CO Tresspass Laws

[Thing]

If it is not written in black and white as you state, Then it is not the law. All laws are written.Passed through the justice system. To think otherwise is foolish.

 

[longcruise]

I do believe you will not agree on this even if you see it in black and white. AS you stated I may not get a correct answer from DOW. But I do know case law . Your belief would allow a CO to enter anyones property under the PRETEXT of a wounded game animal. Would a reasonable jury of people think that this was a reasonable act by the CO. I highly doubt it.

Maybe you are losing track of who you are responding too.

I stated pretty much the same thing when I said:

I'm not sure what authority a CWO would have to enter property without permission. It would not seem to fall under "probable cause" of a law being broken. The above says that hunters are not to enter private property without permission. It does not say that a property owner is legally obligated to let a hunter enter their property to recover game even though it is unlawful to fail to prepare the meat for human consumption.

I did take a short cruise through the statutes I linked to and it seems to boil down to the statute giving the DOW the authority under law to regulate hunting. Therefore, their regulations have the force of law.

I'm interested in seeing what you are told when you phone for the answer. I have known of some incorrect information to have been given to callers in the past. Should be pretty easy for them to get this right though.

 

[longcruise]

OTOH, I'm pretty sure that a CWO who happened to observe a blatant breaking of game laws from outside a private property would be legally justified in entering that property to address the lawbreaker, be it owner, trespasser or non-owner hunting with permission. Sorta like an officer driving through a neighborhood and seeing through a window that someone has just shot somebody.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Any Peace Officer, which includes Game Wardens, that witnesses an offense in plain view can take due course, private property or public, misdemeanor or felony.

 

[Dave K]

* Quote:

Just to be sure. I have contacted the DOW in Co. Have requested the statute for this No waste law.

I maybe wrong, but I would be sure that the "no waste law" also refers to any hunter to not leave the edible animal in the field after salvaging the antlers/horns/hide. No ethical hunter should just take the trophy part, without taking the meat.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

* Quote:

Just to be sure. I have contacted the DOW in Co. Have requested the statute for this No waste law.

I maybe wrong, but I would be sure that the "no waste law" also refers to any hunter to not leave the edible animal in the field after salvaging the antlers/horns/hide. No ethical hunter should just take the trophy part, without taking the meat.

You will get busted for not taking the meat here.

 

[Dave K]

That is what I was hoping I said. You can't just take the horns,antlers,hide,skull, you have to take the meat as well. But, of course this does not refer to going on to someone elses land without permission.

 

[Thing]

were not talking about violations or law breaking here.. Entering private property to trail a wounded game animal is the subject. There is a difference.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

That is what I was hoping I said. You can't just take the horns,antlers,hide,skull, you have to take the meat as well. But, of course this does not refer to going on to someone elses land without permission.

Well, you started by saying "I may be wrong". I was just confirming that you weren't.

 

[Thing]

My prior post states if there is hunting on that land the CO haas the authority to enter. Hunting, be it legal or illegal the authority to enter is permissable. But again we are talking about a wounded game animal wandering on to private land. Not shot or hunted on this private land. This make a huge difference.

Example--We had received a call regarding a lot of deer being shot (DOE) During buck season only. The informer stated they were hanging in this offenders garage. We entered this land and spoke to the owner .He denied these allegations. Meanwhile one of our CO's looked in the window of this garage and seen 5 deer hanging . We called for a search warrent. Confiscated the deer and issued summmons. The offender hired a lawyer almost immediately. Told of the officer looking into the window prior to the warrent being issued. WE LOST this case. Private PROPERTY ILLEGAL Search. Because the owner said NO.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

wow I missed a bunch of who dune it,
In CO it is your responsibility to know where private land is, a tresspassing offence can result in a fith degree felony( thanks cattle lobby)
No I don't think I am a foolish person because what I said I have seen personaly. A elk was shot by a client(not mine) it died on private land, my boss called the DOW and an officer contacted the land owner and explained that not harvesting a killed animal was a crime under CO fish and game law, the owner relented and the elk was harvested.
Hense
Grey area.
Not foolish to me.
:v

 

[Thing]

It has been an interesting post . I am done for now. I can see debating with civilian Philadelphia lawyers can get no where fast. But it has been interesting. I hope no offense has been taken. If I ever get and answer from Co DOW I will post it here.

