What do you do with trespassers?

Many Trespass Acts were created because it was not the business of the Conservation and Hunting staff within the Government.
Posted or not, private property is private and he requires permission to enter onto that property which is not his own!
You live in a small town and it is you who have to live there. The truth will never hurt you but the lies can. What goes in one ear comes out many mouths.
Rarely will you win a "Pi$$ing" contest with a skunk. If he claims ignorance in regards to the signs he will also be ignorant as to the ownership of a deer shot without permission.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong. But I would think that unless you know the land is crown. Don't you have to ask for permission whether it is posted or not posted? At least that's how I always looked at it.
 
Tough one. The guys that are all gung ho to hang the trespasser on the spot are, no doubt, all above reproach. Probably if you made it clear to the fellow that he was, indeed, on posted land, and made sure he knew you weren't happy to find him there, you've accomplished as much as you can.

Three of us were out and about one day and managed to down a deer just into a bush. While two of us were in the bush dealing with the deer, a truck comes along and lights into the third fellow who was at our truck. It turned out that the land was posted and all three of us had missed the sign. A couple of days went by and I was able to find out who the owner was. I phoned him and said I was coming out to apologize in person. He welcomed me into his home and we had coffee and cake, and a real good visit. He assured me that it was alright to hunt there, but that he had put up the signs to keep the "hunters" out when the crop was still out. It was one of his sons who had reamed out our man at the road.

Later, when Christmas rolled around, I stopped in to wish him and his family a merry Christmas, he gave me a smoked pork roast and a chicken! I've always remembered how gracious that man was, and hope I would be the same way. I did have land posted "No Hunting" at one time, but gave anyone who asked permission. Other guys hunted in there too, but I wasn't going to get worked up over it.
 
Perhaps...
Ask to have a word with him with one witness present. Calmy tell him " We both know what you did to avoid driving past my 'no trespassing signs', but we live in a small town and should be able to get along. I need you to promise me that you'll never set foot on my land again - whether its posted or not. If you agree, and refrain from whining about it or bad-mouthing me, then I agree to let the matter end right here. Otherwise, I'll need to charge you with trespassing. Do we have a deal?"
I expect he'll want to 'shake on it'. Ask the witness what his/her understanding of the deal is for both of your benefits, and ask the witness to keep the agreement confidential (they probably won't - but no big deal) - and be done with it.
You've accepted his word to stay off your land, so his honour is somewhat intact, and a witness has repeated the deal, so there's little potential for a future 'misunderstanding'. You've stood up for yourself and taken a mature approach. The cops can attend to their coffee!
 
bearkilr said:
There was a lengthy thread about this a short while ago. Regardless of what page 15 of the wildlife act states, it is my understanding that it's still not illegal to hunt private land in SK which isn't posted. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Seems it is illegal and carries a fine of up to $100,000

Offences and penalties - Part IV
74(1) Any person who contravenes a provision of Part IV or the regulations with
respect to wildlife for which no monetary penalty is specified is guilty of an offence
and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $100,000.
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Here is the Sask trespass info:

Trespass prohibited
3(1) Without the consent of the occupier of a premises, no person who is not acting
under a right or authority conferred by law shall:
(a) enter in or on the premises when entry is prohibited pursuant to this Act;
(b) engage in an activity in or on the premises if that activity is prohibited by
this Act;
(c) after being requested either orally or in writing by the occupier to leave
the premises, fail to leave the premises as soon as is practicable;
(d) after being requested either orally or in writing by the occupier to stop
engaging in an activity in or on the premises, fail to stop the activity as soon as
is practicable;
(e) after leaving the premises pursuant to a request to do so made pursuant
to this Act, re-enter the premises; or
(f) after discontinuing an activity pursuant to a request to do so made
pursuant to this Act, resume the activity in or on the premises.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the onus rests on the defendant to prove, on
a balance of probabilities, that he or she had the consent of the occupier to enter in
or on the premises or to engage in the activity in or on the premises.
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Prohibition of entry
8(1) Entry in or on premises may be prohibited by a notice given in accordance
with section 11.
(2) Entry in or on any enclosed land is prohibited whether or not any notice is
given pursuant to section 11 with respect to that enclosed land.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, there is a presumption that access for lawful
purposes is not prohibited to the door of a building on premises by means
apparently provided and used for the purpose of access.
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If he is opening gates, he is trespassing and breaking the law.

