Shed hunting illegal?

[love2hunt16]

One of my buddies just read up online that Wyoming is playing with the idea of making shed hunting illegal. Has anyone heard anything of this? I'd really like to know.

If this is true, I feel it's the beginning of the end for us shed hunters.

What bothers me is that so many outdoorsman could prevent this. There are too many idiots out there that just aren't respecting the wildlife we pursue every fall. You know the ones I'm talking about. What irritates me is it is these people that are ruining it for the rest of us. Something we have loved to do for years is now becoming some we potentially may not have the opportunity to do anymore.

I, for one, have mixed feelings about it. As much as I love shed hunting and as much as I would hate to see it become illegal, it may be more beneficial for the wildlife that are affected by the "harassing" shed hunters.

I hope this thread doesn't offend anybody. I miss the days when I used to go out shed hunting when nobody was in the hills. When you weren't having to keep up on a deer every day through the winter just to beat the next guy up to collect the bone. It's upsetting and makes me sick that we have let it come to this. Alot of us on this site are honest shed hunters, I would hope that we all are, but I do know there are some out there that are not. That don't use the privileges we have respectfully. If there are any out there that do abuse these privileges, I as you to please take a step back and look what your ruining for, not only yourselves, but other sportsman out there that like to collect antlers legally.

I just had to vent for a minute. What I heard may not be true, but if it isn't true now, it's not too far down the road that the western states are going to start making it illegal.

What do you all think?

 

[appleman]

Certainly it will be more seasonal and before it bocomes against the law they will issue license and limited tags for the money aspect alone-a bunch of dollars! Then they will go broke and make it against the law.

 

[mmwb]

Yeah, I believe that they are looking at making it seasonal to try to give the animals some time to recover from winter before they are descended upon. We've seen a lot of problems with it in my county. The commissioners passed a law last year initiating a shed hunting season. Of course enforcement is always a problem.

 

[HuntinFoo]

+1 lovetohunt
Even if they do make it illegal it wont make a difference, just look at gun control. The idiots that chase the wildlife around will still do it, just like the criminals would still get their guns.

 

[love2hunt16]

Ya know, I've seen the seasonal stuff here in Utah. It seemed to be ineffective. Then after one or two seasons of trying a "shed season" they opened it back up to shed hunting any time of year as long as you have a "certificate" which in my opinion is a waste as well. To get the certificate you have to answer no brainer questions about protecting wildlife while shed hunting. Great concept but what does that do to help us keep the idiots from harrassing wildlife? Absolutely nothing, in my opinion. I think the enforcement needs to kick into gear. Too many people are getting away with illegal activities. Activities that damage the natural resources wildlife depend on. It's hard to know what to do. I would hope that we all would call someone out if we knew they were collecting sheds illegally.

 

[BrowningRage]

Many great points have been made...

I think the sad truth is very closely related to gun control... If honest, decent folks are regulated out of being in the outdoors for things such as SHED HUNTING, then the knuckleheads that break the laws will be out there all alone. And with no integrity, they will commit greater and greater offenses.

As law-abiding, outdoor-loving citizens, we need to be ready to defend our wildlife, and our right to enjoy them, and the outdoors, as we see fit.

I hope it does not become a crime to hunt for sheds, then only criminals will have them...

 

[GregMc]

Let's not get carried away here before we get the facts right. This isn't anti-hunting, anti-gun or ever anti-shed hunting, it's anti-jack@$$.
It's a seasonal ban to protect ungulates in winter range and several other states have already passed similar measures.
It's unfortunate that we have to pass rules to keep people from chasing or harassing deer and elk after hunting season so they can make a few bucks on sheds, but I guess there are a lot of folks out there who have lost the concept of sportsmanship and what it means to look after the resource for future hunters.


From the Casper Star-Tribune

Seasonal ban on antler hunting makes sense

Star-Tribune Editorial Board | Posted: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:00 am

Antler hunting is a legitimate recreational activity that many people in Wyoming enjoy. It's a hobby that gives them a chance to be outdoors and collect antlers that can either be used for craft items or sold. Racks can fetch up to $20 per pound.

But those who are abusing the privilege are responsible for the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission's consideration of a seasonal ban on antler hunting in parts of the state.

The proposal would ban antler hunting on public land west of the Continental Divide in the state from Jan. 1 through April 30. We encourage the commission to pass it when it meets next month, and also consider whether the ban should be extended to any other problem areas in the state.

