# hunting w/o permission ??



## Mangler (Sep 22, 2009)

When somone is caught hunting private land without written permission, does DNR notify the land owner or do they just give the person a ticket and move on?


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## Backlasher82 (Sep 22, 2009)

It's usually the land owner that notifies the DNR.


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## Bnathanb1982 (Sep 22, 2009)

*Huh?*



300 short mag said:


> Don`t do it and you will not have to ask, posted or not it is trespassing!



Maybe he was asking about his own land.  I'm curious to know the answer too but I have no intentions of hunting without permission.


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## ryano (Sep 22, 2009)

I do know one thing, written permission is NOT required here in Ga unless the land you are hunting on is posted as requiring it.


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## Georgia Hard Hunter (Sep 22, 2009)

I could be wrong, but its my understanding if its private property and you don't own it you have to have written permission


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## Laneybird (Sep 22, 2009)

Georgia Hard Hunter said:


> I could be wrong, but its my understanding if its private property and you don't own it you have to have written permission



That's my understanding to. Talked to a DNR officer 10 yrs ago. Got the written permission and have it rewritten each year.


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## NGxplr22 (Sep 22, 2009)

I'm also curious about this as we have multiple hunters every year who wander over onto the family owned land we hunt. Most we have just warned and showed them the (excessively posted) property line. One got abusive and threatening and went to jail the second time we found him there.


Given Georgia's laws that require a person to be notified that they should leave and/or not come back before they can be arrested for criminal tresspassing, how does this work with a hunter who is tresspassing? 
For example, if you walk in to a Kroger and they want you to leave for whatever reason, you are allowed to leave and warned not to come back by either an employee or LEO/security acting on behalf of the business. If you refuse to leave as soon as you are told or you return then you can be arrested for criminal tresspassing.
So, with regards to hunters tresspassing, is it the the actual hunting while tresspassing that would lead to an arrest without having to first issue them a warning to leave and not return?

Are there differing charges of tresspassing presented by Ga law?
Anyone got a link to the rules or laws that would cover this?


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## Ta-ton-ka chips (Sep 22, 2009)

Gatorb said:


> mangler, if caught they will write them up for trespassing if you the landowner want to press charges and appear in court or at least sign an affidavit that says you want to press charges. From my experience with a similar situation they will not write them up for trespassing without you pressing the charges and appearing.



My understanding is that if your property is posted then all you need to do is sign a paper listing those who have permission to hunt and that all others are to prosecuted. Give the signed paper to the Ranger in your area and he should charge anyone he catches.


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## NGxplr22 (Sep 22, 2009)

Okay, found this



> (a) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he or she intentionally damages any property of another without consent of that other person and the damage thereto is $500.00 or less or knowingly and maliciously interferes with the possession or use of the property of another person without consent of that person.
> 
> (b) A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he or she knowingly and without authority:
> 
> ...



It looks like both (a) and (b.1) would apply to hunting on another's property and so one would not have to be warned before being charged.


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## Mangler (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks to everyone else for your adult responses...


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## Milkman (Sep 22, 2009)

Trespass is a criminal act that could be handled by any LEO in that jurisdiction including a DNR Ranger. 

If I were to want to prosecute someone for trespass I would call the county sheriffs office.


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## MIG (Sep 22, 2009)

FWIW...Generally speaking, Georgia's criminal trespass law is not utilized when addressing the offense of hunting without permission, although I suppose it could be used in certain situations.  Hunting w/o permission is specifically addressed in OCGA 27-3-1 - under this statute the violator does NOT have to be warned or put on notice prior to being charged.

To answer the OP's question:  Rangers do not charge for the offense of hunting without permission unless the landowner, authorized agent of landowner, leasee, etc is willing to sign a warrant or has filed an affidavit attesting to the fact that he/she wants persons found hunting without permission to be so charged.  If someone is charged, generally the owner (ie, complainant) will know about it.


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## elfiii (Sep 23, 2009)

I cleaned this one up. Ya'll stay civil and on topic or we can do this the hard way.


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## ChiefOsceola (Sep 23, 2009)

Would be nice to know if the landowner is notified if someone is caught on their property.  Don't see where that's been answered yet.


