Moral dilemma

[Wayward_Son]

I work with this guy. He's a certified gun crank. I enjoy working with him for a number of reasons. Good guy to work with professionally in my line of work (I'm a surveyor/field engineer for a construction company, and he's a civil construction foreman).

I enjoy talking with him about guns and hunting.

He admitted--nay, bragged to me today about poaching deer on federal land. Says he does it every year. Openly admitted and bragged about not caring about limits and restrictions. Would shoot any deer, any time, with any rifle, even .17 HMR. Admitted to spreading corn on federal land to attract deer. Told me that even though he had a buck tag he'd still shoot does and not tag them. Even if there was a spread limit he'd shoot nubbin bucks and not tag them. If he bagged a buck with the right spread he would tag it and show it off to the game warden, but he kept going on and on about the various ways in which he illegally takes deer. Huge ****-eating grin on his face the entire time.

I come from Wyoming. Maybe I'm naive, but my recollection of hunting and environmentalism in Wyoming was that wildlife conservation was vitally important to the local ecology. The entire reason why the limits change and the amount of tags for bucks and does change every year is precisely for species population management. The entire reason that we can hunt and harvest deer and the population continues to survive year after year is precisely because of the limits on tags. The sole reason that deer weren't extinct in Wyoming decades ago was because of wildlife conservation and hunting limits.

Maybe things are different in Texas, but everything I know about ecology, environment and law are pressing me to turn this guy in, regardless of my working relationship with him. He's a poacher. He not only hurts the local ecology, he gives all hunters a bad name. His opinion is "there's plenty of 'em out there". I mostly like the guy, I enjoy working with him, but I'm considering calling Texas' Forest Service (or whatever the proper department is called) and cluing them in to his hunting locations on federal land. Did I mention that he told me exactly where he hunts?

It'll really suck for me next week if this guy just happens to be a member of this forum.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I'd turn him in, not a doubt in my mind.

 

[deanadell]

I'd drop a dime on him in a heartbeat.

 

[bullspotter]

Not a tough call for me, id wait till next season starts, get his licence plate # and wait for him to do wrong and turn him in. Can place an anonomus call, tell them you know the guy, hes told you things and they need to watch him. Guys like that make it that much harder for guys who go by the rules,to find places to hunt, it gets worse and worse every year and NEEDS to be stopped. I lost a prime archery spot due to a tresspassing hunter shooting a land owners cow about 6 years ago. The moron left his arrow in it even, when i called to see if i could hunt, he told me he needed to talk to me about it, when i got their he told me what happend, they even cought the guy, but i still couldnt hunt. Yeah im still PO about it.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I hate poachers, I'd be tempted to make a call.

 

[globemaster3]

If I thought he was a blowhard with a false sense of bravado, I'd probably ignore it.:barf:

But if I thought he was being genuine, I'd drive to the DNR office if I couldn't find a quarter!

 

[musher]

I wasn't there, but your description of his big grin while he was telling you makes me wonder if he wasn't yanking your chain just because he could see it was getting to you.

Since you have a good working relationship with him, if you really think he might be poaching, why don't you have a real conversation about it. Seems like you've got a lot better chance at changing his mind AND maintaining your working relationship if you have a genuine discussion about it rather than "dropping a dime" and at best getting him cited and angry at you.

 

[hogdogs]

It takes a grievous offense against an innocent human to get me to snitch... If against me I usually "deal with it" myself... I just ain't innocent enough my own self with various transgressions including simple traffic laws to point elbows at anyone else. Had enough times in the past where I felt I was more scrutinized then a crook when calling the police into it.
Besides I remember as a child the rhyme we used on tattle tails right before we bloodied his nose or blacked his eye... "Snitches git stitches..."
Then as an adult amongst a nefarious bunch of rednecks, bikers and redneck bikers it was "Snitches are a dieing breed"...
So I would just leave it go and let them have what justice may befall them happen in it's own time and way...
what goes around, comes around.
My karma ran over my dogma!
Brent

 

[dahermit]

The sad truth be known, there are many, many, many people who's stories cannot be believed. Having known so many liars in my life, I do not believe anything that I do not see. Any story that has excesses in its telling should be even more suspect.

 

[skydiver3346]

No doubt about it on what I would do....

Turn his butt into the authorities immediately.

Just think, if everyone thought this was okay to poach, there would be no more game for us law abiding citizens to hunt. Poachers are thiefs, cowards and absolutely without moral character. They feel the law does not apply to them and they can do anything they wish. That really ticks me off when I hear anything about poachers. Maybe it is my LE background, but I just love hunting too much to have these people screw it up for the rest of us.
If you determine he is 100% real, it is your duty to call the hotline and turn him in.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sucks to be in that situation, doesn't it? Sort of like knowing a friend is cheating on his wife who is a friend as well... I would just tell this guy what he is doing is wrong in your eyes, you won't help him do it, and you don't wish to hear anymore about it. Who knows if he really is doing what he says he is? His actions will catch up to him soon enough. Remember, you do work with this guy, no point making enemies out of him and all his friends and having to deal with that as well. If he keeps bragging like that and being that brazen, he will get caught.

 

[Crankylove]

I would contact the autorities. If his story is true, they can persue it. If it is just a line of crap, they will find out. If he is telling the truth, he needs to pay the consequences for violating the law. If he is lying, he needs to realize that those kinds of brags make the rest of the honest, and law-abiding hunters and firearms enthusiasts look bad.

 

[roy reali]

Remember, all evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing about it.

 

[FrontSight]

"There was nothing worse in my neighborhood, than being a rat."

 

[troy_mclure]

growing up we were dirt poor. our meat came from what we caught/shot. we hunted fished year round.

now that we aren't poor we only hunt during the season with tags.

 

[JohnKSa]

It's a dilemma, I'll give you that.

But it's not a MORAL dilemma, the MORAL part isn't a dilemma at all, it's very straightforward.

 

[bswiv]

First step is as someone said, determin if you are dealing with a blowhard here.

If you find that you think he is telling the truth then under the buss he goes.

While I am as guilty as anyone of turning a blind eye to small transgressions what is being described here is not of that nature.

Seems to me there is a difference between the guy who has a drink or two to much at a once a year event and then creeps down a mile of dirt road to his house at a couple of miles a hour and the guy who gets toasted on a regular basis and then joins the rest of us on the interstate at 70 MPH.

 

[Hamour]

Nothing but trouble will come from being a quisling or rat.
If he is telling you true, the Feds will have him in good time.
Poachers and Federal game wardens are nothing but trouble, stay away from both!

 

[HiBC]

Dilemnas provide an interesting way to observe humanity,and ourselves.

Just look real close at the guy you see in the mirror,and ask yourself some questions.You want to keep liking that guy.You don't want him to chew on his guts,or feel ashamed. Take good care of who you see when you shave.

 

[nate45]

I come from Wyoming. Maybe I'm naive, but my recollection of hunting and environmentalism in Wyoming was that wildlife conservation was vitally important to the local ecology.

It is a common mistake in modern times to confuse conservation with environmentalism. These are two separate and distinct things. Without a long dissertation, the short version is; environmetalists are loons and conservationists are good people trying to conserve our natural resources. An example of this would be a deer over population problem, a conservationist would want to organize managed hunts, and/or introduce predators. An environmetalist would want to try giving the deer birth control and hugging a tree while prying to Gaia to help them.:barf:

As to your problem with your 'friend,' I myself would be hesitant to be an informer, as has been noted no one likes a rat. Then again it takes a very foolish person to boast of their illicit activities. I suppose you should let your conscience be your guide.