Law Enforcement and Hunting

grizzmoose · Oct 7, 2009

I read that post about the bear shooting in Alaska and I thought this question deserved its own post.

This is probably a total newbie question, but Ill ask it anyways. What kind of jurisdiction do city policemen, sheriffs, or highway patrolmen have when it comes to enforcing and issuing citation relative to hunting and fishing laws?

I would assume in most cases where they suspect the law has been violated they would cooperate with local F&G to issue a citation, but are they versed enough in hunting and fishing laws to detain you until F&G arrives? Do they have the right to detain you if they suspect you have violated these laws?

I know some of you guys are LEO's so chime in.

huntingjlc · Oct 8, 2009

I personally know one county sheriff in Utah that honestly thought the Fish and Game Proclamation was only a guide book and not law. He doesn't like F&G and he wouldn't do anything to someone who broke a "guide line". This guy is the actual sheriff, not a deputy. I know of another one that has been caught poaching/spotlighting while he was a deputy and is now a sheriff.
I guess my answer would be that they can help F&G but don't always do so. I know in the county that I live in, they do cooperate with each other but it is usually the F&G officers that would be called to take care of the matter.

Breacher · Oct 8, 2009

Grizzmoose,

Being in the law enforcement business can be very complicated at times when it comes to various laws like federal, state and local or municipal laws. I work for a city in Southern California where it is my primary responsibility to enforce laws. I am however a police officer anywhere in the state of California. If I was on a trip to another part of the state, I probably wouldnt want to do anything about a crime other than be a good witness unless I absolutely had to get involved.

When it comes to enforcing other laws like fish and game laws, generally we are a lot less informed in the area. Thats why we need fish and game wardens. Being a local police officer, I could enforce a fish and game violation if I knew more about those particular rules and regs. If I felt there was a crime committed and had reason to detain an individual until fish and game arrived, I would. Then let them figure it out. I have responded to calls where Border Patrol has detained a person for law violations they were unfamiliar with and asked for us to deal with the violation.

I read the article you are talking about. The way I understand it is this; Officers responded to the area regarding a traffic problem. They arrived and see that it is people stopped to look at a bear. No big deal but part of our responsibility is smooth flow of traffic. Somehow these "hunters" found out about it and went to fill their tag as soon as the bear crossed the road. If there was nothing illegal about the method of taking the bear, it would be an ethical decision. If I was there and knew there was no law violated, there isnt much you can do except question the hunters ethics just like the rest of the world now. Clearly it shocked the onlookers and wasnt the best decision the hunters could have made. See how it affects the rest of us. Thats my opinion.

grizzmoose · Oct 8, 2009

I actually dont have much of a problem with what the hunters did. I wouldnt do it myself, but it sounds like they didnt violate the law. The woman in the article obviously sounded pretty upset about the fact that the officers didnt do anything. I was just wondering if that was the case because they couldnt do anything, not because they didnt care.

Breacher · Oct 8, 2009

They may not of violated any laws if that is the case but why would you kill an animal in front of an audience. It doesnt sound like that woman was the only one who witnessed this.

That doesnt seem right to me. I personally feel this is a huge ethical decision. As hunters we dont go hunting because we wake up one morning and think, hey im going to go kill an animal today. We enjoy nature, the challenges of hunting, getting away from the stresses of life and the excitement of actually taking the animal. Those are my reasons and im sure some of you share the same feelings.

I also like to see wildlife in a setting where I am not hunting. If I was there, admiring the wildlife with or without my children and saw this happen, I think even as a hunter I would be somewhat disturbed.

It is my sense the world, USA especially is becoming more and more liberal when it comes to how people view hunting, gun ownership and a whole list of other things. Why as hunters would fuel the fire. Imagine if this incident was caught on video. The entire country would see it in a couple of days. People who dont like hunters whould hate us more. People who are neutral would start leaning to the left.

If those hunters were legal in every way, why not way until they were out of sight before harvesting their animal. In my mind I couldn't and wouldn't kill an animal in front of spectators even if it was legal. Does not seem right to me in the least. Just my opinion.

drannan · Oct 8, 2009

Like Breacher said, cops can enforce most criminal laws in the entire state that they work in. I can do that in all of Oregon. However, each time I pass into a different county, if I did enforce something, I would have to cite people into or book people into the correct county jail or court. It's a huge pain and not done very ofton. Procedures at each are totally different and if it went to court later you would have to go to that county court even if it was all the way across the state.

Most cops would never get involved off duty, and deffinatly not in a different area then where they work. (I would react anytime someone was in serious danger though!)

I also think it was a terrible choice to kill that bear with lots of people watching. I love killing animals but would never want to cause hunters to look bad. I think we can be our own worst enemies sometimes and it only takes a few hunters doing things like that to push enough neutral voters to vote against hunting issues that we need. It happened here in Oregon with baiting and hunting Lions with hounds, now we are paying for it dearly!

sremim · Oct 8, 2009

As mentioned, they can enforce laws anywhere in the state. It seems to me that it may be easier for a state officer to enforce laws in other areas than a city cop. Just as a G&F officer can stop and arrest someone for DUI, a regular cop can enforce game laws. Just a matter if they know what the law is.

RELH · Oct 8, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Oct-08-09 AT 10:33PM (MST)[p]Most city officers are not up on F&G laws due to the reason they very rarely encounter those type of violations. Sheriff dept. officers and state police that work in rural areas, where hunting is done, will normally be familar with game laws and will enforce them most of the time. The officer can arrest or write a citation. He can call in F&G if he feels they are needed for confiscation of a game animal carcass for evidence in a possible poaching case.

RELH