Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know that old saying, when in Rome, do as
the Romans do. That's great advice for international travel, but
it doesn't apply when you're being attacked by a rabid fox.
Earlier this month, a Virginia woman named Shirley Phillips was
standing in her driveway when she felt something fuzzy brush
up against her leg. She assumed it was the neighbor
cap that liked to nap under her vehicle, until she
(00:44):
felt the teeth sink right into her heel. She looked
down and said, quote, that ain't no cap. She was right.
A gray fox was attacking her leg, and when she
reached down to fend it off, it latched onto her
finger and wouldn't let go. So she decided to fight
fire with the fire. She grabbed the fox by the
scruff of its neck with her other hand and sank
her teeth into its ear. Not accustomed to being bitten
(01:08):
by humans, the fox began to release its grasp, Phillips
was able to pry its jaws off her finger, set
it in her car, and close the door. When officers arrived,
they found the fox pacing around the front seats of
the car and attacking the door handle. They managed to
secure the fox with a catch pole, take it to
a safe location, and shoot it. The fox unsurprisingly tested
(01:30):
positive for rabies, and Phillips began the four dose rabies
vaccine treatment. She sustained cuts all over her ankles and
fingers along with eleven stitches, but is expected to be okay.
This week, We've got the Constitution, cyanide, sharpshooters, and so
much more. But first, I'm going to tell you about
my week, and you know, I'm going to backtrack on
(01:53):
what I said last week and tell you more about
Conniatt Ohio and the muster in the marsh and hanging
out with all these awesome folks that it came out
to support BAH, some of whom were from the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources. Learned a lot about issues and
good things that are happening in Ohio, including some much
needed and super cool, pretty darn large public land acquisitions,
(02:16):
lots of working land components, there, so nothing to be
afraid of, and it just adds more access and opportunity
for as I found out, the people of Ohio who
love to hunt and fish, angle trap, they kind of
do it all over there. Lots of foraging. They're taking
advantage all the things out there around that Greater Lake
(02:37):
Erie region. It's super super cool to see. So again,
big thank you to the moonshiners, the brewers, the trappers,
the anglers, the knife makers, and the snap and turtle
skinners that showed up out there and taught us all
about what they did. Super super cool. Big thanks to
(02:59):
Covered Bridge outfitter who have a bunch of cool stuff
going on. If you like to shoot geese or hunt
bucks or fish for a variety of species out there,
real cool folks, cool operation. Certainly some folks in the
guide shack there that remind me of me, which was
cool to see how some things don't change and for
(03:19):
the better. I'm talking about got to do some angling
out there on big Lake Erie. It's really phenomenal to
be on a body of water like that. Even though
Lake Erie is not one of the biggest Great lakes,
but man, you know how big the Great lakes are.
On paper, but they just blow you away when you're
out there on the water. So really really cool. Thanks
(03:42):
again to all the good folks in Ohio and the
folks that came across the Pennsylvania line, and the West
Virginia folks, and the Virginia folks and the Kentucky folks,
including my long lost good buddy Kevin Murphy. He came
up to represent small Game Nation and folks who like
to run things with dogs. Great catching up with him.
Can't wait to see everybody next year. Hopefully I make
(04:04):
that happen. For more information on backcountry hunters and anglers,
head on over to backcountry hunters dotorg. Anyway, lots cover.
So we're gonna hit the law enforcement desk first. A
Virginia man issuing the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources along
with three individual game wardens for what he says was
an unlawful search and seizure of his property. Josh Highlander
(04:28):
says game wardens ignored no trespassing signs, entered his thirty
acre property in southern Virginia, and stole his trail camera.
Highlander has not been charged or cited with any wildlife crimes,
and the DWR has yet to return his camera. His lawsuit,
filed in Henrico County Circuit Court, says that the DWR
quote has a long standing policy and practice of seizing
(04:50):
privately owned cameras from posted private land without the owner's consent.