 

[Thing]

I have made contact with a CO in co. As explained by the CO. The officer can go to the land owner where the wounded game animal has wandered . He can explain the no waste law as it applies to the HUNTER. If the land owners says no. Entry will not be allowed on his property. Then the officer will inform the hunter all reasonable attempts were made to harvest the animal. So no summons will be issued to this hunter. But with out permission the officer can not enter this land. Only if he deems something illegal occuring on This property can he enter. WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT OF THE NO WASTE LAW MAKING IT ILLEGAL FOR THE OWNER TO REFUSE. The reason I pursued this is because you state you are a hunter Ed. instructor part time when needed. You are incorrect in your teaching on this subject. Call your local CO and get the correct answer .

 

[longcruise]

Buck, we seem to continue to agree and you seem to not realize it!

Just for the benefit of the CO guys or those who intend to travel here to hunt, here is what the DOW has to say about this matter. Under the heading of IT’’S AGAINST THE LAW TO:, :This is item #11

"Fail to make a reasonable attempt to track and kill animals you wound or may have wounded. It is against the law to pursue wounded wildlife that goes on private property without first obtaining permission from landowner or person in charge"

Then we have item #12;

"Fail to prepare edible wildlife meat for human consumption. At a minimum, the four quarters, tenderloins and backstraps are edible meat. internal organs are not"

And then, item #16

"Kill and abandon big game. It is illegal to remove only the hide, antlers or other trophy parts and leave the carcass in the field. (Felony"

From a practical standpoint, by the time you pursue the process legally required of the hunter, the game could be easily spoiled. Who the owner or manager is can often be extremely difficult to ascertain in Colorado. A CWO might know who the owner is and then again might not! It could take many hours just to get a CWO on the scene to determine if he knows who the owner is. If he doesn't know, you are back at square one.

About ten years ago I shot a doe antelope about 30 minutes before dark of the last day of the season. The doe made an all out run for about 400 yards and then dropped never to twitch again. The last 200 yards was on the other side of fenced rangeland that was clearly posted. The nearest dwelling of any kind was at least six miles away! Was it the home of the property owner or??? I know what all the legal eagles and gods of ethics would tell me to do, but what I did was slide under the fence walked to the doe and dragged her back to public land. End of story!

 

[Thing]

SO YOU BROKE THE LAW. Entered private property without permission. Yes you salvaged the animal
but that does not excuse your trespassing.

 

[rabjr]

I'm sure thats done to often Marmetslayer but it still ain't right..you must go through the motions and do things right no matter how long it takes.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Once the wounded animal enters the owners property. The owner has possession. Is he now under the law to take the edible meat?

 

[John Wasmuth]

No, the land owner did not cause the incident in the first place, its the hunters responsability to make every attempt to reteive the animal, not the land owners. The land owner can not be charged in anyway, shape or form for any game violation he didnt have any thing to do with.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

What's the law if a land owner wounds an animal and doesn't look for it? Can the DOW go on their land then?

 

[John Wasmuth]

If a Game Warden or other Peace Officer sees that a violation has occurred in his presence he can act. Other wise he must conduct an investigation, gather evidence, interview witnesses, swear out affidavits, present them to a judge or justice of the peace in order to enter onto private property to further investigate a complaint. A game warden or peace officer has no special priveledge to tner onto private property unless he has knowledge that a crime or offense has occurred. But, any peace officer or game warden can not conduct "Fishing Expaditions", randemly search for some violation, with out resonable suspicion.

Now, its different if you are driving down the road and a deer hoof is clearly seen poking out of the back of the truck. That is prima Facia that there is clearly what appears to be a dead deer in the back of that truck and being as how it is in plain view the game warden, or peace officer, can in fact investigate further because of the plain view doctrine.

We can go on and on and on about what if? or Coulda, shoulda, woulda, but in the end it boils down to this: Unless you have prior permission to enter onto private property, and it should be writen permission, then you can not enter onto private property and NO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER CAN GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO ENTER ONTO PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR ANY REASON UNLESS THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IS THE OWNER OR THE OWNERS AGENT OF THE SAID PRIVATE PROPERTY. Pretty much the end.