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August 13, 2009
Roadkill Permits? Gimme a Break! - 20
by Doug Howlett
To John Longo, it was meat and a head going to waste. The road-killed buck near his property was a decent 8-point. So he picked it up, ate the meat and got a taxidermist to mount the head. It wasn’t a monster buck, he says, but for southeast Wisconsin, it was good enough. “I hate to see it go to waste,” he told the Journal-Times. “I was brought up right after the war. If we had potatoes and eggs and a piece of bread we were lucky ... I’m not a wasteful person.” When the DNR learned that Longo had the head, they told him they wanted it. He had failed to get a free possession permit when picking the deer up. Longo refused and the battle went to court in 2008. The judge ordered Longo to give the head up, but also said if the DNR didn’t come by to pick it up before Oct. 31, they should issue him a permit to keep it. The DNR appealed and won that case. The problem is, Longo claims he threw the head into the local dump sometime between the two court cases. “At the end I said, if you (the DNR) want the deer head, I’ll throw it away or burn it,” Longo told the newspaper. “If I can’t have it, you can’t have it.” Now the DNR doesn’t know what to do and to enforce the Court of Appeals ruling or have Longo charged with refusing to obey the court, the District Attorney must decide whether to file charges or not. Longo says he ignored the ruling and the law, because quite simply, “it is a stupid law.” It does seem stupid, I have to admit, for the agency to spend so much money and resources to go after something the guy would have been allowed to keep anyway for free, but at the same time, I suppose Longo’s defiance of the DNR’s rules proved to be their motivation. Longo pointed to the fact that so many deer hit by cars are simply left along the road to rot. What’s the sense of that, he wonders. He has a point. What do you think, should people be forced to secure a permit for something that is going to go to waste anyway along the side of a road? Or are such laws necessary to keep people from poaching deer and claiming them as road killed animals? If you were the judge, how would you have ruled in the case of Wisconsin DNR v. Longo?
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Comments (20)
Mr Longo did the state a favor by cleaning up road kill that some road maintenance employee would have had to scrape up and dispose of. Instead of getting grief for not getting a free permit, he should have recieved a letter of appreciation for cleaning it up. I'm glad he was able to get some meat for the table out of this, it's sad when an animal rots on the side of the road to the benefit of nobody.
There is a problem when the government has too much authority. Because there will be one or two people who will exercise as much (and sometimes more authority that they can)authority as possible because power corrupts and very few can attain a reasonable level of authority without abusing it. The current Congress and White House Administrations prove my point.
This could probably have been avoided if more Americans reminded Congress that they are subject to US not the other way around.
Then again there are lawyers involved here. My favorite Shakespeare quote is from "Henry VI, part 2" where Dick The Butcher says "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
That Will Shakespeare, I think he was on to something.
I can see where they might get poaching but no you shouldnt have to have a license i agree its a stupid law
When i was growing up my grandfather did the same thing. We were driving home one day after church and our neighbor had just hit a nice 8 pt. We pulled over put it in the back of the truck, took it home and skinned it. We got a little meat off the buck but it was better than letting it sit there. The antlers are still in the barn to this day and that was almost 15 years ago.
How petty can the court system and DNR get.Around these parts we encourage people to salvage what they can from a road kill deer.In the past when deer have been left on the side of the road buzzards come in cover the road then you have a buzzard in the windshield.So then you have two vehicle accidents instead of one. My dad hits the nail on the head when he says good old common sense has done left town and is never coming back.
I think it's a pointless law. A poacher will come up with a different excuse if he's caught and doesn't have this one to use. I don't see it helping that aspect at all. Defying the DNR usually gets you a backlash power trip but I really hope they don't waste anymore money and time on this. Best of luck John.
I think a call to the DNR would suffice at best..BUT the question is..why would you want to mount a deer you didn't kill??
I certainly agree that it is a ridiculous law. I think it's just a control issue with the DNR. Why on Earth with so many other things going on such as poaching and disease would they want to take the man-hours and money away from an already strapped state department to fight over a DEAD deer? I could definately understand if it was poached, but it wasn't. Whatever, I'm glad I live in Alabama where people seem to have a little more sense.
I agree with Treestand. Why mount a roadkill deer?
As far as the law goes, I get the anti-poaching reason for this, but it seems to me that the inconvenience to people trying to do the right thing outweighs the benefit.
