Alternative perspective on messing with others’ game cams

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Shallowforks, would you be ok with someone coming into your camp while you are out hunting (abandoning your camp) and making themselves at home? How about going through your personal belongings? Trying on your underwear?

[Bob33]

Shallowforks, would you be ok with someone coming into your camp while you are out hunting (abandoning your camp) and making themselves at home? How about going through your personal belongings? Trying on your underwear?

If I hang my underwear on a tree in the woods and leave it, you can try it on but I'm sure you'd want to...

[yakimanoob]

If you try on my underwear that I left in camp, you're certainly in the wrong.  But not for the same reason as the camera thing.   

[Angry Perch]

Shallowforks, would you be ok with someone coming into your camp while you are out hunting (abandoning your camp) and making themselves at home? How about going through your personal belongings? Trying on your underwear?

That would suggest that you took more than one pair of underwear to deer camp. I guess I'm safe from the camera thief with an underwear fetish!

[hunter399]

Shallowforks, would you be ok with someone coming into your camp while you are out hunting (abandoning your camp) and making themselves at home? How about going through your personal belongings? Trying on your underwear?

That would suggest that you took more than one pair of underwear to deer camp. I guess I'm safe from the camera thief with an underwear fetish!

Well only underwear that's been well used will work on underwear fetish people.

Are you sure you wanna try my underwear.

[CoryTDF]

This OP makes me want to gather all my hunting gear and go jump off a bridge. The death of ethical hunting and common sense is upon us. Lord help the next generation of hunters with mindsets like that of the OP it will not be long before the only hunting that is done is on an iPhone. SMH

[Kamo2112]

This OP makes me want to gather all my hunting gear and go jump off a bridge. The death of ethical hunting and common sense is upon us. Lord help the next generation of hunters with mindsets like that of the OP it will not be long before the only hunting that is done is on an iPhone. SMH

Read the entire thread.....It just a different way to look at the topic. Nothing wrong with the OP.

[CoryTDF]

This OP makes me want to gather all my hunting gear and go jump off a bridge. The death of ethical hunting and common sense is upon us. Lord help the next generation of hunters with mindsets like that of the OP it will not be long before the only hunting that is done is on an iPhone. SMH

Read the entire thread.....It just a different way to look at an idea. Nothing wrong with the OP.

Read it. Hate it.

[BULLBLASTER]

on that note, I think youd be even more at risk because you are tampering with government property.

FOIA just request public records pertaining to that camera and Walaah! You have a private camera and a staff of people to check it for you and report all the pictures!

Genius really!... plus wildlife bios probably know the best spots to put them. 

[StoneTrees]

It appears to me that the RCW yakimanoob brings up is pretty clear on whether it applies to a game camera.  A game camera is not materially different in function or purpose from a modern mobile phone, a laptop with webcam, a digital SLR camera, a security system, etc.  It is simply a different form factor with a greater or lesser number and variety of functions.  Regardless, all of these devices boil down to computers equipped with the means to acquire an image or video (data) and a mechanism to store that data (hard drive, SD card, uploaded to internet storage, etc.).

I think where things get murky is that there's a practical issue with applying this to game cameras specifically.  I certainly don't think the lawmakers gave game cameras consideration when writing this law.  The use of computing technology is not readily associated with hunting outside of hunting circles.  Rather, the use of e-mail, computers, internet servers and the like in the business and governmental worlds were very likely at the forefront of their thoughts, in addition to widespread theft from consumers via phishing, identity theft, etc., hence the stiff felony charge.  That said, I allege that the RCW was intentionally written with abstract language ("data storage" and such) to allow this law to apply to technology as it comes online, in fact the intro to the law says as much.  Is your local WDFW officer going to know about this law?  Not likely.  Neither would a local police officer, sheriff, meter maid, or whatever, but the detectives that investigate white collar crimes likely do as crimes like this occur in that realm more frequently and warrant the stiff consequence.  But if the individual caught messing with a camera is a jerk to that LEO or has other violations already to their name and the LEO happens to understand this area of the law, the offending individual just might find themselves cited with this.

[WAnoob]

I totally respect the opinion that it doesnt belong to you leave it alone. I also respect the opinion of the scenario I brought up.

There is no other opinion, its not yours, leave it alone....what do you not understand about that??

So if they came along and placed their camera right above yours..you wouldn't touch it or move it? Highly doubt that.

[Angry Perch]

Why are we even discussing the legality of this? It's legal to be a complete D-bag, or sleep with another guy's wife too. 

[StoneTrees]

Why are we even discussing the legality of this? It's legal to be a complete D-bag, or sleep with another guy's wife too.

In the immortal words of The Clash...Know Your Rights.

Isn't sleeping with someone else's spouse a subset of being a d-bag? 

[Bob33]

This thread is about to go bye-bye. If anyone has anything constructive to add, now's the time.

[Buckmark]

I totally respect the opinion that it doesnt belong to you leave it alone. I also respect the opinion of the scenario I brought up.

There is no other opinion, its not yours, leave it alone....what do you not understand about that??

So if they came along and placed their camera right above yours..you wouldn't touch it or move it? Highly doubt that.

No i would not touch or move someones camera regardless if they put it on the tree next to, above, below or behind mine...Its not my camera.
I would though without a doubt move my camera to a completely different location since the one i picked is too easy to find etc, and i would for sure pose for some pics on that cam that would rival anything posted on the people on cams thread