{"id":2980,"date":"2021-08-28T09:24:35","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T16:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregg57.sg-host.com\/hunting\/?p=2980"},"modified":"2021-08-28T09:25:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-28T16:25:16","slug":"hunting-or-pest-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/2021\/08\/hunting-or-pest-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting or Pest Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Difference Between Pest Control and Small Game Hunting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Chapman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting at the base of a pecan\ntree, I waited for the fox squirrels to come in and began the feast. It was\nearly morning, and as the sun started it\u2019s climb, I saw the first squirrel moving\nthrough the orchard. When he paused at 40 yards out, I laid the crosshairs on\nhis head, squeezed the trigger, and watched the tree rat hit the ground. With\nany luck, I hoped to bag a couple dozen before the day ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sitting at the base of an oak tree,\nI waited to ambush a fox squirrel as it came in to eat. It was early morning,\nand as the sun started it\u2019s climb, I saw a squirrel making his approach through\nthe forest canopy. When he paused at 40 yards out, I laid the crosshairs on his\nhead, squeezed the trigger, and watched the wary bushytail hit the ground. With\nany luck I might get my limit of five before the day ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two scenarios represent\nsimilar events, with a subtle yet important difference; in the first I am out\ndoing pest control at a farmer\u2019s orchard. In the second, I\u2019m in the woods in\npursuit of one of our most popular small game species. And in both cases the\nspecies I\u2019m after is the fox squirrel, the largest and one of the most\nadaptable tree squirrels found in North America. So, what is the real\ndifference in these encounters, besides slight variation in the settings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was chatting with a friend that\nis a fanatical deer hunter and mentioned that I wished deer season would soon\nbe over, as it interfered with my squirrel hunts. His response was that he\noften shot tree rats around his little hobby farm because they were a pest but\ncouldn\u2019t quite see them as a \u201creal\u201d game animal worthy of pursuit. It got me\nthinking about how I viewed squirrel hunting, and moreover the difference\nbetween pest control and small game hunting above and beyond legal\nconsiderations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the first example, the squirrel\nis causing financial damage to crops, and is legally classified by Fish and\nGame services as a pest species. This means they can be taken at any time, by\nany means, and in any numbers. The objective in the setting of pest control is\nto either exterminate the species or severely curtail its population, or a more\ntargeted removal from a specific ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second scenario, which could\ntake place in a forest a mile down the road from that orchard, the squirrel is\na native species and an integral part of the ecosystem. Wildlife managers have\ndetermined on a regional scale that a certain percentage of this population can\/should\nbe removed by hunters. As an indigenous species in a natural environment, it is\nthe role of hunters to ensure a healthy balance and sustainable population is\nmaintained. Therefore, the species (squirrels in this case) are classified as\ngame animals: they have a season, usually to give protection during breeding\nperiods when they are most vulnerable, there are limits instituted to maintain\nthe optimal cull rate, and there are specified methods of take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other species that share\nthis pest\/small game duality; rabbits, doves, geese, and some species such as\nfox and raccoons, which may be classified as pest (varmint) or furbearers\ndepending on the situation. For the sake of our purposes, it\u2019s fair to say that\nthe regulatory protections provided to furbearers are equivalent to those\noffered small game species. As I\u2019ve mentioned in past articles, there are\nfederal regulations and each state (and sometimes local jurisdictions) have\ntheir own regulations, so you need to be cognizant of the relevant laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are caveats, in many states\nif you are taking a game species as a pest because it is causing economic\ndamage, you need to either own the property, work for the property owner, or\nhave proof that you are serving in the capacity of an agent for the landowner.