Headshots on animals when hunting

[Herr Morlock]

In real life, it is considered unethical to shoot at the head of an animal (aka headshot) for any hunter.
Unethical because this means a high chance for a lot of suffering on side of the animal.
Since the brain of most animals (if not all) is considerably smaller compared to the size of it's skull than on humans, it is very hard to hit this very small target successfully.

Take per example a house cat (although not a hunted species, I know). The size of it's brain is the size of a walnut. The brain of a cow has the size of a baseball. Now imagine you have to hit a baseball which does move itself slowly (even when the animal has not yet seen you) from a few dozens of meters away...
So what happens if a hunter misses the brain? The target will not be dead, and propably not even wounded critically, as well. So it will run away, and suffer for hours (if you can not hunt it successfully down again) until it may, finally, succumb to his minor wounds.
Additionally there are species, where the skull shell is thick enough (when shot by weak angles) that a bullet (or arrow) may not be able to penetrate it successfully, preventing the destruction of the brain, even if the shot would have been connected to the brain...

The solution for hunters? They do not aim at the brain. Never!
Instead, they aim for the heart/lungs. In german, this is called "Blattschuß". The area is way, way bigger than the brain of the animal is. When the shot does hit the heart, the heart and one lung, or even only both lungs, the animal will drop dead within a few meters, after some few seconds. Or even instantly, if you hit well.

The point where you have to aim to deliver a succesfull "Blattschuß" is roughly where the front legs are joining the front body, behind that part (you can image their armpit and a bit behind that point).

So, you may say, that this is only a game and it may be only a minor detail, yes.
But Eco does not only seem to look on itself as a pure game, but partly as a means of education about ecological consciousness, as well. And environmental protection does not end with the flora, but with the fauna, as well.
More understanding of animals and that even hunters, which are often considered the "bad" guys, have ethical standards and are mostly concerned that their prey does not have to suffer more than necessary is important, too, if you ask me.