Would you tresspass to recover an animal?

[mallardsx2]

There are several scenarios but the law is the law.

Would you walk onto another mans property if you knew for certain the animal was dead regardless of what the law says?

I got into a debate about this the other day with a guy.

I was just curious what the majority's opinion on here would be.

For the sake of the argument, let me set the stage.

-Mule deer was on your side of the fence.
-You shot it.
-It jumps the fence onto the neighbors land.
-It dies within 100 yards of the fence.

 

[kidoggy]

no. I would first try to get landowners permission.most would give it.

if landowner were an ass , I would contact fish and game to see if they might help. if that failed ,I would sleep easy knowing I did what I could within restraints of the law.

of coarse ,I would do my very best not to put myself in that position in first place.
but as hunters we all know poop happens.




for those who would trespass,don't do it unless you are willing to pay the penalty.IF you are ,by all means ,have at it. I won't fault you but the LAW will.
CAN'T PAY THE FINE, DON'T DO THE CRIME

 

[CrimsonArrow]

Yes, because in my mind, it's the right thing to do. I've done it on an out of state hunt when it was late, and we didn't know how to contact the adjacent landowner. More than willing to take the heat to recover an animal.

 

[kidoggy]

LIKE ,I SAID. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE, GO FOR IT.

we are a nation of laws ,one has the right to choose which they will obey or ignore bases on their principles BUT it WILL come with consequence.

 

[mntnguide]

Trespassing is trespassing. If your willing to risk shooting an animal that close to somewhere you can't be, then you should have a plan. I would contact a landowner, and if not possible, contact game and fish. Where I used to guide we hunted the Yellowstone line, it has no fence and it is entirely our responsibility to know where it was. If we shot an elk and it made it back across the line 10 ft, we weren't allowed to go retrieve it, and I sure as hell wasn't risking a federal ticket to do so. That being said, I never had that happen, because I wouldn't let clients shoot when a bull was standing that close unless I was sure they could anchor and drop him. If you trespass and are caught, your animal will be taken from you at least around here, and the first thing a warden would say is, you should have contacted me first.

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[highplainsdrifter]

The proper thing to do is to contact a game warden. You didn't offer that choice in your poll.

 

[EOHunter]

That is a tough call. If I am hunting locally, I more than likely know the landowners and know which ones will let me and which ones won't. If it's someone I know will not let me, then I would run the risk of getting caught if I thought I had a good chance of getting away with it. If I thought I could get permission I would get the permission. I would hate to see an animal go to waste.

I have actually done this with a doe. It was less than 50 yards from the fence. I did some serious glassing to make sure nobody was watching and sent my buddy to drive around where we were and radio if he saw anything suspicious. Everything looked good so I jumped over grabbed it and had it on the right side in about 2 minutes! I had taken a kid out on a youth doe hunt and he made a bad shot and she went a long ways. Judge me if you want, but I wasn't letting her go to waste.

I can tell you one thing, if you decide to go for it and take the risk, make sure to leave your firearm on the right side of the fence. Getting caught trespassing with a firearm is a whole different ball game than just trespassing in Oregon. The way I understand it, and I probably need more clarification on this, is that with a firearm automatically makes it a class A misdemeanor, where not having a firearm it could potentially be a Class A, however more than likely would be a Class B or C. Also here, if you trespass and the landowner or guide is using the private land to sell hunts and they believe you shot the animal on their side could possibly be considered theft of services, which at the rates people pay to hunt, would be a Class C or B felony. Of course a good blood trail or video could disprove that but it would defiantly be a court battle. If I knew this was the case I would just contact the game warden directly and not retrieve without proper permission. That definitely wouldn't be worth the risk.

 

[480/277]

I would contact the owner first. Then the game warden.
Most people are reasonable when you are respectful.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

There are several scenarios but the law is the law.

Would you walk onto another mans property if you knew for certain the animal was dead regardless of what the law says?

I got into a debate about this the other day with a guy.

I was just curious what the majority's opinion on here would be.

For the sake of the argument, let me set the stage.

-Mule deer was on your side of the fence.
-You shot it.
-It jumps the fence onto the neighbors land.
-It dies within 100 yards of the fence.

I did have this scenario play out on my property once. Arrowed a doe near our south property line, she jumped the fence and died a short distance away. First thing, I went to the neighbors house, got permission to recover the deer, no big deal. I would always seek permission first whenever possible

 

[JimP]

Here in Colorado I wouldn't want to get caught trespassing just for the simple fact that they will and can throw the book at you. That and if you enjoy hunting in this state and around 48 other states you had better get permission.

So while you are on your way to get permission give the DOW a call no matter what state you are located in. If it is a holiday or weekend call the report a poacher hot line and tell them that you need to talk to a officer as quick as possible. Then head over to the land owners home business or whatever.