He says such actions violate his rights under the Virginia
Constitution and that the wardens should have secured a warrant
before entering his property or taking his cameras. The Department
of Wildlife Resources has so far refused to comment on
the case, citing the pending lawsuit, but wardens in Virginia,
(05:12):
like wardens in many states, are permitted to trespass onto
private property based on something called the quote open fields doctrine.
This term comes from a nineteen twenty four case called
Hester v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled, quote,
the special protection accorded by the Fourth Amendment to the
people in their persons, houses, papers, and effects is not
(05:34):
extended to the open fields law. Enforcement officers of all
kinds need a warrant to search a house and the
immediate perimeter, what the law calls the curtilage, but they
do not need a warrant to enter privately owned Land.
The Virginia State Supreme Court echoed that U S Supreme
Court decision in a nineteen twenty three case called mcclannan v.
(05:56):
Chaplain Highland and his team acknowledged this precedent, But they
want I want the court to overturn those previous decisions.
They say, these one hundred year old rulings flout the
clear meaning of state and federal constitutions, ignore the framer's
historical aversion to unconstrained searches of private property, and disregard
the common law. They say these decisions were a quote
(06:17):
wrongly decided and should be overruled. If this scenario sounds familiar,
there's a reason. Back in episode one fifty three, we
covered a similar case out of Tennessee. In that case,
a court ruled that game wardens were not allowed to
enter private property to prosecute a wildlife baiting investigation. The
judge's opinion declared that the Tennessee law upholding the open
(06:38):
field's doctrine leads to quote intolerable risk of abusive searches
and is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable. It's worth noting that
a legal outfit called the Institute for Justice is behind
both of these lawsuits. They're bringing these cases as part
of their quote project on the Fourth Amendment, which seeks
to quote protect the right place for Americans to be
(07:01):
secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. Now, if you're of age, okay,
and you're in school, and you're listening to this podcast,
which I've been told a lot of folks have gotten
as like some required listening material for certain courses. You know,
you could have a little game with how many times
I say quote if you want to re listen. Anyway,
(07:23):
I don't think anyone would argue that we should ignore
the Fourth Amendment and allow law enforcement to enter our
homes without a warrant. After all, that's one of the
reasons we decided to break up with the British. Happy
belated Independence Day, by the way. But it's also true that,
unlike in other parts of the world, landowners do not
own the wildlife that live on their properties, right, you
(07:46):
get what I'm saying. Wildlife is owned by the public
in the good old United States, not each private entity.
So it makes sense that game wardens would be able
to investigate wildlife crime on private properties. And that's like
the tug of war here. Private property is sacred in
the United States, for sure and certain, but so is
(08:09):
our wildlife. Now we're waiting for more details to emerge.
In this particular case, game wardens were on Highland's property
because just a few hours before they had cited Hyland's
brother for hunting turkey over bait. Highland had a food
plot on his property, but he says he shot a
turkey that morning quote hundreds of yards away from his
food plot. The camera the game wardens seized was on
(08:32):
that food plot, and they also seized cameras used by
Highland's brother and father on different properties. It sounds like
they suspected all three Highlands of breaking wildlife laws. So
even though they never cited Josh Hiland with any wrongdoing,
it makes me think there might be more to this story. Still.
I also wonder whether the court will side with Highland
(08:53):
because game wardens seized his camera. It's one thing to
trespass on private property without a warrant, it's another thing
to actually take someone's possessions. The Virginia Bill of Rights
prohibits unreasonable seizures of private property, and the Fourth Amendment
of the US Constitution gives the people the right to
be secure in their quote persons, houses, papers, and effects.
