So mad! Neighbor shoots into my pasture

[Minuet]

[QUOTE=beau159;8526308]
Well, not really.

If land is NOT posted, it’s fair game for hunters to go on it and hunt it. My husband hunts deer, geese, pheasant, coyotes, etc (you name it!) and if the land is not posted and there isn’t a crop on it and there isn’t livestock in it, it’s fair game for anyone to go and hunt it.

Hence why I asked you in my first post if your land is posted?

The law gets a bit grey when there is livestock in the pasture. It will vary on the state, but MOST people will choose not to hunt a spot if there is livestock present for obvious reasons. (but of course, not everyone is “most people” … evident with your neighbor) I would have to double check on our laws in our state, but I think you technically can still hunt with livestock around.

This is correct to my knowledge as well. So the neighbor would be “caught” on this.[/QUOTE]
I don’t believe this is correct. I’ve been doing a LOT of research lately, and from what I’ve read, in NC you must have written permission within the last 12 months to hunt on private property.

ETA, that’s if it’s posted. Ugh. You are correct, beau159. We do have some signs up, but they are old, and I don’t know if they are every 200 ft.
I just think it’s ridiculous that it’s okay to hunt on someone else’s land if they don’t expressly prohibit it. It’s ok to trespass and shoot your gun on other people’s property unless there are signs saying “don’t do that”.

[FalseImpression]

[QUOTE=Ibex;8524257]
OP: am I right in thinking you’re in Canada? We have incredibly strict laws about shooting. My SO and a couple of his buddies (all ex or current military, excellent shots) are contracted by some local farmers to help with coyote population control, and as responsible hunters they’re incredibly cautious about type of firearm (range), ammo (accurate and quick), and set-up as appropriate to the property size, location of homes/barns/livestock/neighbours etc.

Shooting across your property, or onto your property, without explicit and express permission is unethical and illegal; I’d call the RCMP/OPP ASAP. Guys like that give the responsible hunters a bad name.

For the poster who thought coyotes only eat rats… the ones out here are often hybrids with domestic dog and wolf genetics. They are big, and they are nasty. I have a friend who discovered them waiting outside her back door in the mornings because that’s when the cats were usually let out. I know a few people who have lost small dogs to them. They’ll hover around cows going into labour waiting to grab the calves. They hunt for sport as well, and will take out a chicken coop without actually eating anything. They’re also vermin, and infesting the area driving out wolves who are actually much more peaceable to live with. You can’t decimate the population, just drive them away and back into parkland or crown land where they prey on the deer that we’re also infested with.[/QUOTE]

I agree… our barn has not lost any cat to coyotes thanks to the two farm dogs, but we hear them howl… it is eerie… I don’t feel guilty about wearing my Canada Goose either.

I am still disturbed by the hunters, etc. I asked my BOs many times if they ever had problems with hunters (no), with neighbours shooting (no), if they had a firearm (no, but they know the farmer across the road has one and would come and shoot an injured horse or rabid animal).

[dog_amp_horsemom]

It depends on where you live I guess but I have talked to three biologists who did their masters on coyotes and they all used dna on scat samples and found 98 % rodents ( all studies were over a years time) and rabbit - with a very small amt. of white tail deer and chicken. NO dogs No cats. I have lived in the country for most of my life and have never had a coyote attack a cat or dog and I see them trot through my pasture all the time. I also have two friends who have calf/cow operations and have never lost a calf to a coyote - nor has my friend who breeds horses on 100 acres. I remain very sure that most if not 99% of all supposed attacks on dogs and cats by coyotes were not eye witness and were most likely made to disappear by neighbors who were sick of the animals on their property. Also - animal control officers will tell you that domestic dogs are usually the blame for depredation of fawns and livestock. Hunters Love to kill cats. They don’t like that they kill rabbits and quail…I’m just saying - coyotes get blamed for every lost dog and cat and it just isn’t the case. I wish people would keep their animals on their own property. Didn’t mean to take over the forum of this poor person who has a hunter shooting on her property…

[Calamber]

It specifically says in the North Carolina law that you have to post your land with signs or purple paint.

As far as what coyotes eat, it all depends, if you have lots of open land, good weather and plenty of game, of course that is what they are going to eat. If you don’t and you live, say, on Bainbridge Island, WA, the coyotes routinely take cats and small dogs. That is a known fact, in fact they kill lots of cats here on the Peninsula and we are near state forested lands but dogs and cats are easier to get than the deer. There are no free roaming cats around here for that very reason. They also kill sheep (five adults on a farm where I rented a cottage) on Bainbridge, lambs, and will of course kill goats and the kids.