Then when you get there explain what happened and volunteer to show them where you shot from and where the animal was standing along with where it hopped the fence. That is if they want to see what was going on and just where you were at in the first place. Then when the DOW officer calls you back explain it to him, he might even be able to help you get the animal.

Whatever don't go into any of the conversations with a chip on your shoulder. At the worst you won't get the animal so hope for the best. But it isn't worth getting a ticket for trespassing during a hunting season where you can loose your hunting privileges for a couple of years.

So to answer your question No I wouldn't, no animal is worth what you might end up going through.

I just looked up the actual number of states that are members of the ODFW Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact and it is 45 states where you could loose your right to hunt and fish in

Here is a link to it:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/WildlifeViolatorCompact/wildlife_violator_compact.asp

 

[rammont]

Yes, because in my mind, it's the right thing to do. I've done it on an out of state hunt when it was late, and we didn't know how to contact the adjacent landowner. More than willing to take the heat to recover an animal.

You might not be so ready to "take the heat" if you knew how harsh it can be. In Montana you could loose your opportunity to hunt along with fines and potentially other expenses depending on any complaints of property damage by the property owner. You can be liable under hunting regulations and state property laws. Personally I'd be pretty upset if I found you gutting an elk in my back yard (on my rural 20 acres), especially if you caused damage to my land with your vehicle while you tried to get up to the game animal.

 

[go_deep]

A couple years ago I made a bad shot on an Antelope doe, straight up my fault. She ran a lot farther than I would have ever thought an Antelope gut shot, missing a leg would go, but she did. She literally was laying about 150 yards over the fence, right next to a county road, for lots of people to see, if I trespassed. I drove down the road, and talked to a local rancher who's land I was hunting, the parcel the doe was on was a half section, the lady that owned it passed away, and he had no clue if any of the kids even lived in Wyoming. At that point I though, heck I should just go grab the thing, but I didn't. Luckily before I go hunting any area I make sure I have the local game warden's number in my phone. So I called him, and on the first ring he answered. I explained to him where I was, and what happened. He told me he'd be over in about 20 minutes, needed me to show him where the Antelope was when I shot it, and proof of blood prior to it running across the property line. He showed up, I showed him where it all began, he walked across the fence, grabbed the Antelope, and drug it back for me. Problem solved, legally.

 

[packer58]

Definitely do it legally, first try to get a hold of the landowner for permission. If you can't get a hold of the landowner call fish & wildlife or the local sheriffs office, normally the sheriffs office can get a hold of fish & wildlife.

 

[Slugz]

I'm gonna try and contact landowner, local police/sheriff and DOW. By getting them to help out I think it gets solved most of the time. I'm not going across the line though before contacting authorities.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

You might not be so ready to "take the heat" if you knew how harsh it can be. In Montana you could loose your opportunity to hunt along with fines and potentially other expenses depending on any complaints of property damage by the property owner. You can be liable under hunting regulations and state property laws. Personally I'd be pretty upset if I found you gutting an elk in my back yard (on my rural 20 acres), especially if you caused damage to my land with your vehicle while you tried to get up to the game animal.

Would you rather find a rotting, bloated carcass a week later?

 

[Gr8bawana]

Would you rather find a rotting, bloated carcass a week later?

I must say I'm a little surprised at the percentage of people who would knowingly break the law by trespassing. Here I thought that we, as hunters, held ourselves to a little bit higher standard.

 

[JimP]

I must say I'm a little surprised at the percentage of people who would knowingly break the law by trespassing. Here I thought that we, as hunters, held ourselves to a little bit higher standard.

It is sad but all you have to do is to take a ride out to some areas where these "hunters" camped over the weekend for their hunts. You will find beer cans and garbage all over the place. Or just drive down the road to find the beer cans and bottles along the side of the road to know that there are some out there that just don't care.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

I must say I'm a little surprised at the percentage of people who would knowingly break the law by trespassing. Here I thought that we, as hunters, held ourselves to a little bit higher standard.

I find that occasionally ethics and law will contradict each other. In those rare circumstances, I will always follow my own code of ethics. Don't think for a second that you are more honorable than I, because you claim to always abide by the law.

 

[Gr8bawana]

It is sad but all you have to do is to take a ride out to some areas where these "hunters" camped over the weekend for their hunts. You will find beer cans and garbage all over the place. Or just drive down the road to find the beer cans and bottles along the side of the road to know that there are some out there that just don't care.

This is true. There is a spot in the Ruby's of NV where we used to camp and sometimes we would get there and find a pile of trash in the smoldering fire pit that looked like someone had left 2 two weeks worth of household trash, it would take several hours to fish out the non-flammables and burn the rest. There are some real slob "hunters" out there.

 

[kidoggy]

i must say i'm a little surprised at the percentage of people who would knowingly break the law by trespassing. Here i thought that we, as hunters, held ourselves to a little bit higher standard.

explains why so many won't let a hunter retrieve downed game doesn't it.