(09:15):
The word effects just means personal possessions. Trail cameras along
with the memory cards and photos they contain, seem like
they would qualify. Supreme courts in Montana, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Vermont,
and Washington have all restricted game warden access in one
way or another. Along with this case and the one
in Tennessee, another similar case in Pennsylvania is working its
(09:37):
way through the system. As always, we'll keep you in
the loop. I just want to point out here for
context again, the case that removed the ability for game
wardens to access private property under the open fields doctrine
here in Montana was a real deal poaching case of
a trophy bill elk in a very hard to raw unit,
(10:01):
something that people who like to hunt are very sensitive to.
In that particular instance, you know, it really sucks for
us hunters that folks with the chunk of private ground
could illegally take a bull elk that all of us
have been waiting years and years and years to apply
for and just have the ability to legally pursue. Right.
(10:21):
And that's where the open fields doctrine is a big
can of worms, private land, public wildlife, and it wouldn't
be that big of a deal if we all just behaved.
Moving on to the cat desk. If there's one group
of people who dislikes feral cats more than me, it
is the Australians. They have some amazing native bird species
(10:45):
in the land down Under, but many of those species
are being threatened by feral cat predation. That's why the
State of Western Australia has decided to unleash a new
cat killing machine to help reduce the number of wild
kiddies on the landscape. The machine, cleverly named the Felixer,
will be deployed throughout the state. According to the newspaper
Western Australia Today, the Felixer identifies feral cats from their
(11:08):
silhouette and their gait and fires a sticky gel shot
containing eight milligrams of ten eighty poison. Ten eighty poison
is a colorless salt that tastes like sodium chloride and
is commonly used as a rodenticide. Cats are obsessed with
self grooming, so the felines ingest the poison when they
lick the sticky substance off their fur self. Grooming traps
(11:29):
are supposedly more effective than traditional devices because cats can
be hesitant to take bait or enter traps. The box
like machine also plays audio lures to attract cats, which
I assume are similar to predator calls. The Western Australian
government has worked with the Felixer for years to ensure
it won't harm non target animals, and they're apparently satisfied
(11:51):
with the results. The first comprehensive efficacy trial of the
device successfully targeted seventy two cats without killing any native bilbies, birds, qualls,
rabbits or batoks. It did kill one kangaroo, but researchers
detected a sixty six percent reduction in feral cat activity
within two months. In twenty twenty, researchers from the University
(12:13):
of New South Wales used the Felixer device on a
twenty six hector fenced off property in South Australia. After
six weeks, researchers found that two thirds of the fifty
feral cats on the property had been killed by the device,
and no other wildlife had been harmed. One of the
studies lead researchers, Catherine Moseby, told the Daily Mail that
while the device is not perfect, it does have a
(12:34):
much higher target specificity than traps. Traditional traps can control
for non target mortality through bait and trap size, but
they can't be nearly as picky as the felixer. Of course,
not everyone is a fan of the device. The animal
rights group in Defensive Animals launched a petition to stop
the quote madness of what it calls robotic poisoned death machines.
(12:57):
They say humans are more responsible for decline numbers of
native species and they want the government to institute trap
neuter return programs and mandatory spae and neuter legislation for
all quote cat companions. You know, I agree with the
mandatory spae and neuter legislation for quote cat companions, But
I mean, do I have to tell the joke? Everybody
(13:20):
knows it, right? Trap neuter return programs do not work
because neutering and spain cats prevent them from replicating reproducing, right,
And they're not trying to reproduce all these prey species
to death, right, They're eating them. They're not fornicating with
them anyway. According to some estimates, feral cats across Australia
(13:44):
kill three point one million mammals, one point eight million
reptiles and one point three million birds in Australia every
single day. In the state, thirty six mammal, eleven reptile
and twenty two bird species are vulnerable to predation by
feral cats. The Felixer is not new. You can find
articles about the device going all the way back to
(14:04):
twenty nineteen. But it's in the news again because the
Western Australian government just announced the machine's widespread deployment as
part of a seven point six million, five year plan
to manage invasi of feral cats. Wildlife managers plan to
use the device in areas of high cat traffic and
where biologists are trying to reintroduce threatened species. I am
(14:26):
dying to know the long term effects of the Felixer.
