Trespasser

Trespassers

Imagine for a moment that hunting is what you love to do, its actually one of your favorite ways to spend time with your family. Therefore when you get the chance you spend a great deal of money to purchase some land to do just that. You’re not rich by any means so you work hard to make ends meet and with Gods blessing you’re making it happen.

Not only are you spending your retirement money on land, you’re also spending agreat deal of work to make your property the best it can be. You have young grandkids coming up who love to go experience the hunt with their dad or papa.

Now imagine the images above of bright orange as they blatantly disrespect your wishes, cross the fence onto your property and steal the saftey you’ve did your best to insure for your family. I’m right at 50% this year regarding the percentage of hunts that have been interupted/effected by someone with no respect for property lines.

Some have happened in north MO and others have happened down in south MO. I along with my family are peace-loving, laid back and we generally get along with everyone we meet just as most landowners/farmers that I know. Yet the time has come for owners to begin to prosecute the blatant offenses as many times this is all that people understand. We had been asked by the 1st trespasser up north multiple times if he could hunt and he was always told “no” politely.

I see this as a respect issue, a moral issue, and maybe most of all a safety issue for all involved. When hunting with family we always know where each other are at all times. We don’t shoot at movement, but there is always the possibility of not seeing someone, especially if they’re not supposed to be there. In my case the trespasser walked about 120yrds from me and didn’t even see me.

Here are a few helpful tips. Keep a video camera with you if at all possible. I have great footage of most all of the trespassers. You can prosecute from the video footage if the suspect is recognizable. Trail cameras (especially infrared) are also great to catch someone slipping around.

While the suspect has to be caught in the act for a conservation agent to prosecute, this is not the case for the landowner. You can still prosecute – it’s hard to argue with photos or video. If they are on your land, call conservation agent immediately. If the agent does catch them in the act, this will make your job easier.

Hopefully this helps, it is sure making me feel better It has been a frustrating year in this regard, but I’m not losing sleep over it. This is the reality that we live in.

All we can do is work hard to keep our ground as safe as possible and most of all, get outside and enjoy the great outdoors with the ones that we love!