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## deerreaper (Sep 23, 2009)

*Huh*

If you really have permission than getting it in writing is easy.


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## Steve Thompson (Sep 23, 2009)

There is also a statute that allows the land owner to sue the trespasser for ( up to ) $800.00 for illegal entrance, if it's on your posted sign or you advertise a rate for entry..


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## ChiefOsceola (Sep 23, 2009)

Steve Thompson said:


> There is also a statute that allows the land owner to sue the trespasser for ( up to ) $800.00 for illegal entrance, if it's on your posted sign or you advertise a rate for entry..



But only if the landowner knows someone was trespassing.  Is the DNR required to notify the landowner???


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## jimbo4116 (Sep 23, 2009)

ChiefOsceola said:


> But only if the landowner knows someone was trespassing.  Is the DNR required to notify the landowner???



Don't know the answer to that.  But I have been checked dozens of times over the years, deer, dove, duck and quail hunting.  I have never had a ranger ask me if I had permission much less written permission.

Hopefully some of the attorneys here can clear it up. But hunting without permission and tresspassing are to different charges.

Common sense would tell you that a game warden cannot charge you with hunting without permission without some contact with the landowner or lessee. He is not going to write you up because you don't have a permission slip and then get shot down by the landowner saying you do have permission.  He can't charge you at all  with tresspassing without a warrant from the owner.

That said call the DNR office and ask, no one here seems to know for sure.


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## MIG (Sep 23, 2009)

As stated earlier, prosecution for hunting w/o permission is dependant upon the landowner's willingness to prosecute.  In 99.9% of the cases the landowner has already approached the Ranger with a complaint.  If someone IS caught, the officer will, as a matter of courtesy and to follow-up, contact the complainant with the results.  In some rare instances, the Ranger may run across someone he/she suspects is trespassing and contact the owner prior to any complaint, but more often than not the officer will have no reason to suspect "trespass" unless a complaint has already been filed.  Either way, the complainant is contacted and charges are not made unless owner support is established.  Rangers do not take it upon themselves to enforce the "permission" aspect of the law without the involvement of the owner or leasee.  That's not how it works.

BTW, _written_ permission is required only when the land has been posted AND the landowner or leasee specifically instructs LE that permission must be in writing.  Hunting without permission and hunting without _written_ permission are actually covered by seperate paragraphs of the same law (ie, they're two different charges).

Hope this helps.


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## Steve Thompson (Sep 23, 2009)

I have had DNR ask if we had permission to hunt on property, and appreciated it. 

It's a good idea to meet the DNR for your area & invite them in for coffee. We had one living on our road for a while. I thought that may stop the road hunters, it did'nt. A few years ago some fool shot two cows in a pasture near by, shooting from the road at night. We have a dirt road splitting the property & I ceased to be amazed at how bold some fools are. That fake deer gets'em. 15 years ago they caught some fool with his 10 year old. He shot the fake deer with an arrow!  He was notching another arrow when he heard the game warden laugh....


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## jason4445 (Sep 23, 2009)

Trespassing - it is like gun laws everyone has a different idea what the law says mostly based on what some law enforcement person told Old Uncle Ed 30 years ago.

And the law is pretty simple -  you step one foot on land you do not own, the State owns, or you have written permission in your pocket at the time from the land owner- you have violated the law.

Land does not have to be signed, marked, posted, registered at the courthouse or made known it is private in any way.  If you don't own the land don't step foot on it.  Also the excuse "I did not know" falls on deaf ears.

Where the variables come in is in the enforcement of the law.  In some places it is not considered anything but a minor violation and mostly you will just be run off.  In other places where trespassers are a real problem (going on private land to hunt, fish, or cut wood) the enforcement can be quite severe.

Where I was a deputy over my years I can't remember but a very few trespass cases and mostly it was a hundred dollar fine if an arrest was even made.  However, I was at the jail in Talbot County selling them supplies in the early 90's and they brought in a couple of Yuppie Atlanta hunters that had wandered a bit off their lease.  

