PRIVATE PROPERTY/ BUCKLEY ELK!

[bushmaster]

I have talked about this subject for many years around the campfire up hunting. Some of those hunters were police, a couple of CPA's, 1 IRS agent and 4hvac techs like myself!

If you shoot animal on private property and that animal is in season, and you have a tag and licence, the only law broken was the trespassing! And every person mentioned above has said it should also be "considered by LAW" a form of poaching when an animal is downed on "private" land. The actor,first offence for the tresspass will get little to no punishment, and still keeps the animal!

I know a guy who shot a deer in a farmers field off of 20 by twisp. The cops came wrote him a must appear tresspass charge, and then HELPED him load the deer into his truck.

Why is this not considered a form of poaching?
Why does "i didn't see the no trespass sign" get you off of the trespass charge?


Your thoughts!

[stormin85]

You hit the nail on the head. But if the guy is proud of his "hunt", then good for him....... not, hopefully deep down he knows he didn't deserve the animal he took

[WDFW-SUX]

its like drunk driving.....every one's brother does it

[huntlakewood]

I think it should be counted as poaching and be charged as such. I think if you know that you are tresspassing and shot an animal on private land you should loss your rights for life on top of your truck and gear

[blackveltbowhunter]

Guess I have a bit of a different take - To me trespassing is trespassing, and poaching is poaching. Different punishments for different crimes. To take the animal from the trespasser to me is a big mistake. For one the animal is still considered "wild", thus the property owner has no more "legal" right to possess the animal than anybody else, you cant just haul off and shoot animals at will on your property or attempt to contain them to your property by harrassing them ( which I have seen many property owners do ). Also, being ticketed is simply being "charged" for a crime with a penalty attached. Not being proven guilty. How many of you have had a traffic violation citation that was later tossed out because of insufficient evidence? or you were innocent and contended it on those grounds? Remember innocent until PROVEN guilty not innocent until the cop gets a ticket book out. If the animal is seized and the defendant is later cleared of the charge what then? Who is gonna take care of processing the animal? Some cases are more cut and dried than others but are we gonna seize the animal every time?

   

[bigtex]

Why is this not considered a form of poaching?
Why does "i didn't see the no trespass sign" get you off of the trespass charge?

There was a proposal 2/3 years ago to make trespassing while hunting an additional wildlife offense but it didn't get enough votes.

The "i didn't see the no trespass sign" doesn't get you off of the trespass charge. Trespassing cases aren't really important in the eyes of a court or prosecutor so thats why a lot of them are dropped, deferred (basically probation), or a very small fine. Which most people don't agree with.

[Snapshot]

Landowners don't have to post 'no trespassing' signs in this state. It is the hunter's responsibility to know where he is and whether he can legally be there.

[Ice Cap]

Exactly!
I believe it was back in the early 1980's that land owners no longer had to post property to keep out trespassers!

[Hunter Dug]

Last year My neighbor who owns 80 arces in Washougal walked up on three guys that were field dressing a deer on his property.  First he called the County sheriff who showed up and issued three trespassing tickets to the three men for 500 bucks each.  The Sheriff held the men called the warden who showed up, confinscated all three rifles, and issued them all must appear violations for illegally shoting a deer on private property with a max fine of 2500 dollars.  My neighbor explained that he talked with the warden later and was told that the man that shot the deer lost his hunting privledges for 5 years and his fine reduced to 2000, the other two guys fine was reduced to 500 dollars and did not lose there licensing rights.  They lost 3 rifles, and a total of 5000 dollars in fines, and 1s hunting privledges, know that was last year, and this guy is pretty solid no BS.  It may not be poaching but it is definitly a fine to shot a animal on someone elses property.

[woodrat]

This must have been about seven or eight years ago now, but a neighbor of mine with about 40 acres of pasture and forested swamp bordering the highway had guys pull off to the side of the highway, right by their driveway on opening morning because there were elk in the fenced and cross fenced pasture. She walked out of the house and was walking towards them telling them to get lost when they SHOT the elk, right past her as she was walking towards them. She was furious, called the sheriff, deputy showed up and of course, knew the offenders and talked her out of pressing charges. The offenders kept the elk and a few days later a dead salmon was thrown into the property owners' yard for their dog to get into.