There's definitely lots of areas that I know of where
one could be put to good use, including my mother's barn.
Moving on to the cyanide desk. In other controversial wildlife
management news, the Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the
(14:49):
Bureau of Land Management to prohibit the use of what
the organization calls quote cyanide bombs. The actual name for
these devices is the M forty four. Wildlife managers have
used M forty fours for decades around livestock to kill
coyotes and reduce calf predation. The device contains a small
spring loaded charge of sodium cyanide powder that kills whatever
(15:09):
sticks its nose close enough to investigate. The devices have
killed pet dogs and other non target animals, but no
humans have ever been killed. Still, seventy six groups, including
the Humane Society and Project Coyote, are petitioning the BLM
to ban their use. Their efforts were galvanized by a
tragic incident a few years ago in which a teenage
boy and his dog stumbled upon an M forty four.
(15:32):
The dog died instantly, while the boy wasn't hurt. His
family believes he was only saved due to the direction
of the wind. As a result of this incident, a
group of three Democratic congress people also introduced a law
in the US Congress that would ban M forty fours
from all federal public land. The petition to ban M
forty four's claims that forty two people were exposed to
(15:53):
the cyanide between nineteen eighty four and twenty fifteen. Twenty
five of those people were federal employees and seventeen were
members of the public. None of them died, but they
experience paints, dizziness, and blisters, along with pet dogs, raccoons, possums,
and skunks, which are occasionally killed. The petitions believe the
ranchers and wildlife managers should use other methods of predator control,
(16:16):
such as fences, guard dogs, and electrified netting. Ranchers point
out that they already used many of these methods and
that M forty fours are a handy tool in areas
where direct control work is difficult, such as around calves
or lambs. They also take issue with the term cyanide bomb.
M forty fours are designed to shoot the toxin directly
into the animal's mouth. They don't spread the poison over
(16:38):
a wide area. We'll see if the FEDS pay much
attention to this petition. M forty four's have been used
for a long long time, and if they were causing
widespread harm, it seems like we know that by now.
I have been on plenty of properties where these M
forty fours have been set. I have never had any
bird dog issues. Obviously it'd be like a horrid, horrid,
(16:59):
gross bummer, and I feel for this kid and his
dog big time. As we see with trapping regulations just
about everywhere, lots of signage involved with the deployment of
M forty four is typically or you know that rancher
is going to grab you by the arm and say, hey,
this is what's going on out there. If you have
permission to hunt. It's their business on private property. When
(17:20):
these things get set out in public grazing allotments, lots
of signage doesn't mean mistakes can't happen. When they do,
it's a real bummer. Moving on to the ancient history desk.
Could you kill a bird with a double pointed wooden
stick thrown like a boomerang if you were an early
human living three hundred thousand years ago in Germany? Archaeologists
(17:43):
believe the answer is yes. All the way back in
nineteen ninety four, a large cache of wooden tools was
found at a site in Germany called Shown Engine, but
it hasn't been until recently that researchers have conducted a
systemaized analysis of those tools, and they've made some interesting discoveries.
One of the tools, for example, is a short stick
made from a spruce branch that's been sharpened at both ends.
(18:06):
It's a simple tool, but it demonstrates advanced woodworking skills.
Early human hunters would have had to cut and strip
off the bark, carve it into an aerodynamic shape, scrape
away more of the surface season the wood to avoid
cracking and warping, and sand it for easier handling. Researchers
believe this tool was used for hunting because it was
found alongside herbivores that were butchered along the lake shore.
