Interesting points. I'm sure you could shoot a rat or snake on your land but not a deer you intend to eat without a licsense. The government may be doing some stuff with the money but in the end, it's about the money. IMO
So it must not take as much to regulate fishing? (dont need a license for that unless in public waters) I expected to lose this little debate before I went into it but I don't think I'm failing miserably.
Can those fish on your property leave your lake? Can you stock your own lake as you please? Do you have to follow bag limits on private ponds? If its a private lake on private land, they're your fish. Do with them as you please.
Rat's and snakes are not protected species here. I can even shoot them on public land without a license. I can shoot a deer on my land without a license even though it is a protected species so, if I just hunted on my land, the government would get no money from me and, in this case, the government wouldn't care.
Unless you ask the state to stock, at no cost to you, it then you have to let the public fish it. at least here in MD.
I sorta agree with AIM, but also understand why it is the way it is. The fishing analogy is a good argument...you can fish ANYWHERE private with no license, so why can't you hunt on private land? In reality, there isn't much difference - just a different type of game, and different methods used. As a resident of VA, I can hunt on my own land...so can my kids and parents, whether they live on the land or not. And they don't even have to live in the state to be exempt from a license. As a resident of WV, I can hunt on my own land and so can my parents - but ONLY if they are residents. A little different. Either way, its good. The major issue I have is below... Lets say I live in VA and own 100ac in WV also. I can NOT hunt my land in WV without buying a non-resident license. I pay the same taxes to the state like everyone else does, but have to spend hundreds of dollars to hunt my own land. And my kids & parents have to do the same in order to hunt MY land. I'm 100% in disagreement with this, and have a major issue with it.
Fishing analogy doesn't work....fish can't leave the body of water they're part of of. Private ponds and lakes you control the whole eco-system that is that body of water.
If I own land and have a creek or river on it, the fish could leave the portion of that that is on my land...but I could still fish it with no license. Not arguing the point, I agree with everyone buying licenses to hunt property that isnt their own. I think overall its a good thing, though I do agree that in the end its all a money thing. My big issue with the rules is as I stated, absentee land owners have to shell out ridiculous amounts of $ to hunt their OWN land.
But you still need to hunt deer only in season right? Down here you can hunt hogs year round on private land. If their on your land, their yours. No license required.
Our state spends millions of dollars surveying & stocking all of our public waters. You have your own pond that you stock, go nuts. Your fish aren't going to flop over to the neighbor's property or state land or vice versa. If a stream or river goes through your property, it's not yours. You pay to play. There's a good chance you don't have the mineral rights to your property either.
I don't mind paying for a license to hunt land I own. They really don't cost that much. I have to agree with a previous statement, though... I hate the thought of having to pay non-resident fees to hunt land that I already own in another state. I understand that I may not live there, but taxes are still paid on that property. I still would have to abide by the same codes for upkeep that everyone else does. Why should I have to pay the outrageous fees of a non-resident when I already pay/paid for the land?
Sadly I will never have to worry about this unless I win the lottery...wish I could be upset by it So I agree it doesn't make sense and should be elgible for resident tags
I don't know about other states, but in Nebraska the land owner permit and tag is pretty cheap compared to the regular in state price, and you also have more options as a land owner. For example, this year a resident mule deer buck tag was drawn through a lottery system, but a land owner can hunt any species and any sex on their tags. Although, they do limit the number of bucks on all tags. It is not free, but they make it a lot easier to hunt as a landowner. Ironically, there are more land owners that don't hunt than I imagined out here.
