give the hunter an unfair advantage over the animal. From time to time, some technological advancements — for example the punt gun that could kill hundreds of ducks in one blast — have been deemed too detrimental to wildlife populations, and their use has been restricted. These decisions ensure we not only have sustainable, huntable wildlife populations but also that the public continues to support hunting. In fact, the restoration of American game species has been assured by the fair chase hunter’s willingness to exercise restraint, ensuring opportunity for the next generation to go afield. Idaho’s Hunting and Technology Working Group endeavored to address increasing concerns about how some new technology may be affecting the number of tags that are filled every year. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game was directed by the commission to create this working group made up of a broad spectrum of Idaho sportsmen and women to dive more deeply into the issues of technology and fair chase.
The working group’s purpose was to assess public perspectives on what is and is not considered “fair” technology to use in the pursuit of game and develop recommendations to the commission that strike an appropriate balance between the use of hunting technology and fair chase ethic. Using information from a statewide survey delivered to 15,000 active Idaho big game hunters and hearing presentations from a wide range of industry and agency perspectives — including the Boone and Crockett Club — the working group sent a consensus set of recommendations to the commission last year. Perhaps the most important recommendation made by the working group, which is shared by the Boone and Crockett Club, is the need to promote ethical hunting and fair chase, which is what separates hunting from simply killing or shooting. The use of technology should not demean the hunter-prey relationship in a way that diminishes the importance of the animal or the spirit of the hunt. Idaho Fish and Game took an extraordinarily reasonable approach to ensuring that advancing technology doesn’t get ahead of the wildlife we are pursuing and our associated conservation goals. The working group is an effective model to consider the many challenges associated with the issue of technology and fair chase. More importantly, the commission’s thoughtful process, based on Idaho stakeholder input, is the best way to inform their decision-making on challenging issues. We appreciate the Idaho Fish and Game Commission and the Hunting and Technology Working Group for taking on this very challenging issue.
CJ Buck is chairman and CEO of Buck Knives in Coeur d’Alene and vice president of conservation at the Boone and Crockett Club.