Hunting or Killing Wild Animals for Food
SPCA advocates that the hunting or killing of wild animals for food must only be done in ways that minimise negative impacts on animal welfare.
When wild animals are hunted or killed for food, this must be done efficiently and humanely by an experienced and skilled hunter or trapper.
Shooting with firearms is often considered a relatively more humane practice than other methods of killing. A humane shooting should result in the least amount of time between when the animal is shot and until it is insensible and dead. When animals are shot and injured but not killed, they must be immediately tracked down and killed.
Hunting and killing should be avoided in seasons when animals are likely to have young at foot. If a lactating animal is killed, efforts should be made to find and humanely kill their offspring.
Wild-caught fish must be humanely killed as soon as possible after catching.
SPCA opposes the practice of killing pigs by ‘sticking’.
Sticking pigs risks injury to the pig and the likelihood that death does not rapidly follow. Sticking also presents a risk of injury or death to dogs used in pig hunting. Shooting with a firearm is considered more humane.
