Not a hunter but a question just crossed my mind

It really depends on the owner and location.

Owners in some locations I know, do not need a license to harvest an animal from his land for his own tasty pleasure.
They may be able to get their own snacks at will...
As soon as it turns comercial that's a different story .

But the owner probably won't be able to harvest a mountain lion just to get a trophy.

Yes 50100 acres is not an unusual ranch size. I know of one ranch that spans counties and US highway pass through it. Some of the county roads on the ranch, speeds are enforced by the ranch... And when a person gets a 500$ bill in the mail for speeding on the ranch, people are quite surprised... I've drifted...,

So, in Texas a land owner or his AGENT are exempt from hunting regulations.
People have argued with me over this, but it's true weather you believe it or not. I've hunted as an AGENT many times. Mostly for pig and coyote. Guess what, I didn't need a license. Now someone looking to hunt for recreation, need a license. There's a fine line, don't cross it lol.
 
So, in Texas a land owner or his AGENT are exempt from hunting regulations.
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So you are saying that they are exempt from ALL hunting regulations like seasons and bag limits? or are you just talking about a hunting license?
 
But, they still have authority above regular law enforcement
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um, no they really don't. they are state law enforcement officers. they have the same authority as any other state certified and sworn law enforcement officer. just because they enforce federal fish and wildlife laws does not mean they have more authority than any other officer. any joe blow city cop can run you in for murder, which is a federal offense, same applies elsewhere. game wardens still have to get land owner permission to police their properties, unless they witness the attempting commitment of a crime, and can not execute searches without a warrant.
 
any joe blow city cop can run you in for murder, which is a federal offense
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Murder is only a Federal offense when it happens on Federal property or involves crossing state lines

That applies to most every crime
 
um, no they really don't.
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Did you read the link ?


However, neither case requires the officer who wishes to conduct an inspection stop to have any suspicion that the individual may have committed a criminal offense. This is obviously different from the typical "Terry stop" which requires at least reasonable suspicion.
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In general, but for a few exceptions, any hunting in Texas requires the basic license. Game animals, varmints and ferals.

Game animals are primarily deer, antelope and in the Panhandle, aoudad.

In SW Texas, aoudad are still legally feral, as are all elk. Native Texas elk are extinct. Landowners can charge an arm and a leg to allow an elk hunt on their land. These elk are descendants of imports from New Mexico or Colorado.

No restrictions on non-commercial hunting of predators or varmints. Coyotes, cougars, foxes, bobcats, badgers, etc. Sale of furs requires a license.

Game wardens can enter rural land without a warrant. I'm dubious that they could enter a house without probable cause and a warrant.
 
Only time Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries agents have been on my property is for poachers. My property's posted every 100 feet with" NO Hunting or Trapping" signs, hell I don't even hunt on my own property. So basically the only time they've been here is when I've called them.
 
Murder is only a Federal offense when it happens on Federal property or involves crossing state lines
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I'm not certain, but I think the Feds also step in if the murder is of a federal employee in the performance of their duties.

I recall hearing something about how killing a Federal Poultry Inspector is a crime, over and above mere murder of a citizen. Perhaps someone else knows more about that kind of thing?
 
I'm not certain, but I think the Feds also step in if the murder is of a federal employee in the performance of their duties.
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That's probably correct.

My main point was "murder" is generally a state offense under most circumstances

Many game law violations are also Federal offenses if they involve migratory birds
 
not a hunter

it is in black and white in tenn. statute warden has to have a warrant to search ones house. one 3-4 a
arguements over that.
 
Did you read the link?
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A NC state attorney general's policy paper does not trump the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution. Having said that, though the link is 20 pages of legalese, and when you wade into it deep enough, it basically says they can do random stops of to check licenses and inspections, makes no metion of entering private property unless the reasonable cause threshhold is met. An "inspection" is not a "search" and is limited to what is externally visible or volunteeered.

Murder is usually a state crime, but does't matter for the point being made that city police can and do enforce state law, though it is the state that actually files the charges and prosecutes. Same with GWs enforcing federal game laws. As a sidenote, the whole "hate crime" controversy argued mostly out of ignorance, has only one purpose which is to put state crimes deemed to be "hate crimes" under federal jurisidiction, and the main argument against that is that federal courts have not executed anyone in decades.
 
Same game laws apply to private property overall. There is lots of illegal hunting that goes on. That also includes shooting a rabbit or squirrel out of season. Many hunters will turn you in to fish & game if they know you hunt illegally.
 
makes no metion of entering private property unless the reasonable cause threshhold is met
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Not sure what you consider private property. But if you read the SCOTUS ruling on open fields and forest any LEO can enter property other than curtilage as part of doing his job.


In such cases, the “Open Fields Doctrine” applies. In Oliver v. United States the United State Supreme Court has held that when law enforcement officers are on private property outside of the curtilage of a dwelling, they are not conducting a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.9
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This is like any other legal argument where even the Supreme Court rarely agrees more than 5 to 4 . But, if you poach a game animal in NC and the Wildlife Enforcement Officer is fairly certain that you did it if you think he won't come in your house after you and the animal good luck in the contest. Now, obviously they are not going to start a shootout over it, but they usually manage to get what they need.
 
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so you're saying that game wardens do not have to obey and adhere to trespassing laws or vacate property if asked by a landowner?
 
Basically, no.
Or rather the threshold for "reasonable cause" to search rural land is so low that they can effectively ignore "posted" signs.

They're not going to able to go into your house without a warrant, but if they feel there a reason they need to check out your posted woods lot they don't need to get permission to do it.
I imagine if you were there, there was no evidence of anything illegal, and you asked them to leave they'd probably be obligated to do so.
In my experience they do most of their searching when people aren't around. I don't imagine it's fun confronting poachers in the woods.
 
so you're saying that game wardens do not have to obey and adhere to trespassing laws or vacate property if asked by a landowner?
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I'm not really saying anything other than what the Supreme Court said.


The law of trespass recognizes the interest in possession and control of one's property and for that reason permits exclusion of unwanted intruders. But it does not follow that the right to exclude conferred by trespass law embodies a privacy interest also protected by the Fourth Amendment. To the contrary, the common law of trespass furthers a range of interests that have nothing to do with privacy and that would not be served by applying the strictures of trespass law to public officers.11
(Emphasis
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In New Hampshire,one can deer hunt on his own land
without a license but has to follow F/G rules.I have enough land to
hunt on and see many deer but I'm afraid what will
happen if I don't drop them in their tracks.Then I would
have to go hunt the deer down on someone Else's land
unlicensed. As far as C.O's coming on my land,one come up to me
a couple years ago and mentioned every tree stand I had
and it's location.I feel why get them ticked off at you which
will encourage them to put you on the watch list.
 
A game warden has the same authority that any other law enforcement agent has. Search and seizure law is determined by the 4th Ammendment of the COTUS ant the Supreme Courts rulings on the COTUS.
A game warden is often able to perform searches without warrants due to: 1. Exigency of circumstance and 2. Expectation of privacy doctrine.

Game wardens have no special powers of search and seizure. They can not search your house without a warrant any easier than any other L.E. officer can search your house without a warrant. It can legally be done, but the circumstances in which it can be done are very, very, very, rare.

Considering I do not violate any game laws, I like having the "Rabbit Sheriff" around.;) We have a lot of out of state hunters coming into our area. Most of them hunt over bait. (illegal here) I call the "Rabbit Sheriff" quite often.
 
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