I understand your point of view, but crop damage from animals isn't the only problem.....
So for a farmer to be eligible for a subsidy for crop damage from animals he should have to allow hunting? So then unlimited hunters have free reign on his land to go hunting. Now some, not all, but some hunters cause damage to his crops as well, or leave ruts that the farmer has to deal with, as well as other damage that may occur. Who's responsible for that? The hunters should be held responsible, right? What if they're not caught? How do you know who did it? Sounds to me that there should be a government subsidy for property damage caused by hunters since the government made it a stipulation that they have to be allowed access.
It is what it is, why change it? Hunt crown land, hunt land that you gain permission to hunt on (there's lots of land owners that don't say no to anybody), or buy some land for yourself. You can rent it out to a farmer if it's agricultural land, or keep it specifically for hunting. There's a lot of options for hunters, but this whole idea of forcing farmers to allow access due to government programs is BS.
A landowner should not be obligated to open his land up to every hunter in order to get the subsidy. But for crop damage if there is an obvious preventitive measure which can be taken, it should be. If a landowner has demonstrated that he is accomodating these alternative options he should get the subidy. Each individual case would be examined to determine reasonable accomodation. In some cases, hunting may not be possible, but there are definitely places out there where a few responsible hunters would go along way to prevent damage claims. It should be up to the landowner to show due diligence in preventing crop damage.
I don't suggest changing the rules regarding permission, and a landowner still should be responsible for ensuring he knows the identity of people accessing his property legally (incase something is damaged).
This issue isn't about finding areas to hunt. There is tons of crown land and private landowners which permit. The issue is whether or not we should subsidize landowners who have a demonstrated preventitive measure they can use but fail to do so.
Keep in mind the vast majority of hunters are honest and good people.






























It is also likely that I wouldn't kick a farmer in the nuts for asking me for directions to the nearest suspenders store





