\nThis is clearly defined in each States hunting regulations, though there can be\nsome ambiguity. There are also mechanisms in place (depredation permits) to\nallow almost any animal that has become a nuisance species in a particular area\nto be removed regardless of their game status, such as deer herds\noverpopulating an agricultural area. As an example, a farmer suffering loss due\nto an overpopulation of deer may be issued depredation permits to remove an\nextra 20 deer from his property, which will supersede the standing Fish and\nGame regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what I find interesting is the subtle\nshift in mindset between pest control and small game hunting. I\u2019ve noticed in\nthe hunting literature that the squirrel is sometimes depicted as a vile little\ntree dwelling rat, while at other times it is elevated to the level of a noble\narboreal Stag, that is a wary and worthy quarry. Personally, I think of\nsquirrel hunting as being more akin to deer hunting, than to shooting rats at a\nlocal dairy farm. There are multiple reasons for this, I know that when hunting\nthe small game squirrel, I will be in a more natural environment in the role of\na predator. I know that my field work must be on point and that it will probably\nbe harder to get a shot opportunity. Further I understand that there is an\nexpectation that the animal be harvested and utilized (wasting a game animal is\nillegal in most states). It is my belief that when an animal is killed,\nprocessed, and consumed, it imparts a value that is absent or obscured when the\nanimal is simply killed and discarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When hunting a pest species, the\nsole objective is to eradicate or severely reduce the number of a \u201cproblem\u201d\nspecies. When shooting squirrels that have truly become a problem, I will take\na chest shot knowing that it will kill the animal, but perhaps not an immediate\nkill. This is because the kill is the whole point of this exercise, and the result\nof not culling it through shooting is to set traps or lay poisons, neither of\nwhich provides a cleaner termination. There is no desire to inflict unnecessary\npain on any animal, but when viewed in context, the removal of the pest animal\nis the primary objective. However, if in the woods on a small game hunt, I might\nwell pass on the shot if everything does not fall into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason I prefer small game\nhunting over a pest control shoot is that when going after squirrel as a pest\nspecies on a farm or industrial area, it has a more mundane feel to it. Even if\nessentially the same activity, heading into the woods on a small game hunt has\nmore the feel of an outdoor adventure. Packing gear for an overnight trip or in\ncase I get stuck in the woods longer than anticipated, planning out a route and\nmaking sure there is enough food and water to see me through, makes it more of\nthe outdoor experience I want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the reason I get as excited\nabout a small game hunt for squirrel or rabbit as when going after big game;\nthe animal being hunted is only one part of the equation. Trekking through the\nwoods on snowshoes to hunt and setting up a camp along the way for example, is\nthe foundation of the adventure for me. Scouting the area for game sign,\npatterning the animal to determine where it feeds, waters, or beds down, is the\ntest of field skill. Spotting the prey before it spots me, closing the\ndistance, setting up the shot, and holding down the adrenaline rush to place\nthe shot is the essence of the hunt. My sense of the \u201cright way\u201d to hunt small\ngame is that I go on foot and concern myself with the stalk rather than the\noutcome. For pest control on the other hand, I\u2019ll use any tool or method that\ngets results, shooting out of a vehicle for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, getting back to the original\nquestion, how do I see the difference between pest control and small game\nhunting? The answer I\u2019ve arrived at is that in pest control the objective to\ncull as many of the targeted species as possible and in doing so providing a\nservice to the landowner, results are critically important.  For small game, it\u2019s about the experience,\nhaving a small adventure, testing field skills that don\u2019t get used enough,\npicking the perfect shot, not to mention adding some meat to the larder! But\nthe actual kill is less important than the hunt. As a rule, I find the small\ngame hunt more difficult because it takes place in areas where squirrel\npopulations are lower, the terrain more difficult to navigate, and where the animals\nthat are not habituated to the proximity of man. At the same time by defocusing\non the result, it makes the hunting experience more enjoyable and more\nsatisfying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Difference Between Pest Control and Small Game Hunting Jim Chapman Sitting at the base of a pecan tree, I waited for the fox squirrels to come in and began the feast. It was early morning, and as the sun started it\u2019s climb, I saw the first squirrel moving through the orchard. When he paused … Continue reading »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,30,7,52,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pest-control","category-rabbits","category-smallgamehunting","category-squirrels","category-urban-hunt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2985,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions\/2985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}