Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The term “hunting ethics” refers to the set of moral standards that responsible huntsmen take on that help them to make moral choices when they find themselves in situations that arise while hunting. While there is no set rulebook for exactly which ethical practices are superior to follow, there are certainly common guidelines that many responsible hunters agree keep the sport fair, sustainable and ethically sound. Among these guidelines are familiarity and strict adhesion to legal hunting rules and regulations for a hunter's specific location, possession of a proper license and tags for the season and animal that is being pursued, knowledge of when a season begins and ends, and effective use of hunting methods while in the field. Part of that method is making clean, swift shots to end an animal's life humanely, and recovering a wounded animal quickly if a shot misses its aim.
One of the most frustrating moments for a hunter can occur when they land a carefully aimed shot (or think they do), and the animal takes off. If the shot hits its intended mark, the animal may not travel very far before the hunter can reach it. But occasionally, even a clean shot may not down its target, and an injured animal may flee for long distances, eventually becoming impossible to locate for even an able-bodied hunter with tracking experience. This outcome benefits nobody, as the hunter will have lost a subject that they have spent many hours tracking down and in some cases, may be dependent upon bringing home, and the animal is left to languish from its wounds, its wasted carcass consumed by scavengers in the woods. It is not an ideal situation.
According to Bryan Zabitski with deeranddeerhunting.com, “A part of being an ethical and responsible hunter involves respecting the animal you are pursuing. As a hunter, you have made the decision to end an animal's life, and you owe it to the animal to make its expiration as quick, painless and certain as possible. You should make every effort to find and recover the animal that you have shot.” Zabitski also recommends being knowledgable with the animal's anatomy, so it can be harvested without waste of meat. Improper use of tools or inadequate understanding of an animal's anatomy can result in a hard-earned catch becoming spoiled or wasted by accident.
While that may sound simple enough, even an experienced hunter can occasionally lose a prize catch, and even after hours in the woods searching, may never recover it. They also may never know if the animal is capable of surviving its injuries or not. The disappointment that comes from losing a catch, as well as never having the closure of what the outcome of the hunt was, can run deep for a hopeful hunter. For those hunters who refuse to settle with the unknown, many consider hiring a professional tracker to help them locate and claim their fallen catch, or to locate and humanely end an unfinished hunt. That's where Mike Alguire and his dogs come in.
Mike is the owner of a tracking service called Nose Down, Tail Up -Tracking and Recovery. He specializes in the tracking and recovery of wounded game (primarily whitetail deer and exotics) for hunters in Jefferson County, Leon County, Wakulla, parts of South Georgia and Gadsden County. He works closely with several other trackers all across the state of Florida, and they provide additional tracking services for hogs, wandering livestock, lost pets and even people.
As a hunter himself, Alguire says he first got into tracking after losing a hunt subject of his own. “Like all hunters, I have lost deer in the past just to find them with buzzards a few days later,” he said, “So I joined tracking pages, such as the Florida Bloodtrailing Network, and I started paying close attention to how things were done. I got very intrigued by it.”
Alguire says he began asking more experienced trackers questions, in an effort to learn all he could about tracking. He went to an animal shelter and adopted a dog that he felt would suit his lifestyle and began working with her. He and his new canine companion steadily learned how to track deer together, and it wasn't long before friends were calling with assistance requests.
“Word of mouth got around. It was like a snowball effect,” said Alguire, “Before I knew it, I was tracking for the public, and here I am now, a few years later, with a very good and reputable reputation for tracking! We are putting smiles on a ton of hunters’ faces every year.”
He and his network of Florida trackers are highly dedicated to providing their clients with a quality service when they respond to a call, and they believe in their mission of helping as many people as possible. “There have been times that I've gotten as many as 17 calls in a single day,” says Alguire, continuing to say that the general average amount of calls during hunting season is about four or five calls a day. His partnership with several other reputable trackers ensures that if he is unable to assist with recovery, due to location or availability conflicts, he can easily get hunters in contact with a tracker who can assist them.
If someone needs a deer tracked,” says Alguire, “and it is too far of a drive for me or if I'm lined up with tracks that day, I will be more than happy to get them in contact with a reputable tracker in their area. I have really good friends that are trackers all over the state who are able to help, so getting someone will not be an issue.”
Alguire offers his service on a voluntary basis, and does not charge his clients who call him for assistance. “Tips are appreciated to help with fuel expenses, but not asked for,” he states, “Myself, along with other trackers, don't want a hunter to not call us to come out because they feel like they don't have the money.”
For his tracking service, Alguire utilizes the assistance of his two tracking dogs; Baylee and Shylo, who are both female bloodhounds. Baylee is about three years old, and is United Blood Tracker (UBT) II certified in wounded game recovery. Her oldest solo track with recovery is 28 hours old after the shot, and was 2.4 miles long. Shylo is two years old, and is UBT I certified in wounded game recovery, with an oldest solo track with recovery of 26 hours old and 1.7 miles long. Together, the canine team has a oldest track with recovery of 37 hours old and about 3.5 miles long.
The girls are known in the tracking and hunting community as “Team Biscuit Chasers,” and “Team Red Dog.” “These girls have made a huge name for themselves in the hunting community,” says Alguire proudly. “Baylee is my back-talker. She loves to be heard and will argue with you until the cows come home. Shylo is what we call the old soul. She is very calm and laid back, just like an old dog would be.”
Safety is the most important thing in tracking for Alguire and his girls. “The majority of our tracks are at night, so not only do I have to make sure I am out of danger in the cover of darkness, but I have to make sure that the hunter and my dogs are clear of danger. As a tracker, it is my responsibility to not put us in a bad position, to where any of us are put in harm's way. Danger is always present when dealing with a wild animal, and being in the woods. When my tailgate drops to let these dogs do what they love, there is a high chance of something bad happening. It's just a part of it. But I do everything I can to keep everyone involved safe.”
His safety instructions during a hunt include ensuring that during a tracking session, the hunters present must return their firearms to their vehicles. “It is a huge safety concern for me and my dogs,” he says, “Especially with my dogs being about the color of a deer. If we have to finish a deer off, I will not have my dogs shot in the process. I must be the only one who will have a firearm, no questions asked. Ninety-nine percent of hunters have no issue with this, but you always get that 1 percent that want to fight and argue the situation. But if it comes to that, I will load my dogs back in the truck and leave. A deer is not worth myself or my dogs getting shot.”
Part of his safety measures include being the bad guy when morally and legally necessary. “I would say that the hardest thing about tracking is telling a hunter that just because I am a tracker that does not give me the right to cross fences or property lines. We have to follow the same rules and laws as the hunter.” Alguire has seen his fair share of hunters bending or breaking the rules or expecting him to do so. “I've had folks get fighting-mad if I refuse to cross a property line,” he says “For some reason, some folks think that just because we are trackers we have the right to do as we please, and that is definitely not the case! As a tracker, I will get the same felony charge of trespassing just like the hunter would, so I always make sure to tell the hunter when they call me to get permission from neighbors before I get there, so just in case the deer does cross, we can do so as well, legally. And then there's the difficulty of telling a child, or an adult for that matter, that they either missed the shot or that their shot hit but wasn't fatal.” Alguire maintains fair and moral hunting practices on each and every one of his tracking jobs.
His experiences have given him a wealth of skill and no small measure of interesting stories.
“As far as I know, as of right this moment, I am the only person that has been inside the Tallahassee International Airport to track a deer legally,” says Alguire, who says that the recovery was successful. “They had to keep a few planes in the air long enough for us to get the deer out of the area and clear the runway. There was a big joke in the tracking community about us being the only tracking team that is TSA approved!”
Alguire averages around 100 tracks each year, and is heavily dedicated to helping hunters recover incomplete hunts. He and his wife of 21 years together have 3 beautiful children, and four bloodhounds. The family also has a miniature dachshund named Dakota who thinks he's a bloodhound. Anyone wishing to contact Mike Alguire for tracking services can do so via his public personal Facebook page, his private tracking page called Nose Down Tail Up Tracking and Recovery, or by giving him a call or text at (850) 567-7844.