License to Shed Hunt

[Osborn99]

Just a matter of time!

 

[wymtnpounder]

Oh please government solve our problems!

 

[Kodiak]

If people are making money off of sheds, then yes is needs to licensed. That is natural resource being taken off the land for personal profit. States regulate the natural resource within a state (I know that is an oversimplification and even stretch in this scenario.)

It also is a burden on the land and animals, which our licences and tag fees go to support.

Why would we allow a natural resource be taken off the same land as our animals for free?

I agree with Wannabe on this one. It is the value of the horns that makes it an issue. Guys sit and watch bulls and bucks till they drop and them push them out of there spot to pick up the horns. As mentioned on here it is a $$ and instafame issue. People didn’t care about the animal that is in the worst shape it will be in all season that they are making run.

And no, I don’t think making an elk run one time in a winter will kill them but the sheer number of guys that are pushing animals around is out of control.

I am an avid shed hunter and I am all for a season and a lisense if it mean the animals fair a little better. One decent horn would more than likely cover the fee and the money would go back into conservation. It’s like elk paying there own way.

 

[menhaden_man]

Damn, you guys sure like that Kool-Aid. I think we need seasons. HELL NO on buying another fricking license. Why so the government can miss manage money some more.

I own that property - pisses me off that I have to pay a penny for liberal bureaucrats to institute another failed government program. Take that big government bullshit idea back to the city where it belongs.

 

[idahohikker]

I’m for the license fee. More money in the state wildlife coffers for habitat and enforcement.

Guys are out of control with the early shed hunting. I think a license and education is necessary along with some patrolling and heavy penalties.

A lot of guys here seem to not understand the precarious situation of elk and deer particularly in the last weeks of winter.

 

[menhaden_man]

I’m for the license fee. More money in the state wildlife coffers for habitat and enforcement.

Guys are out of control with the early shed hunting. I think a license and education is necessary along with some patrolling and heavy penalties.

A lot of guys here seem to not understand the precarious situation of elk and deer particularly in the last weeks of winter.

Make it a sanctuary then, don’t bleed folks of more undeserved money. Everyone knows that’s a slippery slope with no return. The state agencies are soft money entities and the mafia model has failed us time and time again. I still call bullshit.

 

[idahohikker]

Make it a sanctuary then, don’t bleed folks of more undeserved money. Everyone knows that’s a slippery slope with no return. The state agencies are soft money entities and the mafia model has failed us time and time again. I still call bullshit.

It’s a slippery slope? License fees in Western states increase slowly compared to demand. A few dollars to protect the resource is a small sacrifice.

 

[menhaden_man]

I don’t disagree for a second. Just like recycling programs, hard to be a saint if you don’t know where your cans are going. I spent over 20 years dealing with federal, state, and tribal entities in charge of protecting the resource. Most heads are there, but the deficit and FTEs outweigh everything. That’s the slippery slope my friend.

 

[Kodiak]

It’s seems like most of the objection comes at the hand of government inefficiencies and not the wildlife wellbeing. It is easy to get upset at game and fish departments when you don’t draw the tag you want or you don’t kill a 200” buck but what happens if they don’t regulate it?
I have seen first hand the stresses on wildlife by guys going out in mid February looking for horns. It needs to be regulated for the well-being of wildlife. And if it needs regulated it needs funded Regardless of your thoughts on how effective game and fish departments are.

The North American wildlife model has proved to be the most effective in the world because of the science based regulations that are implemented. Leaving shed hunting unregulated will only lead to a decrease in tag numbers due to increased winter kill, which will lead to fewer tags and opportunities to hunt. With fewer tags, g&f will increase tag cost to cover their cost.

Either way more funding will be need, you can spread it out over they guys who use it or you can put it all in tag fees and reduce opportunity for hunters. They arnt two independent things.

 

[5MilesBack]

There are already laws against "harassing wildlife". We certainly don't need new laws because they won't or can't enforce these laws. If they don't have enough officers to stop the harassing in the first place, they certainly won't have enough to enforce them having a license to pick up an antler. What if they pick up a pine cone at the same time? Who enforces that? And plenty of people make money off of the pine cones that they pick up off of Federal land.

IMO, the states seem to be more concerned with catching people with an antler out of season, than they are interested in stopping any wildlife harassment.

 

[kiddogy]

it's not about stopping anything . it is only about the benjamins.
that's all any license or rule is about. most people are just to dumb to grasp it.

 

[ODB]

I agree with this. Money is ruining hunting period

100%. Love hunting, largely hate what hunting has become.

 

[Poser]

The better solution is to have wintering grounds closures in relevant areas, limiting all public access in a manner that extends (or can be extended) until Spring conditions exist.

 

[kiddogy]

The better solution is to have wintering grounds closures in relevant area to all public access that extend or can be extended until Spring conditions exist.

no money to be made that way

 

[Poser]

no money to be made that way

Aggressively write tickets for violating winter closures.

