RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

You can laugh all you want. There's no conflict here. I'd do ANYTHING to feed my family. Given the choice....yeah...I'd "steal from the state" (i.e. poach a deer) before I'd steal from an individual (steal his cow). But rest assured I'd do WHATEVER it took. I'll leave it that open-ended.....because I mean it.

Taking the chance of getting caught (fine) is real, I suppose.....but my neighbors have been poaching for years and years and nobody catches them. I'd take my chances.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Are you a poacher if you shoot a deer on a property you are allowed to hunt, thedeer crosses over to a property you don't have access to, yet you pursue the animal anyway?

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

But that isn't poaching. Thats survival.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

tell that to the govt. or the donner party. If you stuck in a cabin in a snow storm and you eat your buddy that is survival but it is also murder.
Though i do agree poaching would be the first law i broke to feed my family

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Tim, come on man! Some things are better left then said!!![>:]

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

No. Leave your bow behind and go find your animal. It's always best to let them know first, but if they deny you permission just call your game warden and he will help you recover your animal (or at least make sure the landowner backs off you). On the issue of poaching to feed my family??? YEP, in a heartbeat... But only if I hadNO other means of feeding them. In todays day and age that shouldn't happen much as most NEEDY people get assistance (foodstamps).

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

What if someone, not me,[:-]putt a deer down thats back was broken by a car,;)and did not tag it. That is poaching, not me,[:-]but the right thing to do. So....deer draging it's hind leg's what would you do? Use your only tag and check it in?[8D]

Yes, I thinkpoaching is justifable, SOMETIMES.:eek:

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RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Finally, I'm in 100% agreement with GMMAT!:D Who knows what this world is going to come to someday. I will shoot every dang deer out there to keep my little boys fed. Wouldn't even think twice about it.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I would poach a deer if my family and Iwere hungry. I can't imagine it happening and although the state makes the rules the lord will decideif I did right or wrong and I think he would side with me.

Of course if I got caught I should pay the full legal price. We are looking at the unemployment rate hitting 10% in the next few months. People who would have never shot a deer out of season may think about it.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Mostly no!

However I think the regulations that say "No using luminocks", "No Expanding Broadheads", and eightteen dollars a turkey tag in Oregon are dumb, and if I heard someone say they used Luminocks or Expandable Broadheads I wouldn't care.

IT'S NEVER ACCEPTABLE to shoot things out of season or too many of one thing!

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Its my god given right to eat, and I will .
Deer and other game animals are a natural renuable resource, given to you by the good lord. If your not religous, given to you by mother nature.
Its not poaching if its to survive.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

That's the best answer to this question one could ever post.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

When I was growing up, the state didn't have a system that they do now of donating a deer. Even road kill deer where gathered up and tossed into a deer dump. Family members of mine (distant) were on government assistance, but only gave enough for the essentials. (Bread, milk, eggs etc.) You get meat and you had no aid left. They would shot a deer out of season to provide meat on the table. They both worked, but the pay was so small that they only had enough money to pay the bills and that was it. Christmas time, if nobody bought there kids anything, they didn't get anything. In that type of situation, yes I would say poaching was ok. Now that the state has something in place to help out, then no, unless it is true survival like drhuntr said.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

What if you are tracking a deer you shot and wounded you find it beddedit is a gut shotand will take several hours to die? You find it at night and can get up on it with a bow or gun do you hold a light and finish it off because that is actually poaching but then it becomes a question of ethics. You made a bad shot should the deer suffer? Or do you make an exception and finish the deer off quickly?

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Just how scary is it that 30% of hunters say it's justifyable to poach. I keep reading stuff like "it's my god given right to feed my family" and other BS like that. The truth is, no one will ever starve in this country and you don't have to go out poaching to justify your need to illegally hunt. I'd say that 1 in 500 poachers actually get caught--it's an epidemic that needs to be addressed and we all need to be vigilant to help catch poachers by reporting them whenever we can. We've all been sitting in our stands and have heard high poweredrifle shots in the distanceand weknow that another nice buck that came out onto a field just bought itfrom some jackass poacher. I'll reportany poacher at the drop of a hat, no excuses.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Yes and all that I'm saying is thatas long as there's wild game my family will never starve to death.:D

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I would be happy to donate a deer to anyone that would like one everyone in my area knows that and I still do not get people to take me up on the offer. There are plenty of hunters out there that would be happy to donate a deer to someone in need. I dont think poaching is acceptable. I would like some thoughts on my earlier post

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I voted no, but meant yes. If someone needs the meat, I don't care.

Legality does not equal morality.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I actually used to know a guy that would pull up into a feild with his .22 and shoot deer for the meat. Would just shoot them right out of the truck. He has no job. I feel like it is justifiable in that case. AS LONG AS IT IS NOT HARMING OR PUTTING ANYONE IN DANGER. I'm not even sure if you would call what he was doing poaching, but still.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I know of a few families that are so poor they do it to survive they don't even have enough money for gas in their cars to get them to town to get the assistance they deserve. They never complain about not having money or all the ammenities that most the rest of the world has they would help anyone anytime anywhere. They also never shoot more than they need use it all and never take the big trophy bucks. For these families it is acceptable in my mind. I am sorry if you dont agree but to each his own.

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

Not Ever !!!!!!!!!!!

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

NO!

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

they are just bad hunters so they have to poach like mossbergman11

RE: is poaching ever justifiable?
 

I believe there are two different situations being discussed.
Poaching for the fun of it, or bc you can't get one the legal way - absolutely not.
If you have to feed your family , that's a different story.
If you need food, I'll give you my deer.

Absolutely.
 

The question is self evident in one sense. If you are asking "legally" justifiable, then that too would be self evident (though I don't believe that was the spirit of the question).

If it is worth it to you to pay the potential price, and your family is in danger of becoming malnourished (notice I did not say starving, I do not think any question of morality should impare ones ability to feed his family to the point of survival.), then absolutely it is justifiable (in the moral sense), as would be, the act of stealing food, illegal foraging, etc.

Ask no man this question, ask it of your God, yourself, your wife, your children. Then decide and face the results of your decision.

No it is not justifiable. We have a welfare system in this country that will provide food for families. I really get sick of hearing people say they have no problem so long as someone is feeding their family with the meat which is utter nonsense. Poachers are staling from hones law abiding hunters. Funny thing, most of the poachers I have run across and prosecuted were killing buck, or a 2nd buck. Do not try to justify an unnecessary and unlawful act! Of course if they get caught and many do, in my state the penalty is at least $800.00 dollars and it is higher in other states. Anyone who attempts to rationalize that poaching is ok is trying to justify abject stupidity.