Senate Bill 1270 by Sen. Wyrick. Unless forbidden to do so either orally or in writing by a landowner, persons in the sole act of retrieving their hunting dogs shall not be charged with hunting without permission or illegal trespass provided they are not carrying a firearm or attempting to take wildlife. Bill would be effective Nov. 1, 2012, and bill is now assigned to the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.
House Bill 2356 by Rep. Kouplen. Specifying that persons in the sole process of retrieving their domestic livestock or other animals may enter land of another unless forbidden to do so, either orally or in writing, by the owner or lawful occupier thereof, if they notify the county sheriff prior to entry. Bill would be effective Nov. 1, 2012, and bill is now assigned to the House Agriculture, Wildlife and Environment Committee.
I'm definitely opposed to:
and
These bills would make it more difficult to prosecute trespassers. I can see it now, "I wasn't trespassing, I was looking for my dog"!
I understand the first one, and I would somewhat agree. But if you have ever tried to prosecute a trespasser, it is actually quite difficult to begin with. A regulation, new or old, is not going to stop a trespasser. The first quote seems to open a hole that would leave them an excuse.
House Bill 2356 by Rep. Kouplen. Specifying that persons in the sole process of retrieving their domestic livestock or other animals may enter land of another unless forbidden to do so, either orally or in writing, by the owner or lawful occupier thereof, if they notify the county sheriff prior to entry. Bill would be effective Nov. 1, 2012, and bill is now assigned to the House Agriculture, Wildlife and Environment Committee.
The second one states that they have to notify the co sheriff prior to entry. I have no problem with that. I highly doubt a trespasser is going to notify the sheriff before entry, therefore if he does not, he is still considered trespassing. I've had to recover livestock before and either not know the land owner, or couldn't get a hold of them and went ahead and "trespassed" to get the cattle back. I can't see any land owner in their right mind that would have any problem with that. I certainly would not mind someone getting their livestock off of me without permission, as long as they aren't in there cutting fences. That's just the way it works sometimes.
I understand the livestock issue, unfortunately, there are those folks who won't keep their animals contained (note, the HB says livestock or other animals).
What happens if they get hurt while chasing animals on your property and sue you??
How about the guy who doesn't take care of his fences and constantly has livestock loose, do you want him on your property chasing cattle every day??
I sure don't!!
Don't know about you, but I have found out the hard way that not all neighbors are good neighbors!!
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