Do you pursue a wounded animal even if it means trespassing?

Last winter I noted some markers and footprints on trails in our bush lot. Break-ins are frequent in rural Ontario so we kept a heightened vigilance until a note arrived in the mail box. It was from a hunter who was bow hunting on an adjacent property, made a less than optimal shot and explained he was on our land trying to track the animal. He left his name and contact information, we exchanged emails and I assured him that I understood the situation and appreciated him leaving the note.

Had I spotted this guy on the property he would have been reported. I've done it before with trespassers and will do it again.

I'm of mixed views between the ethical obligation to pursue a wounded animal and the respect required for people's private property particularly because there is not universal support for hunting in our area. I've never been put in the position of having to decide.

What would you do if it happened to you? From either side of the equation.

I have caught guys trying to walk into one of our farms stating they are perusing a wounded animal - I always turn them around and tell them to contact the landowner BEFORE setting foot on his property.

We have hunted this area for the last 14 years and know the other hunters in the area and farms that do not allow hunting so it is easy to ask a couple of questions to see if they are being truthful - where are you hunting, who's farm are you hunting on, what direction was the animal traveling, when did you last see the animal?

Kudos to the guy for leaving the note. Obviously he tried to get permission. If we have a wounded animal go on property we have not gotten permission for, we always check and ask permission.

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Originally Posted by Badenoch

Last winter I noted some markers and footprints on trails in our bush lot. Break-ins are frequent in rural Ontario so we kept a heightened vigilance until a note arrived in the mail box. It was from a hunter who was bow hunting on an adjacent property, made a less than optimal shot and explained he was on our land trying to track the animal. He left his name and contact information, we exchanged emails and I assured him that I understood the situation and appreciated him leaving the note.

Had I spotted this guy on the property he would have been reported. I've done it before with trespassers and will do it again.

I'm of mixed views between the ethical obligation to pursue a wounded animal and the respect required for people's private property particularly because there is not universal support for hunting in our area. I've never been put in the position of having to decide.

What would you do if it happened to you? From either side of the equation.

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I would do exactly what the hunter did after attempting to contact with negative result and exactly what you did. It shows wisdom,common sense and decency. Win,win.

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Originally Posted by Badenoch

Last winter I noted some markers and footprints on trails in our bush lot. Break-ins are frequent in rural Ontario so we kept a heightened vigilance until a note arrived in the mail box. It was from a hunter who was bow hunting on an adjacent property, made a less than optimal shot and explained he was on our land trying to track the animal. He left his name and contact information, we exchanged emails and I assured him that I understood the situation and appreciated him leaving the note.

Had I spotted this guy on the property he would have been reported. I've done it before with trespassers and will do it again.

I'm of mixed views between the ethical obligation to pursue a wounded animal and the respect required for people's private property particularly because there is not universal support for hunting in our area. I've never been put in the position of having to decide.

What would you do if it happened to you? From either side of the equation.

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I think the problem with your scenario as you have explained it was that the hunter had already trespassed. Did he explain in his note that he had tried to contact you PRIOR to looking for the animal? If not I think this would have been the right thing to do. What he/she has done by leaving the note is to have covered their ----- in case of fall out, like getting caught on a trail camera.

With all that said its pretty hard to locate owners of some properties especially "on the day in question". A prudent hunter could always locate adjacent land owners PRIOR to the hunt season, suggest this could be a possible scenario in a bow hunt
and ask permission right then. If you get a written permission from the landowner to enter the land in that event so much the better.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

I think the problem with your scenario as you have explained it was that the hunter had already trespassed. Did he explain in his note that he had tried to contact you PRIOR to looking for the animal? If not I think this would have been the right thing to do. What he/she has done by leaving the note is to have covered their ----- in case of fall out, like getting caught on a trail camera.

With all that said its pretty hard to locate owners of some properties especially "on the day in question". A prudent hunter could always locate adjacent land owners PRIOR to the hunt season, suggest this could be a possible scenario in a bow hunt and ask permission right then. If you get a written permission from the landowner to enter the land in that event so much the better.

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What he did was the second best thing and I appreciate him making the effort. He was honest and upfront about what he did.

I'd be hesitant to give permission of any sort in advance as it might be interpreted as permission to hunt instead of just to retrieve wounded animals.

I have done this before. If there was someone to ask we would have. Nowhere nearby to knock at and no easy way to find landowner. Deer had a sparse blood trail and exited the property we where shotgun hunting. Trespassing Is a pretty small deal verses an unrecovered animal In my ethical opinion. I don’t ever trespass to hunt as it’s not ethical to me. However, if an animal is wounded and there is no one to ask permission of, my personal morals dictate that I attempt recovery even if it opens me up to other issues. Your morals and values may be different. As always in life, when people take a course of action, they must be prepared to deal with potential consequences. We certainly where.

If you are hunting a new property, it is important to know the property lines, whether they be fences, rivers or tree lines and hunt accordingly. Hunting 20 feet from the line of a 100 acre property might just end up with a deer crossing onto someone elses' property that they are hunting.
Knowing your neighbors beforehand is important and could save some legal issues down the road, as well might head off some uneccesary bad blood arising out of an avoidable altercation, especially if you ruin someones hunt.
In the end you are trespassing, even if in hot pursuit of a wounded animal, so try to get permission before the hunt if possible and hope you never need it.
You never know, you might be able to work together on drives or even end up with more land to hunt.
John

Impossible to answer the question, it would depend on many things at the time.

For those who want permission to pursue a wounded animal on an adjacent property what do you do if the landowner declines? Still go after it anyway?

There are times it is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.