responsible hunting and four wheeling

A Solution to Trespassing?

      Although it is more appropriate to 4 wheelers than hunters, still it could be equally applied to both. Ignorance is not a valid legal excuse for anything, including trespassing and hunting, two of my most famous scourges that haunt farmers and landowners and irks me to no end , even in my sleep. A means to keep people where they belong, like off your property, and to also avoid hunting on your property when you don’t really want them there, is always a problem , especially where the law is concerned. According to what I was told you have to post your property with no trespassing and hunting signs regardless whether the trespasser knows he is trespassing or not.

     It would seem to me that if you never bought the property in question, and it is your first time there, it should be pretty clear cut that if you have no authorization to be there, you are trespassing. Not so, according to the state of Ohio, that states you must deface your property every 150 feet of property line, with a sign that specifically states you forbid trespassing. Why should anyone have to deface their land or trees to post a sign to keep the idiots out? It is ridiculous.

     Their defense being is that one may not know where one property line ends and another begins. This is crap. It is kinda like saying I didn’t know the gun was loaded but I shot someone as an analogy. Only in this case you would be found guilty of an offense, as the courts see injuries against humans as less defensible than if it is against nature. There is no excuse for not knowing the gun was loaded, you should have never pointed it at someone. The mere act of pointing a gun is likened to intent to kill. So how is that any different than a hunter hunting illegally on your property? He has intent to kill your game, to trespass to do it, knowing full well he has no right to be there. Ignorance of the law is said to never be an excuse, but when it happens to a landowner it is ok if he didn’t have signs posted to warn people.

     This also puts landowners at odds with their neighbors as the posting of signs stating limits is a double edged sword. A friendly neighbor is suddenly put to task of staying put and is forced to observe limits as well as all strangers. Also he is forced to obligate and post his own signs stating his limits. ‘Signs, signs, everywhere a sign’ are the lyrics from a song I remember and are fitting here. . Even in the rural outreaches of America we are forced to depend on signs to tell us where we should and shouldn’t be. How about if we take the ignorance factor out of the proof and say that anyone caught where they shouldn’t be is guilty of trespassing and any damages caused by their trespassing should be compensated to the landowner including time taken to prosecute. This would be much more of a deterrent than simply posting signs everywhere and environmentally damaging our environment from an aesthetic and a physical means.

    Meaning if you are somewhere you shouldn’t be, and you were not born and raised there and have never been out in the real world, then burden of proof is on the trespasser and not the person who trespasses whether through ignorance or any excusable means of defense. Let’s assume all property is not yours unless you have bought and paid for it, and then paid the taxes and liability required to keep it. If you steal someone’s gun then surely you would go to jail, saying you didn’t know it was theirs is not an excuse, finding a pile of money is not a defense if you are caught with it. If you did nothing to earn it, or if you have no receipt for the gun , then you could be liable for theft if you are caught with either.

    So how is that any different than trespassing? If you trespass against someone you are invading their right to privacy. If in a city you look in someone’s windows from just outside the house, then this will land you in jail. So invading someone’s property is any different. How would I know what your intentions are if you are trespassing? Because my family owns a farm does that mean you are suddenly exempt from trespassing, because I had no signs up to keep people out. To me you are guilty because you knew you didn’t own the property and it is your right and not mine to know what limits are imposed on you before you go exploring and where those lines are supposed to be. Ignorance is no excuse for not knowing where you are supposed to be. I suppose if you are mentally incapable then I might cut someone some slack. But then I hope you are not riding a four wheeler or carrying a firearm if that is the case.

     I had a dream, actually I did have a dream last night of about 4 four wheelers that was riding on the farm, and they were real nice waving at me as I worked down over the hill watching them go back and forth over my land having fun till I confronted them by taking the tractor and chasing them down, and motioning them in a friendly way around for a chat. Immediately I took pictures of their location as they sat there on their four wheelers before I started a conversation. I asked them if they knew they were trespassing.

    Of course I received the age old excuse. My neighbor said it was ok to ride on my property. Doubt if my neighbor had the authority to give anyone authority to ride on my property and knowing my views on trespassing, my neighbor learned long ago it wasn’t right. So their next excuse was they used to ride there. Well that doesn’t make it right either. So I asked them to pay for riding. They said they didn’t know they had to. I asked if they have land and where they live. Most were from the city, not owning any land or a place to ride. I asked if they owned the four-wheeler they were on, and of course they did. So I asked just where you thought you were going to ride that thing. If they were going to an ATV park they would have to pay , so why shouldn’t they pay for the privilege of riding on my land and ruining my ecosystem?

      They again paid ignorance its due reward but offered me no compensation. At this point I asked if they were prepared to tell the sheriff their story because I was filing for trespassing and damages to my property. I have pictures of them clearly where they shouldn’t be. They had no authorization to be there. And they caused damages to my hayfield. I think the latter is the most important part, and that is to show damages caused by running four wheelers over the land. To run a four wheeler over a hayfield lays hay down that can’t be picked up by mowing equipment and leaves a portion of the crop on the field. At that point where I confronted them they were clearly well beyond property limits and on my land. This can be defined quite clearly from the pictures I took as well as the faces involved and the equipment they were riding on. Surely enough proof to prove trespassing and damages.

     To law enforcement, they see this as a victimless crime and really don’t want to prosecute. It still is part of their duty as much as it would be to arrest someone in the city for trespassing on an old factory site, although it is bent grass it is still a crime in my eyes. It cost money seed and fertilizer to plant a field of hay as well as what was lost due to crop damage. What if it was ginseng plantings they were running over, the degree of damage is the same regardless of my use of the land. Again ignorance is not an excuse.

     The same goes for the hunter who strays on to my land and takes game. He owned no land but instead was a friend of the neighbor and ventured on to my land and shot deer. How would he know I had been watching that deer to kill for myself and my family? Because he was ignorant of the property lines, does that make him less liable to compensating me for my deer? Why should my family starve because he is ignorant and why shouldn’t he compensate me. It cost money to feed a family and that deer would have went a long way to saving me money.

      Who would buy a firearm or a four wheeler who had no intentions of owning land to shoot it on, but relied on others to provide them a place to discharge that weapon or ride that four-wheeler and cause damage to the environment? If he was going to an ATV park and ride he would have to pay, if he was going to a shooting range he would have to pay, then why shouldn’t he have to pay for damaging my land? The areas where they rode their four-wheelers will need to be reseeded.  As well as with the hunter, my ability to have an organic certification is possibly called into question as a result of lead poisoning as a result of the hunting incident. As well I have lost a potential source of food that I was never compensated for. How much is that worth. According to Bureau of Wildlife management, it is worth millions to hunters to be allowed to hunt. Then the cost would be the same to farmers by the same token.

    What is good for one should be good for both. Responsibility for hunting and four wheeling should be the owner to make sound judgment decisions in knowing, exactly where, and where not they should be hunting at all times. Trespassing for lack of signage is never an excuse. If they feel it is the case, because of tracking an injured deer or whatever. Still permission should be acquired before entering an unauthorized property, if not be prepared to accept the consequences.