Outfitter Responsibility Question?

[tallbuck1]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-15-16 AT 12:00PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jul-15-16 AT 11:58?AM (MST)

Okay Guys, I want to pose a question / scenario to you for your thoughts.

You are in an wilderness area with an outfitter and 3 other hunters. You are in 5 days and the weather is warm (85+).

On day 1 the four of you kill 5 bears. Tuesday morning since the bears were killed late in the evening on Monday night the hunters and guides go in to get them out. The rest of the day the meat and hides were put next to a river in the shade to keep cool and hung up.

Wednesday the hides were brought out and hung up for pictures and then loaded up horses for a 9 mile horse ride out. Then had to be checked in (teeth pulled) and paperwork done at a lodge that was contracted by the outfitter to keep the meat and hides in freezers until hunters come off the mountain.

Saturday coming off the mountain you arrive at the lodge ( NOTE: The lodge was not owned by the outfitter but a holding place that was contracted by the outfitter to held your meat and hides till you come off the mountain). Come to find out that the outfitter put them in the wrong freezer per where he was told by the manager of the lodge so the lodge moved them to an outside fridge that didn't have time to get cold enough to freeze the meat or hides solid and the freezer was partly in the sun in 95 degree temp.

Upon picking up the meat and hides you find smell an awful stench and the game bags are rancid from blow flies and rotten meat smell! the meat is not really frozen but soft and cold to the touch.

You get bags of ice and load up the coolers and making sure there is enough for the ride home. The next morning you show up at your butcher and taxi guy and he says the meat is spoiled and the hair is simply pulling off the hides with no effort and they are garbage.

So my question to you guys are:

1st. Should the outfitter be held liable for the wasted meat and hides that were going to be mounted and eaten?

2nd. What do you think would be a viable solution if you answered "yes" to question # 1. Another bear hunt next year? Refunded money?


Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate you help.

Tallbuck1

 

[2_Point]

They should have figured it out at the lodge. The meat was rotten before they even left and then put ice on rancid meat? Of course it is the outfitter's fault. Also the hunter's fault for putting garbage in a cooler and driving home with it without talking to the outfitter before leaving.

 

[Deerlove]

Plus one

 

[tallbuck1]

>They should have figured it out
>at the lodge. The
>meat was rotten before they
>even left and then put
>ice on rancid meat?
>Of course it is the
>outfitter's fault. Also the
>hunter's fault for putting garbage
>in a cooler and driving
>home with it without talking
>to the outfitter before leaving.
>



100% agreed. Hen-sight that way did screw the hunters in having faith that they would be good. Also, the owner of the outfitter was not around as he was on the mountain with other hunters in a different location.
Calling the taxi on the way home he made mention that they should be okay but he couldn't make any promises till he say the meat and hides in person.

Tallbuck1

 

[2_Point]

Were these first time hunters? Sounds like they have never handled meat or hides before. They knew what they had and asking for reassurance from a taxidermist who is 300 miles away makes no sense. They should have never left without talking to the outfitter or someone who worked for him. Hope the photos turn out.

 

[Denverhunter]

Lodge is responsible for at 70-80% of the damage.

Outfitter having overall responsibility to ensure everything was done properly should pay for the other 20-30% of the damage.

Doing the right thing won't be cheap for the lodge or outfitter, but it will be better than having to go to small claims court which will tack on court costs. Not to mention 5 guys bad mouthing their businesses all over the internet if they don't make it right.

Don't let them try to play the blame game.

 

[TOPGUN]

>Lodge is responsible for at 70-80%
>of the damage.
>
>Outfitter having overall responsibility to ensure
>everything was done properly should
>pay for the other 20-30%
>of the damage.
>
>Doing the right thing won't be
>cheap for the lodge or
>outfitter, but it will be
>better than having to go
>to small claims court which
>will tack on court costs.
> Not to mention 5
>guys bad mouthing their businesses
>all over the internet if
>they don't make it right.
>
>
>Don't let them try to play
>the blame game.


