Farmers Rights ? Deer controll issue

[lonehunter]

Today I hunted some private land next to a farm , big disapointment . After every doe that passed by my stand within a few minute a shot would ring out behind me .
Now either the farmer had plenty of doe permits or a block tag permit or he was practicing a form of crop damage controll I would like to see stoped .Thruout the day I did hear more than 13 seperate shots coming from a blind not 100 yards from me . Other people in the area said it has been that way since deerseason opened .
It seems that although none of them (farmers)will ever admit to it the later is used by a bunch of them .To controll crop damage , farmers will gut shoot deer , thus the deer run off and die in the woods . This frees the farmer from picking up the carcas and disposing of them .
That is just wrong !
First off the department of agriculture (i belive ) subsidises the farmer for his crop damage , I also belive the D.N.R. or The D.of A. gives out block permits to the farmer to controll the deer population on his property . Gut shooting deer , well lets just call it poaching and prosicute the violaters .there is no crop at this time of year for the deer to damage .
The deer belong to the state of michigan , destroing them for personal gain , illeagle .
Now we can't force farmers to open up their property to hunters , that is what America is all about , nor can we continue to hand out government substaties to farmers that are slaughtering our deer .
I would like a stipulation to the government grants , farmer wants the money and the deer gone , open up the gates or no money ! If the farmer is cought shooting deer without his regular license , prosicute the bum !
Some farmers and comercial forest lands already let hunters use their property during the hunting season , they are listed in a pamplet issued by the D.N.R. .
The farmers I have talked to about this say that liability insurance for allowing hunters on their property would be too costley for them and deer do a large amount of crop damage . I think the recived substaty should be and is more than enough for the insurance and crop damage, "free money" for nothing is what the farmer wants to keep .
I have called the R.A.P. line to report the unusual amount of shooting going on at that location .
As a hunter and a sportsman I see part of my responsabiltys as being a steward of animals that can not defend themselves , If I catch something going on , your getting busted , plain and simple as that .
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[davetclown]

there is a device used by farmers to protect crops called a cannon,

it is fueled, it is also timed. you need to go back and see once the shoting starts to see what time intervals are, it wont be an exact time dispercement but will be relitivily close.

Peta members have gone to great lenths to invade on hunters rights, if you find that the shots are timed then you have a case of hunters harrasment.

for a farmer to use it the corn feilds still need to be standing. and unless they have grown a winter crop of corn that is not much likley it is crop protection, many cases farmers are paid to leave crops standing in the feilds to help the deer fatten up for the winter, and again there should not be a farmer culling an area.

I say check the timing thing...
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[lonehunter]

The farmers usually plow the corn under in the fall and plant grasses , usually rye . to avoid soil erosion during the spring rains . Corn left standing is for cattle feed , they will munch stock and all .

no timed device used , it's a rifle .Little does farmer realise he's feeding the coyotes , they will have more pups . ever seen what coyotes to to cows and horses in the feilds ? meals on wheels so to speak , a chunk here and a chunk there and the farm animal has to be put down .
the deer crop damage money is looked at as an income that is owed to the farmer , much like many people thought welfare was owed to them . the programs were designed to help people out in hard times , they were not ment as a guarinteed income for life .

instead of the gutshooting pest controll I think a lot of guys would love to shoot the deer for the sport and to provide much needed meat for programs like Hunters Against Hunger .

Two years ago we had a hunt club that had to clear out it's deer herd because they did not have proper documtation on where some of the deer were purchased from , Regular deer licenses were honered untill the deadline to have the club cleared from all deer habitation (up untill febuary, I think ) .
Hunters could not keep the meat , It was donated to the food bank . The waiting list for that hunt was about as long as I-75 .


Farmers don't want the deer , foodbanks need the meat , hunters would be happy to put their skills to good use , i can see a win,win,win solution .
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[davetclown]

it looks good on paper,

but what it come down to is if the farmer wanted to be rid of the deer he could rent out hunting blinds for at least 3 months out of the year... to me there is no excuse...

for what he could get for allowing hunters on his land or leasing his land to a hunting club by far out ways the damage the deer will do to the rye grass the farmers plow under in the spring to rais the nitrogen level in the feilds.

Ya I was a farmer my self at one time... wished I still was... we never had a deer problem. when we were not working the feilds we were training feild trial dogs for bunnies.
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