At the time they were not hunting, just scouting, and the fine was $1000 each and it cost $125 to pay the tow bill for their fancy new hunting four wheel vehicle.  I asked the deputy why the fine was so much and he told me they hated them out of county blankety-blank hunters from Atlanta and elsewhere coming in and shooting their dogs, cows and putting stray bullets through their houses and trailers.


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## Twenty five ought six (Sep 23, 2009)

ChiefOsceola said:


> But only if the landowner knows someone was trespassing.  Is the DNR required to notify the landowner???



No, DNR is not required to notify the landowner if a case is made for hunting without permission.  It's just another case.

For  a local, private landowner, I've never known them not to do so, especially because as noted, they usually only react to a complaint.


If it is a corporate landowner, or a large landowner that has filed an affidavit, DNR may not notify the owner (see thread on DNR in the On Topic forum).




> And the law is pretty simple - you step one foot on land you do not own, the State owns, or you have written permission in your pocket at the time from the land owner- you have violated the law.



That is simply not true.


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## jimbo4116 (Sep 23, 2009)

Twenty five ought six said:


> No, DNR is not required to notify the landowner if a case is made for hunting without permission.  It's just another case.
> 
> For  a local, private landowner, I've never known them not to do so, especially because as noted, they usually only react to a complaint.
> 
> ...



Thanks.

I believe the question has been answered.


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## jason4445 (Sep 23, 2009)

Well try it one day - get a enforcement officer who will arrest, a land owner who will prosecute, and in front of them step one foot on the land and see if you are not arrested, tried and convicted.

A simple test of truth.


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## Big7 (Sep 24, 2009)

ryano said:


> I do know one thing, written permission is NOT required here in Ga unless the land you are hunting on is posted as requiring it.



Wrong....

Private land IS considered posted regardless of signs or markings.


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## Big7 (Sep 24, 2009)

Mangler said:


> When somone is caught hunting private land without written permission, does DNR notify the land owner or do they just give the person a ticket and move on?



Land owner can sign an affidavit at the courthouse with
the names of people that have permission to be on the property. In this case, DNR can press charges FOR the land owner... He will just get a phone call and DNR will take care of the rest.

In the other case without said affidavit, you will need written permision. 
If you don't they may give you a warning and tell you to leave or they may call the land owner to see if he
wants to press charges. In this case he would have to show up in court personally to press the charges and the DNR guy would be there as a witness.

Much like if you contest a speeding ticket.

_That is the deal._

I have it on my property and so do some of my friends.


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## Throwback (Sep 24, 2009)

ChiefOsceola said:


> Would be nice to know if the landowner is notified if someone is caught on their property.  Don't see where that's been answered yet.



MIG answered it. 

T


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## Twenty five ought six (Sep 24, 2009)

jason4445 said:


> Well try it one day - get a enforcement officer who will arrest, a land owner who will prosecute, and in front of them step one foot on the land and see if you are not arrested, tried and convicted.
> 
> A simple test of truth.



That's an entirely different scenario than the one you first stated.


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## produnker (Sep 24, 2009)

I was able to acquire permission to hunt private property in Gwinnett County because I volunteered to post and help keep trespassers away( 4-wheelers on powerline, teenagers drinking and people dumping). Notified DNR and they met me at property and we had along discussion about our problem. The Ranger said he would keep a check on property and to make sure anyone that was on property had a letter showing written permission in their possesion. If not would be charged with trespassing and hunting w/o permission.


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## Big7 (Sep 25, 2009)

Throwback said:


> MIG answered it.
> 
> T



I did too...


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## ChiefOsceola (Sep 25, 2009)

Big7 said:


> I did too...



Thanks y'all.  Seemed we were straying a bit from the OP question.


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## Skipper (Sep 25, 2009)

They caught a guy poaching turkey on my farm once.  How, I don't really know, but they did.

I know the wardens personally who caught them and they eventually told me about it in conversation.  It was several weeks later and one of those, oh, btw, we arrested so in so at your place over by the creek.

Skipper


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## jimbo4116 (Sep 25, 2009)

The Original Posters question has been answered along with several others.  

This Forum is On Topic -- Questions and Answers. Please carry the chatter to a more appropriate Forum.

Thanks


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