It was up to the outfitter to take care of the meat and hides for his hunters. He had the contract with the Lodge and it's up to them to decide which one or whether both are at fault and to what extent. The hunters shouldn't have taken anything with them if it was in the poor, unusable condition mentioned, but that's water over the dam. Talk to the outfitter and ask for a refund for the hunt or another hunt for everyone at his expense and give a reasonable time for him to get back to you with his decision or advise him the incident will go on the internet with names mentioned. That should get his attention and get the situation rectified if he is worth his salt and if he's not go through with plastering it all over the net. You may not get any restitution because even if it went to small claims court and you win the court can't make him pay you anything. Cross your fingers and see what happens, but there is nothing that can be done against the Lodge since the hunters didn't have the contract with them, the outfitter did.

 

[hossblur]

So you killed an animal on Monday evening, in 95 degree heat, and left it until Wed? I was spoiled before you put in on a horse. In the shade by a creek in this heat was what 70-75 degrees? The mtns are full of flies. Ulitimately your responsible IMO. Might not hurt to talk to the outfitter, as a business owner I find people talk to everyone and there grandmother before they talk to me.

Its your tag on that animal at the end of the day.


"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

[TOPGUN]

>So you killed an animal on
>Monday evening, in 95 degree
>heat, and left it until
>Wed? I was spoiled
>before you put in on
>a horse. In the
>shade by a creek in
>this heat was what 70-75
>degrees? The mtns are
>full of flies. Ulitimately
>your responsible IMO. Might
>not hurt to talk to
>the outfitter, as a business
>owner I find people talk
>to everyone and there grandmother
>before they talk to me.
>Its your tag on that animal
>at the end of the
>day.


I've never heard of an outfitted/guided hunt where the hunter was responsible to get the animal out to a processor. I would agree that the hunters should have been smart enough even if the outfitter wasn't to tell him to take everything out ASAP no matter what time of the day or night it had to be done to avoid what happened. However, if it was a fully guided hunt like the OP said it was IMHO it was the outfitter or his personnel that are to blame and, therefore, he should make good with a refund or another hunt. JMO, but it's based on 30 years of consumer protection background that I have. If the outfitter doesn't make good, he'll probably wish he had if this goes all over the internet.

 

[mntnguide]

Have you talked to the outfitter yet? How long ago was the hunt?....The outfitter should have been called immediately upon the taxidermists decision of the condition of the hides. If hes a good outfitter, he will try to make it right via another hunt etc...but at the same time he got screwed by the lodge it sounds like which was somewhat out of his control. The fact is, You ALL killed and tagged the animal you were there to hunt. Its not like the hunt was a bust and you didnt kill. It is a bad situation all around im sure. You lost your capes, but you did punch a tag. Thats where its gonna get a little sticky with coming to a conclusion. If you havent talked to the outfitter yet, You better be making a call immediately, because it doesnt look good if months go by, then the outfitter gets a call telling him this whole situation way after the fact of what happened.

 

[tallbuck1]

>Have you talked to the outfitter
>yet? How long ago was
>the hunt?....The outfitter should have
>been called immediately upon the
>taxidermists decision of the condition
>of the hides. If hes
>a good outfitter, he will
>try to make it right
>via another hunt etc...but at
>the same time he got
>screwed by the lodge it
>sounds like which was somewhat
>out of his control. The
>fact is, You ALL killed
>and tagged the animal you
>were there to hunt. Its
>not like the hunt was
>a bust and you didnt
>kill. It is a bad
>situation all around im sure.
>You lost your capes, but
>you did punch a tag.
>Thats where its gonna get
>a little sticky with coming
>to a conclusion. If you
>havent talked to the outfitter
>yet, You better be making
>a call immediately, because it
>doesnt look good if months
>go by, then the outfitter
>gets a call telling him
>this whole situation way after
>the fact of what happened.
>


Thanks everyone for your thoughts and insight.

Yes the guides were contacted and was they were asked about how to get a hold of the owner. He was guiding another group of hunters and was unavailable. He was going to be on the mountain until the end of the season. he was called and called. There was many a voicemail call left.

He finally called back and was going to collect other info from the guides and lodge and then be on vacation for a week and then call the hunters back.

They are waiting to hear back from him.



Tallbuck1

 

[TOPGUN]

Good luck and please let us know what happens from hereon and let's hope the situation is properly rectified in a timely fashion by the outfitter.