Method of giving notice
11(1) A notice pursuant to this Act may be given:
(a) orally or in writing;
(b) by means of signs posted so that a sign is clearly visible in daylight under
normal conditions from the approach to each ordinary point of access to the
premises to which the notice applies; or
(c) by any other means prescribed in the regulations.
(2) Substantial compliance with clause (1)(b) or (c) is sufficient notice.
(3) A sign that is posted in accordance with clause (1)(b) is sufficient for the
purpose of giving notice that an activity is prohibited if the sign:
(a) names that activity and has an oblique line drawn through the name of
the activity; or
(b) shows a graphic representation of that activity and has an oblique line
drawn through that representation.
(4) A notice given pursuant to this section may relate to all or part of any premises
and different notices may be given or posted in relation to different parts of any
premises.
(5) No person, other than the occupier, shall remove, alter or deface signs posted
for the purposes of this section.
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And if the signs you did post we at all the ordinary points of access, he may have been breaking the law while in your field.

http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/T20-2.pdf

Shawn
 
WASNTME said:
The guy who shot the deer had no permission to hunt. He has never had permission before either.
I do know who he is, but just because I live in a small town and we are similar ages. I am mad he shot a good buck.
Maybe I will get drawn next year and the same buck would have been bigger, or someone who I am friends with could have had it.
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Sounds like you should go get that deer, and offer him a deal...

DEAL IS - he keeps the shoulder-mounted head, and you keep the meat. He also has to use his tag.

If he doesn't accept the deal, report him for trespassing & poaching your deer...
 
You should have waited and watch him burn his tag then shot one of the antlers off

No need for the meat to go waste

No need for a jerk to have a trophy
 
If the guy broke the law and pissed you off, charge him plain and simple. Im sorry but I always hear farmers complain, (my dad who farms in Manitoba as well) about tresspassers but you guys do nothing about it. Maybe a few charges to these clowns that have no respect for property would change things a bit.
Last year my dad found a bunch of Americans on his property shooting Geese, his neighbor is an outfitter and just let then hunt on land where we have a big slough, he was mad but didnt do anything about it...DO SOMETHING

Cheers!!
 
we have the same problem with hunters in my area trespassing on private land . for myself i have never turned down some one who asked to hunt but i am less than polite when i catch someone hunting and driving over fields were they have no permission.it reminds me of a local farmer who had a fellow from town hop the fence and pick wild mushrooms as the farmer was picking also. that fall the farmer takes a shovel and goes to town and starts digging potatoes in the guys garden.the town fellow was hopping mad as he got a taste of his own medicine.
 
In MB the law is the law, which states you must have written permission to enter onto private land to hunt. If it were here & my land, he'd be charged & ALL gates would be posted no trespassing/no hunting!!
 
Sounds to me like you are more upset about them harvesting a deer than about being there, aside from the fellow with permission bringing along somebody you did not expressly give permission to. I have to say your comments about "taking" the deer from them are IMO way off. I realize it was harvested on your land but that does not entitle you title to ownership of "crown" resources and I am sure you could be in hot water for confiscating a deer for which you are not the license holder. You could be charged with theft if the C.O saw fit. If the deer were a domestic deer that you owned it would be a different story but the deer being crown property belongs to the crown and they sell licenses for the taking of such, hence why you need a license as well to harvest them on your own property. The trespassing issue is a different issue altogether, yes you are perfectly within your right to do something about that. You had people on your land without permission who somehow skirted the posted areas and accessed it through unposted areas, which can create some grey area but the fellow you gave permission to obviously knew the layout and as such did wrong by skirting the signs to play dumb and get into a area you set as off limits. Report it as such and let the C.O's sort it out.
 
