From a Family of Poachers

 I'm a retired wildlife biologist and an ethical hunter, but I descended from a family of poachers.

I presented this information to the 15th Annual Ozarks Studies Symposium on September 24, 2022. 

I confess that my paternal grandfather, Grandpa Ed (1882-1976) told me that he thought hunting wild turkeys was easy. He said he shot six on a pond bank with a rifle while on horseback. "Nothing to it", he said. That was probably in the 1920's. Grandpa Ed had a hunting license only because Uncle Al bought him one every Christmas. 

My maternal grandfather, Grandpa Frank (1901-1976) was a law-abiding sportsman. He was one of the lucky 400 Missouri hunters who legally killed a deer in 1937, the last year the season was open for deer until 1945. He shot it with a borrowed rifle that his in-laws had used for market hunting many years before. He told me it had 70 notches in the stock representing the number of deer killed with it. 

Grandpa Frank's in-laws were from Carter County where he shot that 1937 buck. News about his Carter County in-laws hit the newspapers in 1996 when two of them were arrested for poaching, including taking game in a national park (Southeast Missourian 1996). 

With that heritage, I'm glad my own father was an ethical hunter who passed on his values to me. It is often common for the poaching tradition to be transmitted within a family from generation to generation. 

Charles Callison wrote about this phenomenon: 

"...there is a segment of the public, becoming a majority in some Ozark counties that for reasons explicable only in sociology, opposed any regulations of hunting and fishing. Some of the hill people had depended for generation upon wildlife a source of food." (Callison, C. 1953. Man and Wildlife in Missouri)

For our family to make the transition to law-abiding ethical hunters may possibly be a rare exception.

I

I grew up hunting. Before I was allowed to carry a gun, I followed my dad and my uncles hunting quail and rabbits. I shot my first rabbit at about age 10 with a borrowed shotgun as it was being chased by a borrowed beagle. Hunting with my dad and uncles was a rite of passage as a young boy. I learned about firearm safety, license requirements, daily and season bag limits, hunting season dates, and legal methods. I had my own 20 gauge shotgun at age 14. Pictured above are me, Uncle Robert, my dad, and English Setters Lady, and Sam.

So... what is poaching? What is ethical hunting?

According to Aldo Leopold in A Sand County Almanac, "Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching - even when doing the wrong thing is legal."

From the International Hunter Safety curriculum these are some elements of a Hunter's Ethical Code:

- Respect other hunters; handle firearms safely.

- Respect landowners; ask for permission.

- Abide by game laws and regulations.

- Adhere to fair chase principles.

- Know you personal limitations as a marksman.

- Do not waste meat or usable parts of game.

- Report game violations.

Personal ethics are very personal, so this list may be longer for some. 

Pictured above are my two primary hunting mentors, Uncle Al and my dad. They were both avid quail hunters during the 1950s and 1960s. But both took up wild turkey hunting in the 1970s. Here they enjoyed an Illinois goose hunting trip.

So why? Why did our family "advance" from poachers to ethical hunters? Why didn't all nine of my dad's siblings follow in their father's poaching footsteps? I hunted quail with almost all of my uncles. Dad always had good bird dogs and his brothers and brothers-in-law were attracted to him and his hunts. Of course, I don't know the answer for certain, but I think it had a lot to do with my grandmother's honesty and her Christian faith. I know that influenced my father and he certainly influenced me. There may have been other factors. I realize the world in Grandpa Ed's day was different. He wasn't the only poacher in the community. All his neighbors probably were also. Many Ozarkers lived off the land and survived on wild game.  

Whatever the reasons for that ethical conversion, I'm very glad for it. I benefited from that change. It led me to a satisfying career in wildlife management. 

(In 2013 I posted about "Poaching and the Ten Commandments". I will repost that blog as a companion to this post.)

Poaching and the Ten Commandments - reposted

 Here’s a challenge for you:  how many of the Ten Commandments are violated when a person poaches a deer? 