(18:29):
Early humans would have hunted medium sized game like red
and roadier and possibly fast small prey, including hair and
birds that were otherwise difficult to catch. Researchers think the
stick would have been thrown rotationally like a boomerang, and
may have enabled early humans to throw as far as
thirty meters. The slightly curved thirty inch stick is relatively
light weight, but it could have been launched at high
(18:51):
velocities to stun an animal or break its legs. The
researchers didn't say if they took to stick throwing themselves,
but they do base their assumptions on other rears world
experiments with throwing sticks. What's more, the fine surface, carefully
shaped points, and polish from handling suggests this was a
piece of personal kit with lots of repeated use, rather
(19:11):
than a quickly made tool that was carelessly discarded. It
was found apart from other tools, but the lack of
damage to the stick makes researchers think it was lost
during use rather than discard it, sort of like when
you lose an arrow in the underbrush. Researchers will continue
to analyze the other wooden tools found at this site,
but at the very least, this throwing stick gives us
(19:32):
another window into how humans have harvested meat for literally
hundreds of thousands of years. Moving on to the mail
bag listener Kenyan Harris wrote in this week with some
of the news from his neck of the woods, Tigak,
South Carolina. The city council recently voted to hire sharpshooters
to reduce the area's deer population. There are almost nine
(19:55):
hundred deer in the four point five square mile suburb
of Charlotte, and city leaders worry about traffic accidents, damage
to the local ecosystem, and horror of horrors, obstacles to
golfing and gardening. In all seriousness. Too many deer in
an area can be a major headache, which is why
the city is applying to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources for a permit to hire sharpshooters. The idea
(20:18):
is causing controversy in the small community for the reasons
you might expect. Some think it's the best way to
control the deer. Others worry about the safety of firearms
being discharged so close to homes, while others think the
city should sterilize the deer population, which would totally work
and not be a giant black hole to taxpayer dollars. Anyway,
Kenyon has a different complaint about the plan. He says
(20:40):
city leaders never even considered giving local bowhunters a crack
at some free venison. Bow hunting doesn't introduce the danger
of stray bullets, and I'm sure there are plenty of
hunters in the surrounding area who would answer the call
of duty. Hunters are used to manage wildlife on a
broad scale, but there's lots of precedent for hunters being
called into the managed specific lis situations. In Ohio, for example,
(21:03):
nine special deer hunts have been announced in areas where
deer over eating native Ohio plants. The hunts will take
place in nature preserves around the state, and hunters will
have to attend an informational meeting and pay five dollars
to have their names entered into a drawing. Some preserves
will allow guns, while others will only allow archery equipment
depending on the situation on the ground. Hunters will have
(21:25):
the opportunity to harvest doze only or either sex tags
will be issued. It seems like Tigak city leaders could
institute a similar program, especially given the fact that this
will likely be a multi year process. Anyway, hunters would
have to apply for a lottery or purchase a tag,
which would pay for the cost of the program, and
(21:45):
safety concerns could be alleviated by making the hunters take
a training course to hunt deer in the suburban setting.
The city council would only have to look a little
further north to Virginia to find a model of urban
deer hunting. I'm sure some local residents would oppose the
the idea. Archery hunting almost always involves some tracking, and
I'm sure some folks don't like the idea of a
(22:06):
wounded deer in their backyard. But it could have the
same community money, and it would allow local residents to
solve their own problem rather than rely on sharpshooters hired
by the state. Whatever you think about this story, if
you live in Tiga Ka or the surrounding area, get
in touch with the city council. I'm sure they'd love
to hear from you. One last thing I gotta mention,
(22:30):
and this came to my attention from my dear old
buddy Kelsey Clevenberg, who is an avid golfer these days.
Don't ask me why they're golfing cohorts. My buddy Kelsey
Clevenberg and my buddy Ryan Thompson wrote in and said, Hey,
a dude from Georgia currently leading the Open in parentheses
one of the biggest golf tourneys of the year by
(22:51):
a bunch, is a passionate bow hunter. He has the
British presses panties in a bunch. This is from the
Guardian UK and one of the more bizarre major press
conference departures of recent times. The thirty six year old
explained his penchant for killing animals. He missed the cut
at the Masters and immediately slaughtered a pig and a Turkey.