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=Minuet;8526610]
I don’t believe this is correct. I’ve been doing a LOT of research lately, and from what I’ve read, in NC you must have written permission within the last 12 months to hunt on private property.

ETA, that’s if it’s posted. Ugh. You are correct, beau159. We do have some signs up, but they are old, and I don’t know if they are every 200 ft.
I just think it’s ridiculous that it’s okay to hunt on someone else’s land if they don’t expressly prohibit it. It’s ok to trespass and shoot your gun on other people’s property unless there are signs saying “don’t do that”.[/QUOTE]

Purple paint is easier than the signs and that is the law in NC also. Either the signs or purple paint.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

[QUOTE=dog&horsemom;8522741]
For some reason, men love to shoot coyotes - I am pretty convinced they are afraid of them!
Coyotes eat RODENTS. That is a good thing. Contrary to what you have read - they are not scouting for your cats - or dogs or horses ect. I have interviewed many biologists on this matter.
I would be VERY angry if this coward neighbor started shooting toward my property. He sounds like an idiot. I have many friends who hunt and believe me they don’t point toward a neighbors ( or anyones) property and shoot. ( and they aren’t afraid of coyotes either).[/QUOTE]

What part of the country are you in? Eastern Coyotes are not the same thing. They are displacing many natural predators and taking down much larger than rodents. I do believe we need to remove the eastern variety entirely.

[Minuet]

Definitely, because of this incident, we will be busy this weekend painting trees and putting up signs. This type of thing has never happened before so we never thought about it. There is no hunting land around us. Neighbors own most of the land, and posted land is behind us.
Doesn’t a fence mean anything? Shooting inside a fence seems unlawful to me, but obviously I have been surprised by a lot of the laws.

[beau159]

[QUOTE=Minuet;8526610]
I don’t believe this is correct. I’ve been doing a LOT of research lately, and from what I’ve read, in NC you must have written permission within the last 12 months to hunt on private property.

ETA, that’s if it’s posted. Ugh. You are correct, beau159. We do have some signs up, but they are old, and I don’t know if they are every 200 ft.
I just think it’s ridiculous that it’s okay to hunt on someone else’s land if they don’t expressly prohibit it. It’s ok to trespass and shoot your gun on other people’s property unless there are signs saying “don’t do that”.[/QUOTE]

Good to know your state’s laws. As I guess I said in my post, our laws are very different in ND. If it’s not posted, it’s fair game. Anyone can hunt it without permission.

Make sure you are “up to code” on posting, and then I’d have a talk with said neighbor letting him know your land is posted and you do not allow hunters. And if he does it again, nail him!

[NoSuchPerson]

Yes, coyotyes DO kill cats. For example:

Coyotes (Canis latrans) pose a risk to domestic cats (Felis catus). We captured, radiocollared, and tracked 8 coyotes from November 2005 to February 2006 for 790 hours in Tucson, Arizona, USA. We observed 36 coyote-cat interactions; 19 resulted in coyotes killing cats. Most cats were killed in residential areas from 2200 hours to 0500 hours during the pup-rearing season. Single coyotes were as effective killing cats as were groups (>1) of coyotes. Documented cases of predators killing cats could encourage cat owners to keep their cats indoors and assist wildlife managers in addressing urban wildlife issues.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2193/2008-033/abstract

Coyotes were observed eating palm-tree dates, rodents, rabbits, and cats in medium-density residential areas. They only were observed eating cats and dates in high-density residential areas.

http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1894/MLK-05.1

Coyotes are intelligent and adaptable. In their natural, undisturbed habitat, they have plenty of food choices and very few cats, so cats aren’t a significant portion of their diet. In urbanized areas, where natural habitat has been eliminated or highly fragmented, they have fewer food choices and lots of cats. The value of cats as food items is much increased under those circumstances.

[HappyTalk]

[QUOTE=Calamber;8526788]
Purple paint is easier than the signs and that is the law in NC also. Either the signs or purple paint.[/QUOTE]

Signs can be removed. Hard to remove paint.

[Calamber]

Righto although if they really wanted to they could certainly peel off the bark.

[Sheri]

This is incredible. Dangerous. Gun laws here in Michigan you cannot use a rifle in populated type areas. Even farmland. A rifle bullet goes impossibly fast and far.
What is wrong with people? I know, I know:no: