Is it ethical to kill the mice in the shelters ?
If so, why ?
If not, why not ?
Tyhanks to dances with mice’s unique name to encourage this question!
Jules
Ethical to kill mice?
system
#3
Well, I didn’t think it was right when I started out.
Of course, all that changed when they busted into my foodbag one day.
nobody
system
#4
Ethical is defined as “conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group” and “conforming to moral standards”.
So the answer to your question is both yes and no.
Yes, it is not ethical to kill mice in the shelters if it is against your morality. So it is not okay.
No, if your morality says it is okay. So in this case, it’s okay to kill them.
Me, I don’t think the planet will miss a few mice, the ants and bugs you step on, the cows you eat, and everything else done on purpose or accident to all the other creatures of the earth.
On the other hand, since you asked the question, I would say that it is not ethical for you to kill mice with intent. Because your ethics seem to tell you it is not okay. And you could have nightmares for years to come as a result.
I will tell you this and that is: a hungry mountain lion, black bear, or grissley will not ask the ethics question. They will simply kill you and eat you and feed on you and your food.
So if you really have to ask the ethics question, then perhaps you also should ask yourself if you should be putting yourself into this harsh unethical environment.
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
system
#5
Bring 2 or 3 to a boil, add one package of Lipton’s Rice and Mushroom Sauce, return to boil then simmer for 5 - 7 minutes. Crumble some crackers over the top and we’re talking about some good eating there, bud.
Dances with Mice
system
#6
Good question, but I’ll be waiting to see what kind of responses you get about this from this site. uh oh…
Is it ethical to kill or cause pain to any creature just for the fun of it and for your own gain? uh…No. Should we just leave them alone then and blow kisses to them as they crawl into our bags and unzip our packs? uh…No. It’s obvious that MORE HARM comes by having those cute (debatable)little critters crawling all over you and throughout the shelters spreading disease. The mice and us just cannot co-habitate in the shelters. But we can help discourage them from being there by keeping the shelters as clean as possible so they have less reason to want to be there in the first place. Keep the food out of the shelters at night. They can smell it in your packs so hang them out of the shelters. Many shelters have brooms in them so use them to clean up when you leave. Ethical to destroy the mice? Whatever causes less impact to the environment. Wilderness hikers should always have a heightened awareness of what impact their choices make while they’re out there. And that includes destroying anything needlessly…like playing mice darts. tee hee
peep
system
#8
I never thought much about them before. This all changed when I set my food bag between my feet as I was digging some other things out of my pack. When I looked down there were 3 mice that chewed through the bag and partially ate one of my meals… ugh… I was upset. Im not sure I would go so far as to kill them, but I could understand somone wanting to do it. One evening in a shelter a father/son were hiking the AT and had a competition on who could catch the most mice. They set out traps with a cord attached to each… then they would reel them in like a fish, then toss them in the fireplace. By morning they said they had killed 30.
guru
system
#9
Seems I remember a thru a few years ago who took his cat with him. Said he was never bothered by mice…plus he had a living, furry “hotwater bottle”. The cat, that is, not the mice. 
Lady Di
system
#10
Don’t just kill them, lynch 'em. Once their comrades see one of their own hangin from the rafters with a noose around his neck, the shelter will be quiet and your foodbag safe for many months to come.
steve hiker
system
#11
Mice are squeaky and cute until they chew a hole in your smartwools, then its game on.
On our trek through the smokies last march Andy and I laid 10 to rest in our 6 nights out there. We could have gotten more if we would have reset the traps once they were sprung. Also, we didn’t bait them, just left the traps by any gear we left out. (head lamp, note book, etc…) And I don’t feel guilty.
thats all I have to say about that…
Ben
system
#12
You can kill them, but for it to be truly ethical you have to eat their flesh, sew their hides into mocassins and make tools out of their bones. You also have to burn incense and give thanks to the Great Spirit every time you slay one.
Ardsgaine
system
#13
seriously, isn’t wild life in the National Parks considered protected…thus in admission to killing pesky mice you could possibly be admitting a crime in a national park, maybe being convicted to 20 years and fined and/or gear confiscated? over mice? lol, hope you guys have fun with the rest of the criminals for 20 years.
burn
system
#14
- stay in a tent and forget about mice.
- If you sleep, eat, or fart ina shelter clean it up when your done.
- DO NOT LEAVE ANY FOOD IN SHELTER." Oh, this is to heavy, Ill hang it up for other hikers to eat later." This will guarantee mice.
I am the the volunteer maintaner for October Mt shelter in MA, Please do not leave anything in the shelter, even books. When I go on my checks if it aint standard shelter equipment I have to carry it out. LUG IT IN,LUG IT OUT.
Chef
system
#16
i personally dont get to bothered by the mice. ALthough one did climb into my foodbag while it was hanging; go down to the very bottom; make quite a snack of my king size snickers; apparently go into some sugar induced coma or siezure and die. i was most upset; cause i had the dilemma the previous day of eat the snickers or eat te big kit kat. i like em both; but i saved the snickers for the next day. then the mouse got it and i was sad.
and then the night out before hiawassee the mice were running all over my sleeping bag while i slept like a miny circus; and i didnt even notice. it was good entertainment for many of the sheltermates i had. but i got even. apparently i must have lurched violently during the night and rolled over quickly cause the next day there was one nice smooth mouse underneath me. poor guy. i never said anything to the people in the shelter cause i think one of them was an animal activist and i didnt want her to beat me up. i just waited till i was the last person in the shelter to pack up. oh well. some days are good days when u are a mouse. other days a 260 lbs man rolls on top of you and you get squished to death. (i guess i had lost about 20 lbs by the so it was 240 lbs). but either way; its gotta stink to be near the bottom of the food chain.
Big Boy
system
#17
I’m very surprised at the answers. In 2000 or 2001 one of the first through hikers of the year brought traps with him and was recording his kill data on this site. The comments were greatly against killing. Personally I enjoyed hiking behind him knowing that the herd would be thinned out when I got there.
Big B
system
#19
A lot of hikers talk about food and being hungry. Mice could solve that for them.
A mouse is a rodent, so is a rabbit, and so is a squirrel. Rabbit and squirrel are eaten and favored by many, so why not eat them. In fact, if you can buy rabbit and you can some places, you pay a real high price for it. I really don’t like to kill anything just for the sake of killing it. I have hunted and fished a lot, and my motto is that if you kill it, eat it. It you catch it, eat it. Otherwise what is the use and you should leave it be.
There was a guy, who watched wolves den and raise pups in Alaska, and he lived on the little fellows. Three of four of them will make a fairly nice meal. Just skin them out, field dress them and pop them in a pop to cook with a little salt and pepper. Should be mighty tasty. I eaten rabbit, squirrel, groundhog, raccoon, possum, deer, all kinds of fish, quail, grouse, turkey, and probably some other types of wild game too. So why not mice? Only thing is, the critter are very small and it’s take quite a few to make a nice meal; but then again crayfish and shrimp are small also, but very tasty.
So if you get hungry, chow down. And it might be worth it to carry that mouse trap or two as survival equipment because you never know.
My ethics, which are different than everyone else’s because everyone is different with a different set of moral standards, tell me that it is wrong to kill just for the sake of killing, but if you are going to chow down, wear the hide, or use the animal for some other purpose; then by all means reap the bounty that nature has provided. If you’re however not going to use it, then leave it along and let it be. On the other hand, pests do need to be exterminated. So my ethics also tell me that if they are real pests and there are a lot of them, then it is okay to kill them without having to eat them.
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
system
#20
If yer killin’s meeses, yer takin’ foods from da snakes. Ain’t that disturbin’ da cycle of life??
Y’all are believin’ this schtick, right?
Saluki Dave