I guess I can understand some of the comments. I had a friend ask me why I don't just put out poison for the rats (I do) and he thought that would be more humane than shooting them.
Well, I tried to explain that I have actually seen quite a few rats die from the block poison (anticoagulant and neurotoxin) I put out and it is a long term suffering for them. Then I compare that to a quick, accurate and precise shot from my airgun which dispatches them quickly if I hit my mark. Even if I don't kill them with the first shot, they are usually close enough that the follow up/finishing shot is usually within seconds as opposed to the hours, maybe days that they suffer via the poison. Or the usual long lingering death when glue traps are used by most people as they will simply throw the live pest in the trash and being immobilized by the glue trap, suffer grealy before they die... usually from dehydration as well, just like with the anticoagulant rodenticides.
I am no tree hugger or PETA type, but I do believe that it is unethical to at least not try to make kills as clean and quick as possible. Even for those animals considered pests. No, I don't include insects in that mix, although there was some comparison of insects to killing of warm blooded pests mentioned in this thread. The ONLY reason why I use rodenticides for rats is that I rarely get a shot at them. They are night roamers and I have to sleep sometime... believe it or not! (grin)
So, again I say, even when it comes to pesting kills, killing for meat or killing for "trophies" ethically speaking, the shooter should "know his limitations" and act accordingly. In the case of immediate imminent danger from ANY pest, any "ethical rules" don't apply. But, for most pesting that is not even a consideration, if ever.
Of course, to each their own. For me, I would find it hard to sleep at night knowing I did not try my best to make clean/quick kills of the pests I hunt.
For some, that may not be the case. Ethics or moral philosophy has always been subjective. Just ask anyone who grew up in Germany between 1920 and 1945.
P.S.
The neurotoxin (Bromethalin) acts more like a recreational drug (crack? meth?) for the rats. If used alone, the rats keep coming back again and again, but never die. So, I use 2 types of anticoagulant rodenticides, along with the neurotoxin, readily available (Bromadiolone and Diphacinone) and they actually work, but it is a slow and ugly death. I tried the vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) products, but didn't see much as far as dead rats/mice. YMMV JMHO
p.s.p.s.
Oh and you may hear the myth that you have to have water available for these to work. Total bunk! The rodents will seek out water as the action of the anticoagulants will dehydrate them, but they will probably die quicker if no water is available. JFYI