I was taught when I was growing up that poaching was not only illegal, but it was also unethical and immoral.  That was my dad’s view, but not all our extended family members agreed with that position. 

A distant relative lived a life of poaching in Missouri and elsewhere, including Yellowstone National Park.  He taught his son to poach.  Often such behavior is passed from generation to generation.  But in 1997 his crimes caught up with him to the tune of a $20,000 fine and a lifetime hunting ban. 

In 2010 right down the road at Birch Tree, a conservation law enforcement sting found 425 wildlife violations in seven Ozarks counties: Oregon, Howell, Shannon, Dent, Miller, Crawford and Iron. 

In the Ozarks, poaching is common.  For some it is a way of life. 

So, how about my question?  Does poaching violate any of the Ten Commandments?

I believe poaching violates Commandment Number 8:  You shall not steal.  The game a person takes illegally does not belong to him. 

The wildlife of the land belongs to all the people, not to the landowner.  That was confirmed early in American history by the U. S. Supreme Court.  Non-migratory animals are the responsibility of the state in which they reside.  Migratory species come under the responsibility of the federal government.  But the people are the owners. 

The primary purpose of game laws is to protect the wildlife population from over-exploitation.  The secondary purpose is to fairly distribute the harvest among the hunters. The poacher is stealing from the people of the United States in general, and in particular from his neighbor or friend who will never have a chance to harvest or even to see the game he has stolen.

Poaching violates Commandment Number 9 also:  You shall not give false testimony.  The poacher probably will.  I doubt if any poacher can keep quiet about his actions among other outlaws.  But when he is among law-abiding citizens and law enforcers, the poacher must lie. 

Poaching violates Commandment Number 10:  You shall not covet.  Coveting seems to be the basis for all the commandments.  Covetousness is based on selfishness, self-centeredness, and desiring to have someone else’s property, such as their game animals, and their recreation. 

What else does the Bible say that might relate to the behavior of a poacher?  Keep in mind that the first game law was written in the Old Testament.  Deuteronomy 22:6-7 says:  “If a bird's nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young;   you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.”  God expresses concern for his creation in many places in Scripture. 

How about the Golden Rule, which says “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”(Matthew 7:12).  The poacher should consider others. 

Christians are commanded to submit to human government.  (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-14, Matthew 22:15-22)  The only exception for a Christian is found in the example of Peter and John in the book of Acts.  When confronted by religious opposition, Peter replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” (Acts 4:19)

Much has been written about the Christian justification for civil disobedience.  In my opinion, game laws do not rise to the level to justify civil disobedience for a Christian.   Joe Poacher is not Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

Why would I write about this subject?  Probably because it has always bothered me that my Sunday School teacher when I was a young teenager was a known poacher.  And he liked to brag about it.

My Corner of the Ozarks: Hall of Fame Illinoisans

My Corner of the Ozarks: Hall of Fame Illinoisans: (reposted) Originally posted 11-30-2010 with periodic updates. We still love our Illinois friends we left behind and get to visit them occasionally. 

We moved from Illinois to My Corner of the Ozarks in May 2004. We are "back home" where we met in the 5th grade. But we left beh...

It Has Been a Long Time

 It has been a long time since I posted anything from My Corner of the Ozarks. From February to November. Maybe it was a slow time for us. I did not get a wild turkey in the spring season or in the fall season. We took only one very very short float trip. I didn't play much golf. I must really be getting old. 

But... in August we did have most of our grandchildren in My Corner of the Ozarks for our annual Camp David. Two days of Camp David were at Bunker Hill Retreat on the Jack's Fork River along with the David Family Reunion.

This was not the first time we had Camp David at Bunker Hill. We were there in 2015, 2017, and 2018. (See Sept. 1, 2014 blog)

Haven't they really grown up? But they are still "cute".  

We were also blessed to have the parents with us for a whole week along with their children (our grands). But we missed Brad and family from Kenya. Maybe next time. 

The David Family Reunion also happened at the same time at Bunker Hill. This is a photo of "some" of my cousins at Bunker Hill. Jack's Fork River bluff is in the background.