Hunters give new meaning to "unlimited"

Fargo Forum ^ | 10/20/02 | Terry DeVine

[Dakotabound]

Hunting season is upon us once again in North Dakota and everyone I talk to tells me the shooting is about as good as they’ve ever seen.

There are geese galore, ducks everywhere, and they claim the pheasant hunting is as good – or better – than that found in South Dakota, which has always touted itself as the best in the nation when it comes to populations of the most popular of upland game birds.

Just because the hunting is great doesn’t mean the law can be overlooked, however. Last week three hunters gave new meaning to the term “ducks unlimited.”

You should be hearing about these unnamed out-of-state hunters very soon when they’re arraigned in federal court.

They were nabbed in Carrington, in central North Dakota, after law enforcement officials received a tip on their activity.

Carrington Police Officer Charles Zink estimated the three hunters may have had as many as 300 frozen duck carcasses in their possession. The daily limit is six ducks, with a maximum of 12 in possession per hunter.

You’re probably asking yourself why anyone would want 300 ducks. Good question. I certainly don’t have the answer. They must have lots of friends back home.

Rich Grosz, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says the hunters could be charged with violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. If found guilty under state law, they could lose their vehicles and guns. They should.

Unfortunately, this happens more than we know. North Dakota has only 30 game wardens, says North Dakota game warden supervisor Bruce Burkett, so catching the violators is often a matter of pure luck or being in the right place at the right time.

And it isn’t just hunters who break the law. Eleven members of a fishing party from Iowa – six adults and five juveniles – were recently nabbed after getting greedy while fishing on Little Floyd Lake in Minnesota’s Becker County.

The group had 622 sunfish in its possession. That exceeded the sunfish possession limit by 292 fish.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Chris Vinton received a tip via the “Turn in Poachers” line about the overfishing.

They paid a fine and bond totaling $2,200 before returning to Iowa. And Vinton says they were pikers compared to a group arrested earlier this month. That group had 1,500 sunfish in its possession, which they were planning to use for a fish fry at a bar.

[shaggy eel]

,,, Tennessee Bob adoration window of opportunity.

[shaggy eel]

,,, go ahead, bring your army in on this. I've just had sushi and other dead things for lunch. I'm fuelled and my fingers are twitching.

[Dakotabound]

Actually, my reason for posting it was two-fold: to point out the lunacy of someone losing their car and guns over something like this (I too subscribe to the loss of hunting rights and a very large fine); and really wanting a clear answer on how someone would store 300 ducks or 1500 sunfish.

Asset forfeiture laws in this country are beyond assanine. There is NO reason why government should be able to waltz in and take someone's property over something like this.

[smoking camels]

no probs where I am now... 'cuz I live in the "Dobies in CO... big time bummer for me after growing up in the MO Ozarks... but I am in a vally between some great country!

[Terriergal]

Pillar of salt???? Isn't that a symbol of something BAD? Or did you mean something else? :-)

[Terriergal]

You're probably asking yourself why anyone would want 300 ducks. Good question. I certainly don't have the answer. They must have lots of friends back home.

They want them to last all winter, I guess. A large capacity freezer should do it. Or divvy them up among several smaller ones.

Possession and daily bag limits on ducks and geese SHOULD be increased by many times what they are. There are WAY too many geese, especially.

Note, SG, that hunters are the ones who PAID for the setting aside of waterfowl production areas... and the high populations of ducks and geese is the result of the actions of HUNTERS, not tree huggers.

[Terriergal]

I agree. Property forfeiture is cruel and unusual punishment for this type of crime.

[smoking camels]

Interesting accusation considering it comes from the Mother-of-all-Fakes.

How's your research into Peter Singer going? (Just to remind you of ONE reason I call you the Mother-of-all-Fakes.

[Terriergal]

PING.

Sunstro... I mean Sungirl... is back at it again.

[SLB]

Several years ago when I was stationed at Ft Hood, I was a military party leader for the guided deer hunts on post. what means was I got to spend two months before deer season preparing stnads for the hunters, I got to get up at 3:00 AM every weekend during deer season and go get my 10 or 15 hunters and then haul them to their stands. Go back and get them and hope that if they shot something they knew what steps to take. Anyway, the civilian party leader and I had a certain hatred for poachers. In the three weekends of deer season we must have hauled over 12 of them in to the military police station. We had no authority to do so, it just really ticked us off. Needless to say they were all armed and could have driven away and we would have had to stand there looking at them. they were stupid to poach and proved just how dumb they were by letting us take them in. The MPs and game wardens had quite a laugh at them.

BTW - I got the largest deer shot on Ft Hood that year!

[Sungirl]

and I had a certain hatred for poachers. In the three weekends of deer season we must have hauled over 12 of them in to the military police station

Excellent!

[Sungirl]

I don't think it's lunacy at all. They took advantage and broke the law..using firearms. They should lose their priveledge....take away their guns. A law is a law.

[Registered]

Hey, we're all on the same side. Really. Let's be nice to each other.

[realpatriot71]

My father grew up on a farm in SD and he said most of the game officials didn't really care as long as you didn't get rediculous, besides you already knew all the wardens anyway.

Rural America is a great place to live. People want to move to the coasts and the cities - great - more room for me when I make it back to the midwest.

[smoking camels]

Loved the story!

[realpatriot71]

Nice #9 :-)

[smoking camels]

I guess you don't know Sungirl. She is a vicous animal loving, people hating, animal rights extremist. Terriergal is as decent as they come. We are not on the same side. One of these is a left wing extremist posing as a conservative. I do not refer to Terriergal either.

[Terriergal]

uhuh.