Birds of prey....Would you if it were legal?

[hfcable]

I personally have felt my being a hunter that I feel a certain kinship with other animals who also hunt and have never felt a desire to kill these predators be they lions, leopards, cougars, wolves, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, eagles, hawks, etc. just because they may be potential competition. If they were a direct threat to me, my family, or my livestock or pets then I would feel the right to defend myself. Other than that I would appreciate their place in nature, and only shoot what I was going to eat. Just my opinion.

exactly same for me.

[alnitak]

The shortage of small game is not due to the predators. It is due to habitat loss. With good habitat small game will reproduce faster than most predators can keep up and if they do they will begin dying off from lack of prey. Your problem is that you live in California where the environment has been so raped, pillaged and plundered it is a miracle there is anything left. Your game was destroyed by housing tracts, shopping malls, freeways, etc.

I know. I am a native Californian who lived there until age 62 when I moved to Misouri seven years ago. We have game large and small everywhere. The roadside shoulders are littered with corpses of every beast you mentioned plus armadillos and yet we have an abundance of almost everything. The only thing scarce around here is bobwhites and it wasn't the birds that got them it was clean fence rows and fescue pastures.

+1,000,000

[jcw]

NO!

[Old Ironsights]

"If it were legal..." was the OP question. Probably not is my answer. I have "frisbee'ed a hawk that was perched in my tree eyeballing my cat once. But I digress...

I have received a $250 reward for turning in a written complaint on a shooter who killed an owl a few years back. It was a proud moment. I'd not hesitate to do it again.

As it is now illegal to maim or kill such species, a criminal act makes one a criminal, whether they are caught or not. I would not think much of a person who rationalizes a criminal act.

It is also "illegal" to possess, or even pick up certain feathers (whether you know what they are or not).

Does that "criminal act" make one a "Criminal"?

Malum Prohibitum, Malum Habanae Regum Est...

[GoatGuy]

Nope ... wouldn't shoot them. ............. Frankly, I think we should be looking at managing human population rather than other animals.

Well, frankly It seems "we" are doing a right fine job of that here in our country. At least Planned Parenthood and the blind acceptance of Progressive cultural social engineering seem to be helping in that regard. You should be tickled pink about that.

Perhaps the future of America would seem brighter if the Basuto proverb seen below were to be promoted to, and accepted by, our youth. But, It'll never happen, as there are too many lazy, distracted and self absorbed folk who don't really consider a whit about our progeny's future.

By the way, fewer squirrels here abouts now, but we've got a plenty of redtail hawks. And the hawks, and Bald Eagles during February, and Great Horned owls also play hob on newborn kids in goat pastures. Have seen it happen, but fear of the heavy fines nowadays for defending one's property keeps me from doing anything about it.

[Mescalero]

Many years ago, my friend Harry I. Ball came to my house and borrowed ( without permission) another friends Husqvarna .243 ( who was in Thailand in the Air Force ) at the time.
He shot a Hawk, got busted doing it, Texas fish and game took the gun and fined him.
Fast forward 28 years later, I am at one of Shooters World big gun auctions, and here comes this Husqvarna .243, I look at it and think I recognize the mark on the stock from where my brother cleared the scope, but not the barrel; and took out the mirror on Harry's jeep.
I bought it and took it to my brother in Washington, sure enough, he identified it as the gun.
My brother sent it back to me when my niece started dragging home wierdo boyfriends.
I now have that rifle.
True story, wierd as it seems.

[coyote nose]

My hunch is that the decline of small game in most areas is due to the explosion of the house cat population rather than due to birds of prey. No i would not shoot a bird of prey.

[Canuck Bob]

I wouldn't shoot one regardless of the legality. Many years ago hen house raiders were killed but the old hen house and almost all my family's farms are gone. Locally they have an unlimited supply of gophers so the competition is not a big issue.

My kids and I watching Eagles work the river or the east slope ridges in the Rockies has softened me a lot. Places just seem a little wilder with Birds of Prey. I'd be much quicker to shoot feral cats, dogs, and hogs.

My issue around predators generally revolves around coyotes in farming country. The loss of active trapping makes these critters a concern for honest folks and their living. However I do find more and more I am less likely to see many predators as game animals. If I fed my family with calves or lambs I'd be ruthless on my land. I would legally shoot any wolf I encounter until their numbers are checked by other means.

[wilko]

NO

[Charles]

Back in the day, I shot birds of prey at will because there did prey on domestic critters. I even shot eagles from an airplane for the bounty paid by sheep ranchers.

Would I do it today? No way in hell!

[J35]

Old thread I know

I found this kind of interesting---scroll down to the falcons and hawks.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_dama ... Report.pdf

--J

[3leggedturtle]

If it was legal, MAYBE had one sit out side the window for over a week. It would start calling for a mate or whatever it was looking for and would keep at i for 3 hours or better.Was almost as annoying as the Whip-poor-wills at night.

[BAGTIC]

OI, I don't know where You are but where I am , and I have been in this same area for 65 years and there is no Modest Balance,there is a Major imbalance. It used to be that I could drive any country road or major Hiway here and see all kinds of small animals. Not any more, I'm lucky if I even see a Pheasant or a Rabbit.
Now please don't think that I am advocating kill them all but a little thinning could certainly be in order. Thats My take.
Perry

As a native California I remeber those days. The difference isn't the competition. It is that California now has 20 million more people It is the same with the downturn with the fishing and the birds are not catching the fish. I imagine that in California more small game are killed by cars than are taken by sportsmen. This is based on 70 years experience. Remember when this state was first settled it, like mosr other states, had an abundance of small game and there were no controls on predators as they had been doing their thing for millions of years.

I left Kalifornia a few years ago and now live in the Ozarks. People here complain about the decrease in bobwhites and cottontails. Squirrels are holding up fine. Quail and cottointail decline began with introduction of fescue pastures and clearning of brush lands. The birds didn't cause that.

[K1500]

I would not feel morally wrong humanely eliminating ANY animal which was plentiful in number which was harming either something I depended on for food, or some other more endangered species.

Be careful, that could describe humans on planet earth.

[FWiedner]

I would not feel morally wrong humanely eliminating ANY animal which was plentiful in number which was harming either something I depended on for food, or some other more endangered species.

Be careful, that could describe humans on planet earth.

... and that changes... WHAT?

[afish4570]

Here in the northeast, NY & Pa. the big woods are bare. Small game is being goobled on the ground by coyotes and hit from the air by birds of prey. Deer are plentiful in yards and suburbs where you can't hunt. Posted lands are small parcels surrounded by more small parcels to make hunting and tracking difficult should you get permission and a deer runs off you hunting parcel. The big woods, public land is old forest due to forever wild laws and such and don't support wildlife like the mixed agricultural land providing some food and habitat. Deer are having a rough time with the coyotes killing alot of the fawns and more adult deer than you could believe. Bear populations are high and a 300 or bigger bear didn't get that large eating berries and bugs. The squirrels at my wifes bird feeder aren't as plentiful either. They duck and hide from the neighbor hawks and are wary but must be losing the battle as they too aren't as plentiful. An then there is my wife.......aren't those hawks so pretty......Oh well. I would if I could.But until they open a season, no.afish4570