Whats the differance if someone finds a dead buck in the woods and gets it mounted. I think it probably happens all the time. Wasnt the hole in the horn buck hit by a train or something? I have never found anything dead that I considered mounting, but if the urge would hit me I might.
A NC biologist's comment: We, too, do not like to see the meat go to waste; however, it is unlawful in NC for anyone to possess a deer unless they took it lawfully through hunting, were given the animal by a hunter who harvested it lawfully or were issued a possession permit. The HP, local Sheriff and any WRC employee can issue a possession permit for road kills.
Many people fail to recognize that these laws are written to protect the resource that is ultimately owned by every citizen. Requiring possession permits, this includes hunting tags, reduces the loop holes available to those people that would unlawfully poach an animal and then claim they found it on the roadway.
i dont understand why you would pick up a road kill deer that you didnt hit. i dont think i would pick something up off the road unless i hit it or saw it get hit and ask the person if they wanted to keep it. i know the DNR in michigan have no problem coming out and giving you a free permit to keep a deer you hit.
I personally think its scary that with all the crap going on in this world...the gov wastes time on little things like this. Here's a trustworthy statement....don't worry about the speck in your brother's eye when you have a plank in your own.
whats next we going to need a permit to even look at the deer. Hey sir I seen you looking at the buck over there wheres yout permit dont have it huh eyes forward I can bust your @%% right now you know that!
Let me see here..."I'm not a wasteful person..."
Deferring to the previous paragraph, the article states that he "got the taxidermist to mount the head" of a "decent buck." If you were not a wasteful person, why spend your hard earned money mounting a mediocre deer that was killed by a Prius instead of a Browning?
Some of the wild life I have found not shot have been my greatest trophies and some of them I will not forget. You know the saying" one mans trash is another mans treasure " that same saying fits hutning in a way "One mans avg. 4 point is another mans trophy". There was no waste at all here the man paid the taxidermist to mount it the taxidermist went & bought food with it to feed his kids the store owner paid the farmer who supplies the food he takes that money to save it for his kids so they can pay for schooling tell me how is that wasteful?
My late uncle used to have a large marlin hanging on his wall that he bought at some store and I always wondered the same thing some of you have suggested, "Why? You didn't kill it or catch it yourself." I can only say that my uncle liked the way it dressed up his house. Fair enough. Probably wouldn't be enough to make me want to do it, but so be it. My dad once picked up a 10-point a person he knew hit with their car and cleaned it for the meat. He then gave the head to our neighbor, who was learning taxidermy at the time, to practice on. I still have that head to this day. It is one of the ugliest mounts you've ever seen. But I tell folks the real story behind me, no need to lie. At the time, it was just too nice of a rack to throw away. Maybe Mr. Longo felt the same way. Dunno. I know had my neighbor not done it for pracice though, those ol' horns would have probably seen a saw and been lying in a garage as is.
i know in ohio if you have a deer tag, and you hit it with your car, you can tag it or most of the time just take it without a tag
this is a case of someone in an office, that has no idea of real life, trying to make a decision about something that doesnt matter anyway. I think the time and money wasted would have been better used in pursuing poachers, or anything that makes sense, really.
Longo should have gotten a permit. Or he should have at least had a hunting license, and tagged the deer.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)
Mr Longo did the state a favor by cleaning up road kill that some road maintenance employee would have had to scrape up and dispose of. Instead of getting grief for not getting a free permit, he should have recieved a letter of appreciation for cleaning it up. I'm glad he was able to get some meat for the table out of this, it's sad when an animal rots on the side of the road to the benefit of nobody.
How petty can the court system and DNR get.Around these parts we encourage people to salvage what they can from a road kill deer.In the past when deer have been left on the side of the road buzzards come in cover the road then you have a buzzard in the windshield.So then you have two vehicle accidents instead of one. My dad hits the nail on the head when he says good old common sense has done left town and is never coming back.
I think a call to the DNR would suffice at best..BUT the question is..why would you want to mount a deer you didn't kill??
I agree with Treestand. Why mount a roadkill deer?
As far as the law goes, I get the anti-poaching reason for this, but it seems to me that the inconvenience to people trying to do the right thing outweighs the benefit.