(23:12):
Here's his quote. I've been a hunter my entire life,
he boasted. I enjoy the strategy of it. We eat
a lot of wild meat at my house, so I
enjoy butchering and I do a lot of hunting. Champions
traditionally drink from the claret jug. One is left to
ponder what on earth Brian Harmon may do with the
famous trophy the Attorney being held in the English town
(23:35):
of hoy Lake, where they've dubbed the player Brian Harmon
the Butcher of hoy Lake, which may be one of
the best things to ever come out of golfing. I
was able to get a hold of Brian. He seems
in high spirits. The Brits attacking his way of life,
who happened to live in a country where they can
buy me shot by other people do not seem to
(23:57):
be bothering him. He's looking forward to a go Boseason,
and uh, I just want to say, keep at it, Brian,
keep swinging away for the good old us of a.
Even though we give golfers a lot of crap here
on the show. You know, you're proven that there's some
good ones out there. We appreciate you. Go get them.
That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you
so much for listening. Remember to write in to Ask c.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
A L.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
That's Askcal at the Meat Eater dot com and let
me know what's going on in your neck of the woods.
On top of that, don't forget to go to www
dot steel dealers dot com to find a local, knowledgeable
steel dealer near you. They're gonna get set up with
what you need and they won't try to send you
home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk
to you next week.
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know that old saying, when in Rome, do as
the Romans do. That's great advice for international travel, but
it doesn't apply when you're being attacked by a rabid fox.
Earlier this month, a Virginia woman named Shirley Phillips was
standing in her driveway when she felt something fuzzy brush
up against her leg. She assumed it was the neighbor
cap that liked to nap under her vehicle, until she
(00:44):
felt the teeth sink right into her heel. She looked
down and said, quote, that ain't no cap. She was right.
A gray fox was attacking her leg, and when she
reached down to fend it off, it latched onto her
finger and wouldn't let go. So she decided to fight
fire with the fire. She grabbed the fox by the
scruff of its neck with her other hand and sank
her teeth into its ear. Not accustomed to being bitten
(01:08):
by humans, the fox began to release its grasp, Phillips
was able to pry its jaws off her finger, set
it in her car, and close the door. When officers arrived,
they found the fox pacing around the front seats of
the car and attacking the door handle. They managed to
secure the fox with a catch pole, take it to
a safe location, and shoot it. The fox unsurprisingly tested
(01:30):
positive for rabies, and Phillips began the four dose rabies
vaccine treatment. She sustained cuts all over her ankles and
fingers along with eleven stitches, but is expected to be okay.
This week, We've got the Constitution, cyanide, sharpshooters, and so
much more. But first, I'm going to tell you about
my week, and you know, I'm going to backtrack on
(01:53):
what I said last week and tell you more about
Conniatt Ohio and the muster in the marsh and hanging
out with all these awesome folks that it came out
to support BAH, some of whom were from the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources. Learned a lot about issues and
good things that are happening in Ohio, including some much
needed and super cool, pretty darn large public land acquisitions,
(02:16):
lots of working land components, there, so nothing to be
afraid of, and it just adds more access and opportunity
for as I found out, the people of Ohio who
love to hunt and fish, angle trap, they kind of
do it all over there. Lots of foraging. They're taking
advantage all the things out there around that Greater Lake
(02:37):
Erie region. It's super super cool to see. So again,
big thank you to the moonshiners, the brewers, the trappers,
the anglers, the knife makers, and the snap and turtle
skinners that showed up out there and taught us all
about what they did. Super super cool. Big thanks to
(02:59):
Covered Bridge outfitter who have a bunch of cool stuff
going on. If you like to shoot geese or hunt
bucks or fish for a variety of species out there,
real cool folks, cool operation. Certainly some folks in the
guide shack there that remind me of me, which was
cool to see how some things don't change and for
(03:19):
the better. I'm talking about got to do some angling
out there on big Lake Erie. It's really phenomenal to
be on a body of water like that. Even though
Lake Erie is not one of the biggest Great lakes,
but man, you know how big the Great lakes are.