Absolutely outrageous, and apparently not that unusual. I've had trespassers, people tearing down my signs, illegal campfires just behind my land on the timber road there, people trespassing my neighbor's adjacent property and shooting at elk at night, within about 300 yards of my house, children and livestock. Last year I just missed catching a guy who drove off of the logging road, past multiple no trespassing signs onto my place, just to do a bunch of donuts in his 4x4 and tear up a piece of flat ground that I had hand manicured with a rake after some machinery had been in there, to keep it draining properly. When I first moved here and bought this land, I had not yet started hunting, and let me tell you, I did NOT have a very high opinion of hunters in general. In general, I still don't. The first two years I was here elk opening day was absolute mayhem near my place, with multiple people shooting from the highway right below my house at first light. Thankfully, the elk don't show themselves in that field anymore. Last winter some *censored* pulled off to the side of the highway, within about 150 yards of the house below mine and started blasting away at the ducks in the wetlands there, at dawn. That would be PRIVATE wetlands, owned by a private individual, fenced on all three sides. Nice. Jerks like this ruin it for everyone, and to the extent that people defend this kind of behavior or make excuses for it, you're just doing more damage to the tradition of safe, sane, respectful hunting.

As you can probably tell, this topic gets my blood pressure up, and makes me want to go to the suburbs where some of these fine "hunters" live, park an RV in their lawn, build a campfire in their flowerbeds, toss a bunch of beer cans and garbage around the place and start shooting the songbirds out of their trees. Most of them still probably wouldn't "get it".

[bankwalker]

to me hunting on private property is just as bad are poaching. its the exact same thing as hunting in a closed unit to me.

its different is you are hunting close to private property and your wounded animal made its way onto said private property. then you just have to hope the land owner is a nice person and will let you get your animal.

[Snapshot]

It may not be poaching but it is definitly a fine to shot a animal on someone elses property.

Evidently he either shot it on land that was posted "No hunting" or "No hunting without permission", or he was nailied with a license or tag violation. Otherwise I think he would only have been nailed for trespassing like the the other two.

[Snapshot]

Jerks like this ruin it for everyone, and to the extent that people defend this kind of behavior or make excuses for it, you're just doing more damage to the tradition of safe, sane, respectful hunting.

[tritt007]

This must have been about seven or eight years ago now, but a neighbor of mine with about 40 acres of pasture and forested swamp bordering the highway had guys pull off to the side of the highway, right by their driveway on opening morning because there were elk in the fenced and cross fenced pasture. She walked out of the house and was walking towards them telling them to get lost when they SHOT the elk, right past her as she was walking towards them. She was furious, called the sheriff, deputy showed up and of course, knew the offenders and talked her out of pressing charges. The offenders kept the elk and a few days later a dead salmon was thrown into the property owners' yard for their dog to get into.

Absolutely outrageous, and apparently not that unusual. I've had trespassers, people tearing down my signs, illegal campfires just behind my land on the timber road there, people trespassing my neighbor's adjacent property and shooting at elk at night, within about 300 yards of my house, children and livestock. Last year I just missed catching a guy who drove off of the logging road, past multiple no trespassing signs onto my place, just to do a bunch of donuts in his 4x4 and tear up a piece of flat ground that I had hand manicured with a rake after some machinery had been in there, to keep it draining properly. When I first moved here and bought this land, I had not yet started hunting, and let me tell you, I did NOT have a very high opinion of hunters in general. In general, I still don't. The first two years I was here elk opening day was absolute mayhem near my place, with multiple people shooting from the highway right below my house at first light. Thankfully, the elk don't show themselves in that field anymore. Last winter some *censored* pulled off to the side of the highway, within about 150 yards of the house below mine and started blasting away at the ducks in the wetlands there, at dawn. That would be PRIVATE wetlands, owned by a private individual, fenced on all three sides. Nice. Jerks like this ruin it for everyone, and to the extent that people defend this kind of behavior or make excuses for it, you're just doing more damage to the tradition of safe, sane, respectful hunting.

As you can probably tell, this topic gets my blood pressure up, and makes me want to go to the suburbs where some of these fine "hunters" live, park an RV in their lawn, build a campfire in their flowerbeds, toss a bunch of beer cans and garbage around the place and start shooting the songbirds out of their trees. Most of them still probably wouldn't "get it".

Those arent hunters those are *censored*es

[csaaphill]

I feel no trespassing and poaching is different and should remain that way. I'm glad that some and believe it's a case by case bases that those that shot in private land got to keep the deer elk etc. With so many no hunting signs up etc.. no wonder this happens a lot. Maybe instead put up a feel free to hunt sign, or something might make new friends.
I've hunted feel free lands many times and still have a lot of bad feed back from the neighbore who has no trespassing. I realise a few bad apples spoil it for all, but hate that and should be different. For those that rip signs down they probably do it out of anger because yet again theres a no hunting sign so while I dont condone it I understand it. So agian to you private land owner maybe do feel free signs or have some kind of regulated hunt and maybe some of these issues may dissapear.