My late uncle used to have a large marlin hanging on his wall that he bought at some store and I always wondered the same thing some of you have suggested, "Why? You didn't kill it or catch it yourself." I can only say that my uncle liked the way it dressed up his house. Fair enough. Probably wouldn't be enough to make me want to do it, but so be it. My dad once picked up a 10-point a person he knew hit with their car and cleaned it for the meat. He then gave the head to our neighbor, who was learning taxidermy at the time, to practice on. I still have that head to this day. It is one of the ugliest mounts you've ever seen. But I tell folks the real story behind me, no need to lie. At the time, it was just too nice of a rack to throw away. Maybe Mr. Longo felt the same way. Dunno. I know had my neighbor not done it for pracice though, those ol' horns would have probably seen a saw and been lying in a garage as is.
i know in ohio if you have a deer tag, and you hit it with your car, you can tag it or most of the time just take it without a tag
There is a problem when the government has too much authority. Because there will be one or two people who will exercise as much (and sometimes more authority that they can)authority as possible because power corrupts and very few can attain a reasonable level of authority without abusing it. The current Congress and White House Administrations prove my point.
This could probably have been avoided if more Americans reminded Congress that they are subject to US not the other way around.
Then again there are lawyers involved here. My favorite Shakespeare quote is from "Henry VI, part 2" where Dick The Butcher says "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
That Will Shakespeare, I think he was on to something.
When i was growing up my grandfather did the same thing. We were driving home one day after church and our neighbor had just hit a nice 8 pt. We pulled over put it in the back of the truck, took it home and skinned it. We got a little meat off the buck but it was better than letting it sit there. The antlers are still in the barn to this day and that was almost 15 years ago.
I think it's a pointless law. A poacher will come up with a different excuse if he's caught and doesn't have this one to use. I don't see it helping that aspect at all. Defying the DNR usually gets you a backlash power trip but I really hope they don't waste anymore money and time on this. Best of luck John.
I certainly agree that it is a ridiculous law. I think it's just a control issue with the DNR. Why on Earth with so many other things going on such as poaching and disease would they want to take the man-hours and money away from an already strapped state department to fight over a DEAD deer? I could definately understand if it was poached, but it wasn't. Whatever, I'm glad I live in Alabama where people seem to have a little more sense.
Whats the differance if someone finds a dead buck in the woods and gets it mounted. I think it probably happens all the time. Wasnt the hole in the horn buck hit by a train or something? I have never found anything dead that I considered mounting, but if the urge would hit me I might.
A NC biologist's comment: We, too, do not like to see the meat go to waste; however, it is unlawful in NC for anyone to possess a deer unless they took it lawfully through hunting, were given the animal by a hunter who harvested it lawfully or were issued a possession permit. The HP, local Sheriff and any WRC employee can issue a possession permit for road kills.
Many people fail to recognize that these laws are written to protect the resource that is ultimately owned by every citizen. Requiring possession permits, this includes hunting tags, reduces the loop holes available to those people that would unlawfully poach an animal and then claim they found it on the roadway.
I personally think its scary that with all the crap going on in this world...the gov wastes time on little things like this. Here's a trustworthy statement....don't worry about the speck in your brother's eye when you have a plank in your own.
Let me see here..."I'm not a wasteful person..."
Deferring to the previous paragraph, the article states that he "got the taxidermist to mount the head" of a "decent buck." If you were not a wasteful person, why spend your hard earned money mounting a mediocre deer that was killed by a Prius instead of a Browning?
Some of the wild life I have found not shot have been my greatest trophies and some of them I will not forget. You know the saying" one mans trash is another mans treasure " that same saying fits hutning in a way "One mans avg. 4 point is another mans trophy". There was no waste at all here the man paid the taxidermist to mount it the taxidermist went & bought food with it to feed his kids the store owner paid the farmer who supplies the food he takes that money to save it for his kids so they can pay for schooling tell me how is that wasteful?
this is a case of someone in an office, that has no idea of real life, trying to make a decision about something that doesnt matter anyway. I think the time and money wasted would have been better used in pursuing poachers, or anything that makes sense, really.
I can see where they might get poaching but no you shouldnt have to have a license i agree its a stupid law
i dont understand why you would pick up a road kill deer that you didnt hit. i dont think i would pick something up off the road unless i hit it or saw it get hit and ask the person if they wanted to keep it. i know the DNR in michigan have no problem coming out and giving you a free permit to keep a deer you hit.
whats next we going to need a permit to even look at the deer. Hey sir I seen you looking at the buck over there wheres yout permit dont have it huh eyes forward I can bust your @%% right now you know that!
Longo should have gotten a permit. Or he should have at least had a hunting license, and tagged the deer.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)