In recent years, several Rocky Mountain states have reported problems with antler hunters who ride snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles. They can spook herds of elk and deer into running, which Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Mark Gocke said is dangerous for animals already weakened from months of wallowing in deep snow and eating scarce forage.

"It really is a matter of life and death," Gocke explained.

He said many people start looking for antlers before they have even fallen off the animals. In some cases, people on four-wheelers and snowmobiles have intentionally chased elk and mule deer until the exertion causes the animals' antlers to fall off.

That practice has led to seasonal bans on antler hunting in Colorado and northern Utah. In Nevada, wildlife officials have prosecuted antler hunters on ATVs who chased deer through sagebrush.

People shut out of those states have headed to Wyoming in recent years, where they have taken advantage of the state's lack of regulations to put more pressure on big game here and ruin the activity for on-foot antler collectors.

If a ban is passed, enforcement will likely be tricky. It would be worth it for Wyoming to study the example of Montana, which has closed choice winter ranges to humans from early winter to May to protect its elk and deer from the impact of antler hunting.

According to USA Today, every year Montana game wardens conceal radio telemeters in antlers placed in areas closed to antler hunting, then track their movements as the violators take them home. The offenders are given tickets for trespassing and fined up to $500. That sounds like it would be an effective deterrent that's well worth the extra effort by the state.

Wildlife officials in Montana, Utah and Idaho claim it's also relatively common for hunters to collect antlers during seasonal closures, then stash them until it's safe to pick them up during the first days when antler collecting is legal. That will likely be more difficult to prevent, but legitimate antler hunters should be encouraged to turn in those who break the state's rules.

Jim Lowe of Casper, an antler collecter, isn't optimistic that a ban would help. "It will stop the honest people, is all it will do," he told The Associated Press. "These guys are going to be able to get in there, get the stuff and get out, and most of the time they'll get away with it."

But if Wyoming does not pass the seasonal ban, the situation in the state will only continue to deteriorate as more people use snowmobiles and ATVs to chase elk and deer to try to cause their antlers to fall off. The state should do everything it can to protect wildlife from unethical collectors, and the ban is the best way to do it.

 

[BeanMan]

I think they should just make it illegal to sell sheds. Take the money out of it and most of the people who are in it just for the money would quit.

Bean

 

[HuntinFoo]

beanman has a good idea, I dont sale any of mine, I dont understand those who want to sale them. If you figure your time and money with gas into them you would be better off flipping burgers at mickydees. Their isnt any profit in shed hunting in my experience. We should just take the law into our own hands, if you feel you or your family are threatened by some one then you can legally shot them, so we should just consider the wildlife, family and shot the idiots that are screwing things up. hahahaha

 

[dutch]

There might not be any profit in most people's shed hunting, but their is huge profit for the ones who buy and resale.
Also making it illegal to sell would not solve anything as their already is a black market available.
dutch
http://fourcornerslife.blogspot.com

 

[shedicated]

I have been hunting sheds for about 30 years. I hunt sheds in Id, Ut, nev, and Wyo, the biggest problem I run into is atvs and snowmobiles I have always been about the hike. nowadays you see atv tracks going right around the NO MOTORISED VEHICLES signs crossing back and forth through the sage and cedar trees. I understand trying to regulate the sport but before making new laws enforce the ones already there. I personaly don't hunt sheds for the money but it's nice to get a little money at the end of the season for the non-keepers. If they close areas to all access then what about the guys calling coyotes or taking the kids on a rabbit hunt? should they be punished for a few jacka$$es. I don't no what the solution is but as it has been stated only the honest will be affected.

 

[Triple_BB]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-09 AT 07:21PM (MST)[p]I'm all for it and wrote a letter right after the Star Trib article came out supporting the seasonal ban. If such rules aren't effective enough, then I'd say they need to start stiffening the penalties. No different than poaching. They enacted certain laws to curb poaching. Unfortunately they weren't curtailing the problem as hoped so they changed the fines a number of years back to include taking yer truck, yer guns, blah, blah, blah. The current poaching laws still aren't stiff enough as far as I'm concerned. They need to be able to throw some of these idiots in the state pen. No different than shed hunting. Start confiscating their wheelers and sleds and you'll see a big drop in violations. It'll take a few years to determine whether the proposed fines are a deterent. If not keep cranking down. You'll never eliminate offenders same as with poaching, but if you make the punishment severe enough, you'll have some of these dumb bastages not likely to be repeat offenders...

 

[sneeke01]

They said that it will be illegal to pick up any sheds or horns from Jan 1st to May 1st in wyoming on the western side of the continental divide except the greater basin area.