Poaching animals

So a year ago someone came onto our property and poached a deer.  Normally we would be upset, but they only took the parts you can eat.  We decided not to call the DNR because when people poach dear they will either take the antlers and hoofs leaving the meat or they will leave the entire deer.  When people poach for meat they are usually starving.  Our local food shelf up here is almost empty and lots of people are out of work.  If they would have just told us we would have give them all our can goods, but in reality a deer can feed a family of 4 for about 4-5 MONTHS.  So here is where the debate comes in.  Is it OK to poach deer if your family is really starving and the food shelf is empty?  Is it OK to ignore poaching? 

I would say that killing a deer because your family is starved is a good enough reason to do so. Times are tough. You gotta do, what you gotta do.

I say its ok to poach if you need to feed your kids. I think God put creatures in this earth to eat but not to hunt as a sport

Since I love animals so much, I'm against poaching, but in this case it's acceptable if a family has no other sources of food to accomodate.  

 If the choice is break the law or starve, I'd break the law for my family every time.

No, its not ok - under ANY circumstance.  This is a topic dear (excuse the pun!) to my heart.  We have alot of wild deer on our property.  We do not shoot them.  We love to see them.  We would like the deer population to build up.  I go past them on my bike on the way to work.  I am in for lunch at the moment and 2 hinds were in the paddock of sheep I just mustered.  We spend money to grow the grass that feeds them, we allow them to feed and breed and we do not shoot them.

I have lost count of the amount of poachers I have caught red handed.  I get sooo angry!  I ask them if they would think it was ok if I went onto their property and shot their dog, or stole their washing off the line because I was cold?  Its just not right and under no condition should it be allowed.  Stealling is against the law etc etc.

We prosecuted the last poacher.  He shot a deer 100 yards from our house (it was a fawn and would have fed no one - terrible!).  He could have missed and shot one of our children.  He has pleaded guilty and comes up for sentencing on the 12th of December.  He will get no sentence, being first crime - but he will loose his gun licence and his ability to shoot again.

Red - under no conditions should you allow others to shoot your deer.  Letting one do it will set a precident and word will spread and there will be none there for your grandchildren to hunt.

theashleys:

No, its not ok - under ANY circumstance.  This is a topic dear (excuse the pun!) to my heart.  We have alot of wild deer on our property.  We do not shoot them.  We love to see them.  We would like the deer population to build up.  I go past them on my bike on the way to work.  I am in for lunch at the moment and 2 hinds were in the paddock of sheep I just mustered.  We spend money to grow the grass that feeds them, we allow them to feed and breed and we do not shoot them.

I have lost count of the amount of poachers I have caught red handed.  I get sooo angry!  I ask them if they would think it was ok if I went onto their property and shot their dog, or stole their washing off the line because I was cold?  Its just not right and under no condition should it be allowed.  Stealling is against the law etc etc.

We prosecuted the last poacher.  He shot a deer 100 yards from our house (it was a fawn and would have fed no one - terrible!).  He could have missed and shot one of our children.  He has pleaded guilty and comes up for sentencing on the 12th of December.  He will get no sentence, being first crime - but he will loose his gun licence and his ability to shoot again.

Red - under no conditions should you allow others to shoot your deer.  Letting one do it will set a precident and word will spread and there will be none there for your grandchildren to hunt.

wow! I didn't even think about someone shooting in my back yard that is scarry, I can very easy had been a child hit by accident

actually where I live we have to many deer.  They have increased the leagle limit to 1 buck and 6 doe's.  So a total of 7 deer.  This one situation we did let it slide, but on another I was out hunting on opener and 3 bigs guys trespassed onto my property! they Told ME to get of.  I had one gun they had 3.  I got off and called in a complaint.  I told my dh to he was so mad.  He said he would have called the police an walked back out there with them to give them a piece of his mind. 

I think if the family was truley starving, I wish they would have come to us.  We would have given them one of our deer in our freezer.  We dont buy meat from the store.. we only eat deer.

