Funny you mention that! My roomate and I had a conversation about how self sufficient we are. If there were a total economic collapse, not much would change at my house. Deer steaks, and canned vegetables. See I'm a hunting mouse pilot, and he's a non-hunting farmer. Quite the combo, but living together has been cheap as hell on the grocery bill for both of us! Maybe the biggest change in a toxic economic climate would be the beer that goes with said steak and vegetables, but hell, I'm sure we could make that too! So the answer to the initial question, no I would not tell, in a pinch I'd do it myself. In the situation I live in now though, I have nearly enough game put away to eat on all year anyway.
You don't think it's just a little comical that humans (modern ones like us) are so incapable of being responsible for their own actions that we must have laws be responsible for our actions. All because we we all follow to closely to the line of sin... you know vanity.. greed.. ETC. C'mon.. that's a little funny. Maybe not laugh out loud.. but a good Hmm!
if all that happened, you would have the makings for a top 10 country song ... you would get rich and wouldn't hsve to poach Seriously, I posed this on "the other" site and got flamed ....
This is a tough one in some respects (obviously)The things that would matter to me are that the family is truly in need,like not using the grocery money to buy liquor,cigarettes,lottery tickets,entertainment tickets etc.that they utilize the entire animal also. I would never want to be in a position to make that kind of judgement about what someone can do and can't do to feed their family with the exception of criminal acts that threaten or harm another person.I know I wouldn't want someone judging me if I felt it necessary to do to feed my family.
In this day and age, using the excuse of 'feeding your family' to condone poaching usually just means the law-breaker is too lazy or ignorant to get food in a responsible, legal manner. You need venison? Call the state patrol or county cops. They'll call you when they have a freshly hit deer. Go to the local food pantry. Call Hunters helping the Hungry. Ask a hunting friend to bring you a deer during season. There's plenty of fish out there too. Learn to use a fishing pole and a trot line. Find people who bowfish (don't tell me your starving and then turn away fresh buffalo, carp and gar). If you feel you're too good to eat roadkill or take handouts, then you're not to good to take the punishment for your violations either.
You have a good point, but to be honest how many "typical" hunters fill all of their available tags each year? I dont think that out of the total # of available tags even 50% are used (throughout the country). I do think though that if we did completely away with seasons total hunter #s would drop. Its kind of one of those deals that you would take for granted because it is always there. Maybe not for people who live to hunt but for the guys/gals who just go out 1 or 2 times a year and maybe get a deer and maybe dont I think that this would apply.
I could care less if a hungry man shot and killed an animal to feed himself or his family. Duke, I like your way of thinking. It is comical that we cannot control ourselves and work together to achieve greatness.
Food is a basic human need. Trying to become accepted into a society takes a back seat to putting food in your belly. However, if the "poacher" spends money on cigs, booz, or women, they are wrong. All possible expendatures must be sacrificed before one can be excused for "food-poaching".
It is my belief that in this day and age, I can't understand how a person could let themselves get so desperate to have to resort to breaking the law by poaching in order to survive. If a man had that much pride he would work thru the situation without becoming a criminal. The days of old were a different era. Living off the land was much more accepted and maybe even expected. Maybe my opinions are slanted from all the poaching I see from average everyday people, but its ok because "they eat all the meat". Even though they are as far from needy as you can get.
I gotta say I disagree with this very much Jeff, maybe it has something to do with the way I was raised, not sure. When I was young, my mother was a single mom of two rotten kids (yes me, imagine that ), and managed to take care of the two of us on a single income, while going to school full time to better our situation, and even though she more than qualified........she never took a handout or broke a law to keep us fed, she did this to set an example for us that I still value today. She was smart, sacrificed everything else in her life, and worked her butt off........but if she managed to do it, anyone else can without breaking laws or asking for handouts. JMHO, but "feeding the family" is just an excuse for "I'm too lazy to work my butt off", or poor prioritization. With that said, I don't know if I'd turn the guy in the first time around. You can be sure that I'd have a conversation with him about it though.
Until you've been placed in a situation that requires you to "pull the trigger" so to speak, those of you who say there is no excuse have no idea what you're talking about. Until you're forced to make the decision between going hungry or poaching, don't preach to me and tell me its wrong. Some states don't have Hunters Helping the Hungry or similar programs. Food stamps and state assistance aren't immediate, doesn't happen overnight.
Wow.. some of these answers are truly remarkable to me. I have to greatly agree with Jeff.. that many assume TOO MUCH. As if it's more important for a man to starve then to eat.. because it's against someone else's law. Is it not a greater crime to starve a family?
If you can afford all those luxurys I would hope that your not going to to kill deer out of season for food. Personally I can NEVER see it getting to that point at all, but if it did you can bet your last dollar that im going out and killin me a deer or three. Weapon of choice? Still bow and arrow, I feel hands down that they leave the most edible meat on the animal, plus if times are that bad, a man should atleast be able to do what he enjoys while still providing for his family.
So are we more concerned about a family that needs food or are we concerned because there is one less deer in the herd for us to get? Seriously............if joe's family is starving how does joe killing a deer out of season affect us? It simply does not, IMO. It is easy for us to sit here and say there are other ways to put food on the table but until we are truly in that position we cannot truly say. Can we.
How do you know we haven't been there? Heck, I lived out of a freaking station wagon for a while. I've scraped up my share of roadkilled deer. I learned how to skin stuff by watching my real father skin the roadkilled 'coons he'd pick up. He'd sell the hides and we'd eat the 'coon. Anyhow, what bugs me about poaching 'to feed a starving family' isn't that it takes away a deer from the legal hunters but rather it's a piss poor excuse to condone illegal activity. (tho' there are 30 million people on food stamps... it would be bad news for hunting if they all started poaching) If you do believe it is justification, why not condone spotlighting big bucks so the starving, proud family can sell the antlers to pay the rent? Steal tree stands and sell them? Shoplift? Sell drugs?
Ahhhh, applied ethics... It seems like a lot, like most, people are equating ethics with their own personal feelings. Following your own feelings can, and will, deviate said person from DOING RIGHT ( i.e. being ethical).