WASNTME said:
A friend is advising me to have him charged as a deterrent to others. I don't really want to do that, and he probably has me in that the gate wasn't posted.

So I ask the wisdom of CGN, what should I do? Report? Take the head (lol)? Let it go? FYI I posted both the unposted gates yesterday.
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Let crown counsel deal with charge approval - that part is not your problem. I find it reprehensible that folks just go onto your land. A fence, gate and cultivated land should make it VERY clear to everyone that it is private property - especially when there are signs posted on the fence.
 
coyotekiller82 said:
In MB the law is the law, which states you must have written permission to enter onto private land to hunt. If it were here & my land, he'd be charged & ALL gates would be posted no trespassing/no hunting!!
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You need permission, but it need not be written.

the spank said:
Sounds to me like you are more upset about them harvesting a deer than about being there, aside from the fellow with permission bringing along somebody you did not expressly give permission to. I have to say your comments about "taking" the deer from them are IMO way off. I realize it was harvested on your land but that does not entitle you title to ownership of "crown" resources and I am sure you could be in hot water for confiscating a deer for which you are not the license holder. You could be charged with theft if the C.O saw fit. If the deer were a domestic deer that you owned it would be a different story but the deer being crown property belongs to the crown and they sell licenses for the taking of such, hence why you need a license as well to harvest them on your own property. The trespassing issue is a different issue altogether, yes you are perfectly within your right to do something about that. You had people on your land without permission who somehow skirted the posted areas and accessed it through unposted areas, which can create some grey area but the fellow you gave permission to obviously knew the layout and as such did wrong by skirting the signs to play dumb and get into a area you set as off limits. Report it as such and let the C.O's sort it out.
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I think you misinterpreted the OP's post. None of the guys that were involved had permission, he only said he knew the one fellow.
 
the spank said:
Sounds to me like you are more upset about them harvesting a deer than about being there, aside from the fellow with permission bringing along somebody you did not expressly give permission to. I have to say your comments about "taking" the deer from them are IMO way off. I realize it was harvested on your land but that does not entitle you title to ownership of "crown" resources and I am sure you could be in hot water for confiscating a deer for which you are not the license holder. You could be charged with theft if the C.O saw fit. If the deer were a domestic deer that you owned it would be a different story but the deer being crown property belongs to the crown and they sell licenses for the taking of such, hence why you need a license as well to harvest them on your own property. The trespassing issue is a different issue altogether, yes you are perfectly within your right to do something about that. You had people on your land without permission who somehow skirted the posted areas and accessed it through unposted areas, which can create some grey area but the fellow you gave permission to obviously knew the layout and as such did wrong by skirting the signs to play dumb and get into a area you set as off limits. Report it as such and let the C.O's sort it out.
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Theft from who?
23(1) Subject to section 24, the property in all wildlife within Saskatchewan,
including any wildlife that has been unlawfully hunted, is vested in the Crown.
(2) No person shall acquire any right or property in any wildlife otherwise than in
accordance with this Act and the regulations.
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From the holder of the license who harvested the deer. I have seen it happen here in Ontario when some guys took a moose they did not shoot while the person who shot it went to get the rest of the party to tag the moose while they were party hunting. The guys figured a moose laying there in the bush without a tag was free for the taking but the fellow who shot it placed a piece of paper with his name on it inside the moose's mouth and when he told the C.O to open the mouth and he would find it in there the c.O did and charged the other fellows with theft.
 
bearkilr said:
You need permission, but it need not be written.



I think you misinterpreted the OP's post. None of the guys that were involved had permission, he only said he knew the one fellow.
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You are correct, I reread it. My mistake, I thought one of them had permission. Either way I would not stick my neck out and take the deer they harvested but I would call the MOE and have the trespass issue dealt with.
 
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