Stealing or not?

[GeauxLSU]

Severity of punitive action, or lack thereof, has no bearing on the morality of a given situation.

I agree 100%!
However, remember, this is going to be about HUNTING.... so a discussion about 'morarlity' will go a very predictable route... (unfortunately).
Also remember that hunting is a game of 'honor' since the chance of getting caught breaking a game law, is VERY low.

 

[Benhad]

Stealing...

 

[Hasselhoss]

I agree 100%!
However, remember, this is going to be about HUNTING.... so a discussion about 'morarlity' will go a very predictable route... (unfortunately).
Also remember that hunting is a game of 'honor' since the chance of getting caught breaking a game law, is VERY low.

Then we will have to wait to see what the actual topic is since we cannot argue the acidity of oranges to prove that an apple is indeed sweet.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Of course it's stealing, but I prefer an officer has a bit of discretion as to how he decides to respond, especially when dealing with young people (under the age of 17). Many a young person has learned a lesson without an arrest or digital record being created in the past.

Understandable. This ain't thata though. LEO has said "We are arbitrarily not going to enforce the law until 'x' level."

 

[Patryn]

Stealing

 

[MRH]

Of course it is stealing.

 

[batoncolle]

Understandable. This ain't thata though. LEO has said "We are arbitrarily not going to enforce the law until 'x' level."

Then the officer is an accomplice in the stealing. I wish I had the "power" to arbitrarily decide which laws I want to follow, but I guess I have to become a politician to enjoy that luxury...

 

[GeauxLSU]

OK, by this time in the thread hopefully even future responders will have thought about the initial question before reading this. There seems to be a consensus that stealing is stealing. I really HOPE that we all agree that wildlife, including all game animals, is a PUBLIC resource. If you don't subscribe, despite it being codified then I can't entertain your counter position if you have one.

Here's the situation, yesterday I turkey hunted a club. After our first set up, we are leaving via a different route and come across a feeder full of corn. Long story short, there is corn in various places on this club. Theoretically there was a 'misunderstanding' about the law and some 'might' have thought that hunting 200 yards away or farther was legal. Now of course that exception ONLY applies to deer and no other game animals or birds. For turkey, if you have corn ANYWHERE on the property it's illegal. However, for years the published regulation that everyone uses instead of reading the actual law, made it sound like it applied to ALL game animals/birds since they'd never put the word "DEER" in their baiting information. Consequently some (most? all?) LEO won't write you a ticket if you are over 200 yards from a bait pile turkey hunting. Some (most? all?) will even admit it.
Now the reg book has been corrected and the law has never changed so it's very clear. You can not have bait out, anywhere while you are turkey hunting, yet you know you aren't going to get cited. What do you do?
Corn is out in various places holding birds on the property you'd otherwise not get. Maybe you set up a bait pile 500 yards from their roost site and set up between the two.
Stealing? I'm sure my request to not have this devolve into an endless inevitably pointless debate about baiting and to concentrate on the question will go ignored but there it is anyway.

 

[MRH]

I have always considered poachers to be thieves. Are you sure the corn is not intended for deer? Lots of guys feed the deer herds year round with corn.

 

[GeauxLSU]

I have always considered poachers to be thieves. Are you sure the corn is not intended for deer? Lots of guys feed the deer herds year round with corn.

Well of course it's "for the deer". Just ask them. The fact remains they are turkey hunting land with corn out.
Sort of like every deer hunter that gets caught shooting over a corn pile in the northern zone. "I'm hog hunting."