I appreciate everyone’s views, but I think personally, that certification standards, training and demonstrate able skill sets when handling firearms and making culling decisions on live quarry, is only most sensible. Esp, when hunting unaccompanied of course. This is the minimum standard of most developed European countries already, and in fact, the harder it is to get a hunting license in countries such as Germany, the greater it seems the appreciation for deer/game handling, management and respect for the overall aspect of hunting.
On the flip side, there’s the notion should we not be allowed to grab our grandfathers under lever from behind the kitchen door and go shoot a whitetail for an outdoor cookup with the boys. After all, hunting is key to humanity’s development and survival as a species.
More hunters with a base level of education will hopefully mean more well balanced culling and deer management plans for good demographic populations. Better safety standards, less accidents.
But then, I see it as well - could you go stalking on your own land without dcs 1 as a farmer, probably not. Is that right or wrong..
I’ve met a lot of people who have been looking for ground and who couldn’t properly age a deer, determine cull worthiness, properly gralloch a deer, track a deer or know how to handle a wounded deer - should they have access to unaccompanied stalking until they learn it properly?
