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That's right, someone has been hunting on our 35 acre property up north. Maybe that's what happens when you buy land and you can't live there full time right away.
Our neighbour, the cattle farmer, gave us a call a few days ago to report that he saw blood stains on our gravel driveway. He reckons that someone shot a deer and dragged it out under our gate. He also shared some horror stories of irresponsible hunters shooting livestock.
Farmer P. lost one of his Charolais cattle to a hunter's errant gun shot a few years ago. This year, he had to move his cattle from the pasture near the beaver pond because the duck hunters could be heard in the area. He warned us that during hunting season, you can't even walk out to the mailbox without wearing your hunter's orange vest and cap. We also heard that a local veterinarian's horse was shot, too!
The frustrating thing is that you can't do anything about it! The hunters are unseen and there's no way to hold them accountable! A farmer not only bears the financial loss, but also has to deal with the grief of losing an animal that he or she has spent a lot of time and care in raising.
This makes me feel angry and a bit scared, too. We will put up No Hunting signs, along with our No Trespassing signs, but unless we're there on the property, it will be impossible to enforce it. Plus, a hunter can shoot an animal without stepping foot on our land. They can hunt from the road or from the adjoining woods.
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| Our long driveway and front pastures |
Do you have any stories like this? Any trespassers hunting on your land without permission? Have you lost livestock or pets to a hunter's bullet? We're new to country living so this is culture shock to us! Please share your stories and advice!
P.S. We are certainly not against hunting! My son and I are looking forward to doing some deer and wild turkey hunting. But we want to protect our future livestock, as well as ourselves. We want to be the hunters, not the hunted!
UPDATE (November 28, 2012)
Thank you, everyone, for all your thoughts and advice. Let me tell you
the latest news: My farmer neighbour phoned us to say that last Saturday
in the wee hours, some drunken yahoos broke into some seasonal homes,
destroyed a mailbox, and SHOT and killed our neighbour's cow, who was
pregnant with twins--they were lost, too!!! What a senseless tragedy.
This dear man has put a chain and lock on our farm gate to try to
protect our property from intruders. So far, the Lord has protected us.
That's the update, for now :-(.
THIS POST WAS SHARED AT HOMESTEAD BARN HOP
8 comments:
Brenda,
We can't hunt from the road here in Minnesota and if we shoot a deer it has to be on property that we have permission to hunt on. If that animal is wounded and goes onto someone else's property, we need to get permission from the property owner to track it. I don't know if these are actually laws, but it's how everyone around here hunts. Most of the hunters are very nice, ask permission and even share their game with us. Sorry to hear about the hunters on your land. A few bad apples can spoil it for everyone.
Rhonda
Rhonda, we have the same rules up here in Ontario. But if they think the land is unoccupied, how hard are they going to look to get permission. Brenda is really out in the hills and I hate to say it but there is still a lot of 'hillbilly' attitude out that way.
Living there full time and some no hunting signs will go a long way.
Just today one of the locals told us that their neighbor's 7 month old colt was shot by deer hunters, two young men from the city. Most of the time there isn't any trouble. When you are living on your land it will be better. People know when there isn't anyone living on a place and they take advantage of it.
Thanks, everyone, for your input. I can hardly wait to be on the land full time, for many reasons. Like you all said, it will make a difference once people know that we're living there.
It's so sad to hear of the little colt being shot! It sounds like those things happen too often :-(.
Hi, Yes it is sad about the miss use of our rights to hunt but once again it is a priveledge also.
But you may want to wear orange during hunting season when out on the land. Bettet to be safe.Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving:)
Blessings, Roxy
Visiting from the barnhop - Oh I feel the same way! We only have 6 acres but the neighbors still hunt I could easily get shot in such close range! of course if I do.. there will be a serious lawsuit and I most likely will end up with new neighbors. If the animal wanders on my land and dies - it is my responsibility (free meat for me :-) by our laws. Check the laws there with the fish game wildlife dept. I post no trespass/ hunt /fish /forage signs that include our last name and phone contact so they can contact us and know who owns the property. (maybe look into leasing it for hunts - you could make some cash in the off season). I have also been tempted on installing cameras to monitor the borders but, the expense is deterring. good luck!!!
Visiting from the Barn Hop. I think the laws (and enforcment levels) vary by state. In Wisconsin, most hunters respect No Trespassing signs, but even then the game wardens can't be everwhere so my friend's husband has to patrol their land. The hardest part is having to keep their six children inside for fear of them getting shot by a hunter while outside playing.
Hopefully being on your land full time will keep people from helping themselves.
Thank you, everyone, for all your thoughts and advice. Let me tell you the latest news: My farmer neighbour phoned us to say that last Saturday in the wee hours, some drunken idiots broke into some seasonal homes, destroyed a mailbox, and SHOT and killed our neighbour's cow, who was pregnant with twins--they were lost, too!!! What a senseless tragedy. This dear man has put a chain and lock on our farm gate to try to protect our property from intruders. So far, the Lord has protected us. That's the update, for now :-(.
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