Living a rural lifestyle begs some questions

Many people choose a rural lifestyle because it includes almost daily contact with wildlife. Unfortunately some of these interactions lead to difficult ethical dilemmas.
Slip on your bib overalls and ask yourself how you would respond to the following scenarios. Assume your nearest neighbor lives at least a mile away, so no one will be watching. Your responses are between you and your conscience, but if you care to share them with me anonymously, please do. If enough readers respond, I'll report the results in a future column.
UWith your permission, a friend legally shoots an eight-point buck on your property. As a landowner, you are permitted to kill several does. But you know your friend does not have a doe tag. Do you ask him to kill a doe for you and then check it in as your own kill, knowing that both of you would be in technical violation of game laws? Yes (zero points) or No (10 points).
UYour neighbor owns 500 acres of field and forest that host healthy populations of deer and other wildlife. His property is liberally posted with "No Trespassing" and "No Hunting" signs. You see a stranger drag a nice buck out of your neighbor's woods and load it into his pickup truck. Do you: 1) ignore it (zero), or 2) write down the truck's license number and give the information to the neighbor (10).
UNow suppose you see the same neighbor shoot a deer out of season. Do you: 1) ignore it (zero) or 2) report it to the local conservation officer (10)?
UIt's early May and every morning at 5:30 you are rudely awakened by a woodpecker drumming on your wood siding. You know that woodpeckers communicate by drumming rather than singing. You also know that woodpeckers, like all native birds, are protected by state and federal law. Do you: 1) shoot the woodpecker (zero), 2) hire a wildlife damage control specialist to take care of the problem (5), or 3) buy earplugs (10)?
UYou raise a flock of about 100 chickens mostly for fun, but you cover expenses by selling eggs to neighbors. You notice that chickens are beginning to disappear, and, thanks to irrefutable evidence, conclude that raccoons are responsible. Do you: 1) shoot raccoons on sight, regardless of season and bag limits (zero), 2) contact a wildlife conservation officer to obtain a permit to kill raccoons as needed (10), 3) hire a wildlife damage control specialist to take care of the problem (10)?
UYou invite a group of skilled birders to spend a day enjoying your property. The leader of the group spots a bird you've never seen. Everyone else sees the bird, but you only see a dark shape moving through the vegetation. Would you add the species to your life list? Yes (zero) or No (10).
UYou wake one morning to find all your bird feeders destroyed. Tracks indicate a black bear has found your back yard. You know the state bear population is increasing and that there is a brief one-week bear season in late fall. You also know that the open season on bears is limited to the state's wilder regions. Because bears are rare in your county, they may not be legally killed. Do you: 1) bait the bear into your yard and kill it illegally (zero), 2) call a conservation officer and report the problem (10), 3) stop feeding birds until bears begin hibernation (10)?
UYou discover a live 5-foot rat snake in your unfinished basement, which is clearly not critter-proof. Knowing your spouse is terrified of snakes, do you: 1) kill the snake (zero), or 2) catch it and relocate it several miles away (10)?
Total your points. If you scored 80 points, you're a conservation angel. If you scored zero points, you're a conservation scofflaw. If you scored somewhere in between, you're human.
XSend questions and comments to Dr. Scott Shalaway, R.D. 5, Cameron, W.Va. 26033 or via e-mail to sshalaway@aol.com