 

[Jauwater]

I agree with the solution Poser stated. When they do make the move to regulate this sort of thing, I would hope this will be the route they take. I feel like this would be equally as effective as a license requirement, and less of a strain on shed hunting.

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo maxx(XT1955DL) using Tapatalk

 

[menhaden_man]

Many good points here by true sportsman and conservationists, though anyone who thinks bigger government is the answer clearly hasn't reviewed the track record of success and an extensive history of failed programs at the expense of hardworking tax payers and hunters. And I'd be excited to be proven wrong.

I just spent a few minutes searching F&G or G&F annual budgets/FTEs in my part of the country to make my point (and scary enough, this excludes federal, tribal, and NGO $$$/FTEs). Good luck trying to find easy-to-access information for some states, by the way.

Wyoming, ~$70M, 430 FTEs
Idaho, ~$100M, 560 FTEs
Montana, ~$90M, 700 FTEs
Washington, >$300M, >1,500 FTEs

While these differences are nuanced or explained by a variety of factors (like salmon/steelhead), I'd still have a hard time understanding why another bullshit licensing process and fee structure is needed to "help" wildlife.

If shed hunting (which I don't do) is that bad, then protect the wildlife... don't use it as another boogeyman to prop up shortfalls for beurocrats in cubicle farms at the state capital.

 

[Bubblehide]

This is not limited to the related increase in winter kill. It also include the viability of Does and Cows; meaning the decreased ability to get pregnant, and the decreased ability to carry to full term. The stress caused by shed hunters (why we even call them hunters is beyond me) obviously has a significant adverse impact on the animals in the areas being shed scavenged. This is happening on wintering grounds where the animals are condensed, thus affecting a great number of animals. It has a direct relation to significantly lower birth and survival rates of offspring. This is a very very serious issue, and we as hunters and true conservationists should and need to be at the head of this.

Many that shed scavenge do not hunt, they simply want the monetary gain, or fame, as has been pointed out. The bottom line is that shed scavenging desperately needs to be regulated. With regulation come expenses to the regulating agency, almost exclusively our Fish and Wildlife Departments. Our F&W departments happens to be an agency that is exceptionally underfunded and stretched beyond reason across the nation. To make matters worse, our court systems simply do not take crimes against wildlife seriously, and implement pathetic punishments that results in excessive and abnormal recurrence rates; clearly indicating that the easy punishments handed out are not effective.

Without a doubt, shed scavenging needs to be regulated. Clearly, our underfunded F&W departments need funds to enforce any shed scavenging regulations that are in place or adopted. The activity is a separate activity from hunting, but happens to take place on some of the same grounds that are hunted. If we as hunters do not recognize the above, and insist on the activity of shed hunting be regulated with a means of providing for regulation enforcement, our herds will continue to suffer, likely leading to our herds demise.

Over the years, generations actually, our herds have endlessly suffered, starting with the population of this country by European settlers, settling in the most fertile areas, and critical winter habitat. We have continued to take and take critical winter habitat. There has been numerous events, too many to list, that our North American history exhibits significant adverse impact on our herds, and we continue to adversely impact our herds, with shed scavenging being just one more example, but a significant one. Yet, with all this adverse human activity our herds have endured, we still have viable herd numbers and a sustainable resource, that includes sustainable with hunting.

The bottom line is that North America has plentiful outdoor activities in which our wildlife are being adversely affected, which the Pittman Robertson act should be expanded to cover with it's imposed taxes being directly provided for wildlife and habitat management. However, there are activities such as shed scavenging with do not require any such equipment covered under the Pittman Robertson Act. These activities and the people engaging in the are riding on the Coattails of hunters and the Pittman Robertson Act. In short they are getting a free ride at the expense of our wildlife.

Frankly, I get plenty of antler from my hunting success for more than my needs. More often than not, I give away my antlers to a few select friends. I have no need to go antler scavenging. As hunters, I am sure my example here is the majority. The only reason I would have for shed scavenging is for the monetary gain. So, those that are engaging in shed scavenging, in my not so humble opinion should pay for their activity and the impact they have on our wildlife and enforcement, just as we hunters do.

Those that complain about government waste, miss appropriation are correct, these things happen and will continue to happen. But to dismiss regulating such adverse activities and enforcement of such activities and funding for such is IMNSHO, exceptionally short sighted. We HUNTERS should be at the forefront and trumpeting the need to protect our wildlife, and the need to regulate activities affecting our wildlife, wildlands and it's ecosystems, along with the desperate need to fund adequate enforcement of such.

 

[squirrel]

Now from january first till may 1st we need to save each and every animal as they are precious and seriously threatened by any human activity... then on some day, not sure which day it is, between then and draw day, we are over objective and need to cull extra deer (class B licenses) (Bonus tags for those in Rio Lindo)

Now lets put our thinking caps on and figure how do these opposite facts ring true??? Oh I got it they make money from both scenarios.

Will someone sharper than me tell me when we go from too few to too many deer? On which specific day?

 

[Phaseolus]

My opinion: make selling of sheds illegal. I’ll keep picking them up and stacking them around my yard. It should not be a commercial enterprise.