Lanse couche couche

I think that in terms of legal technicality and general philosophy the game is the property of the state. Someone who thinks that the deer is "mine," should see what happens if they decide to shoot "their" deer in mid-august without a permit.

If someone tresspassers on you and kills a deer, they committing two separate crimes. One against you as the property owner by crossing on to your land, and the other against the general public by unlawfully attempting to take a public resource in an illegal manner.

Troutman10

I would say that deer can't be possessed or owned unless the land owner has a ranch or hunting preserve where the animals can't escape. Deer travel large distances in my area in order to leave tough areas such as plateaus and mountains that get too much snow and cold temps to survive. These animals must travel large distances to get somewhere that is more cooperable for winter. If a deer is shot and puton the wall or in the freezer then it can be owned. That's just how I look at it. I guess it could also be looked at as the state one hunts in owns the fish & wildlife. If it wasn't for them having a season then we would all beS.O.L. Just a couple ways of looking at things.

Ryan Campbell

It depends on which state you live in as to who legally "Owns" the deer. In Texas the deer legally belong to the people of the state, as opposed to the state itself. This protects the state from liability when cars are destroyed from people hitting them.
The only way a you can own a deer in TX is if you have a breeders permit and you may then only own the deer you have registered as your breeders. If a random deer walks onto your place or gets into your breeder pen, you do not own him.
Most folks say "My deer" because most ranchers and farmers put out feed for them or take care of the habitat that the deer live in.
I've been guilty of saying "my deer" too. However, they are not truly mine. I can sell you the right to hunt on my place but the deer do not actually belong to me.

Rebel Hog

Same in FL.., butthat doesn't give a person the right to say the deer does not belong to you and come on your property and shoot it!

Now Hogs are a different thing in FL..If its on your property, it's the Land Owners Property!

kd7mh5

I believe that when the deer is onmy propertyI can say that they are "my deer". When the deer crosses into another property they are no longer my deer. Anything on my property belongs to me. If it is on someone elses property it no longer belongs to me. I know that someone cannot own a free ranging animal but when they are on my property I will say they are mine.

Phil from Maine

I believe that unless you raised them in a pen and kept them penned
up the deer belong to the public and protected under your state's laws.
Here if I shot a deer that ran into posted land I would have the right to
retreive it and retreive it only. If question by the authorities I would need
to show proof upon where it was shot. Hair, blood or any other info needed show the proof.

tj_cubin

i dont have a problem with someone saying "my deer", just as long as they realize that once "THEIR" deer leaves their property, i can and will try to harvest it to become MY deer.


reminds me of the debate on the beginning of Super Troopers when the stoner asks if you own the beach, and you own the sand on the beach, who owns the water?
"its god's water man!"

JagMagMan

I don't think its an issue of ownership, but trespassing on private land! Thats the issue. The deer belong to the people of the state, in most instances.

Anthony T.

Definetly an issue over land rather than deer.
Guys, deer are god's property unless you breed and feed them inside an unescapable fence. I have many deer on my land and they're on my property but they're not mine! Not once they jump the cattle fences. If I injure a deer and it jumps to my neibors land and falls and he shoots in the air and claims it, nothing I can do. The term "my deer" is only an expression in most cases, unless you do have them fenced and are raising them.

Bambeklr

This can be a very touchy subject. I once shot a deer on my hunting lease and it ran onto another persons property. My lease was alot bigger than the adjacent property and the other land owner was mad that we hunted the boundries. I tried to explain to him that it is a 15 foot tall cutover and we could only hunt the roads and edges. He wasnt hearing it. The deer crossed onto his property and I called him to ask permission so to not get into any trouble. He then told me I couldnt retrieve it and to stay off his land because I probably shot it on his property. On the way back from my truck I heard his four wheeler in the woods. He was searching for my deer. When he saw my light at the property line he raced towards me and started yelling at me. I got into a heated argument with him. I then thaught better of the situation and called the game warden. When the game warden called him he tried to say it was his deer. He took me with him to find my deer. But it wasnt there. The warden later found it in the mans pole building laying on the floor. I got my buck back and got to laugh in the mans face later. The warden looked at the blood trail and could clearly see that the trail started well into my lease. The deer traveled only 70yds on to his property and that is where you could see the flat spot in the leaves and all of the blood with foer wheeler tracks.