I suspect Red and I live a couple hours apart.  Here are my feelings:

(1)  There are many deer around here, so it may be different than where theashleys lives in Australia -- I doubt this will impact the deer population is any substantial way.  Certainly not if it's only done for food for a family that's going hungry.

(2)  You need to provide for your family.  Hard times mean hard choices.  It's ok, if you're out in the woods, because you have to do it to feed your family.  Just like I think it would be fine to steal a loaf of bread to feed your children if you're homeless and have no other choice.

(3)  It is never ok to shoot animals near where people live, on private or public property.  There are laws addressing this outside of the poaching factor.  It's just not safe, and a lot of people are accidently shot.

(4)  Any other reason -- totally unacceptable.

 I think poaching is criminal. There are plenty of deer to hunt during hunting season. BTW, I understand the need to hunt, I just don't see how some people get their jollys when they kill a beautiful animal. When they do kill an animal for food, they should give thanks to the powers that be for providing for  them. One more thing; it's not a sport, either. If animals could shoot back, it would be.

I also live in a state with an overpopulation of deer. They are starving and are constantly being hit by cars. But I still don't like to see poaching, and especially not on private property near a home. I dislike hunting but have come to understand that it is necessary to keep the deer healthy or else they would all starve. I would much rather see people hunt to feed their families than for so-called "sport" and I think people who hunt should have a real respect and appreciation for the animals. I know that many hunters do, but there are also some who don't and who make all hunters look bad. I wish there was a way to get the meat from all the road-killed deer to the hungry people. There would be no need for poaching if we could somehow do that!

when a deer gets hit by a car its bones shoot into the meat making it uneatable to humans

Tamara:

  Is it OK to poach deer if your family is really starving and the food shelf is empty?  Is it OK to ignore poaching? 

YES, I do believe that it would be okay because I feel that God put man over beast and gave us the meat for food.  If my family were starving I would do it in a heartbeat.  I think poaching laws are in place because of people being greedy and this would cause under-population issues.  I do believe it is wrong to hunt just for the kill and for bragging rights.  

BUT, I was talking to dh about this just to get his input also and he brought up a good point.  Some people may be in a position where they have a good job and are able to feed their family but want an easy kill to get cheap meat to stock their freezer during a plentiful time.  I agree with dh too but it's just an assumption and not a fact.  We would not know the fact without talking to the poacher and that's not going to happen.  I would like to lean toward the 1st choice of them needing the food and not turn them in unless I saw them more than once.  For the record I do not think it is okay to shoot near someone's home for reasons already stated by pp.

Tamara:

when a deer gets hit by a car its bones shoot into the meat making it uneatable to humans

Are you sure? I just did a search a found a lot of references to people eating roadkill, especially deer. I also found this article about a program that has Alaskan prisoners processing train-killed moose to feed the hungry:

http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=51471

Mom2RJ:

Tamara:

when a deer gets hit by a car its bones shoot into the meat making it uneatable to humans

 

Are you sure? I just did a search a found a lot of references to people eating roadkill, especially deer. I also found this article about a program that has Alaskan prisoners processing train-killed moose to feed the hungry:

http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=51471

I should have clarified.  It depends on how the deer is it.  Here in MN if you only hit it in the head or front half you can call the dnr and get permission to take it home.  If you slam it right in the middle or in the hind it is almost unusable.  I wasn't' going to go into detail because I know how passionate people are on ig about animal. 

And just to be clear, yes we do hunt, but use hunt for the meat.  We eat only wild game and we don't let any of it go to waist.  In fact when dh was out walking the land after opener last year someone lost track of there deer and it was on our land.  We let it sit for a day in case someone was looking for it then we tagged it and possessed the parts that hadn't spoiled by then.  We feel all life is important so you must respect animals and eat what ever you kill.  We teach our kids this as well and if they kill a frog on purpose, dh will cook it up and make them eat it because we do not kill for the fun of it.