On paper, but they just blow you away when you're
out there on the water. So really really cool. Thanks
(03:42):
again to all the good folks in Ohio and the
folks that came across the Pennsylvania line, and the West
Virginia folks, and the Virginia folks and the Kentucky folks,
including my long lost good buddy Kevin Murphy. He came
up to represent small Game Nation and folks who like
to run things with dogs. Great catching up with him.
Can't wait to see everybody next year. Hopefully I make
(04:04):
that happen. For more information on backcountry hunters and anglers,
head on over to backcountry hunters dotorg. Anyway, lots cover.
So we're gonna hit the law enforcement desk first. A
Virginia man issuing the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources along
with three individual game wardens for what he says was
an unlawful search and seizure of his property. Josh Highlander
(04:28):
says game wardens ignored no trespassing signs, entered his thirty
acre property in southern Virginia, and stole his trail camera.
Highlander has not been charged or cited with any wildlife crimes,
and the DWR has yet to return his camera. His lawsuit,
filed in Henrico County Circuit Court, says that the DWR
quote has a long standing policy and practice of seizing
(04:50):
privately owned cameras from posted private land without the owner's consent.
He says such actions violate his rights under the Virginia
Constitution and that the wardens should have secured a warrant
before entering his property or taking his cameras. The Department
of Wildlife Resources has so far refused to comment on
the case, citing the pending lawsuit, but wardens in Virginia,
(05:12):
like wardens in many states, are permitted to trespass onto
private property based on something called the quote open fields doctrine.
This term comes from a nineteen twenty four case called
Hester v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled, quote,
the special protection accorded by the Fourth Amendment to the
people in their persons, houses, papers, and effects is not
(05:34):
extended to the open fields law. Enforcement officers of all
kinds need a warrant to search a house and the
immediate perimeter, what the law calls the curtilage, but they
do not need a warrant to enter privately owned Land.
The Virginia State Supreme Court echoed that U S Supreme
Court decision in a nineteen twenty three case called mcclannan v.
(05:56):
Chaplain Highland and his team acknowledged this precedent, But they
want I want the court to overturn those previous decisions.
They say, these one hundred year old rulings flout the
clear meaning of state and federal constitutions, ignore the framer's
historical aversion to unconstrained searches of private property, and disregard
the common law. They say these decisions were a quote
(06:17):
wrongly decided and should be overruled. If this scenario sounds familiar,
there's a reason. Back in episode one fifty three, we
covered a similar case out of Tennessee. In that case,
a court ruled that game wardens were not allowed to
enter private property to prosecute a wildlife baiting investigation. The
judge's opinion declared that the Tennessee law upholding the open
(06:38):
field's doctrine leads to quote intolerable risk of abusive searches
and is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable. It's worth noting that
a legal outfit called the Institute for Justice is behind
both of these lawsuits. They're bringing these cases as part
of their quote project on the Fourth Amendment, which seeks
to quote protect the right place for Americans to be
(07:01):
secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. Now, if you're of age, okay,
and you're in school, and you're listening to this podcast,
which I've been told a lot of folks have gotten
as like some required listening material for certain courses. You know,
you could have a little game with how many times
I say quote if you want to re listen. Anyway,
(07:23):
I don't think anyone would argue that we should ignore
the Fourth Amendment and allow law enforcement to enter our
homes without a warrant. After all, that's one of the
reasons we decided to break up with the British. Happy
belated Independence Day, by the way. But it's also true that,
unlike in other parts of the world, landowners do not
own the wildlife that live on their properties, right, you
(07:46):
get what I'm saying. Wildlife is owned by the public
in the good old United States, not each private entity.
So it makes sense that game wardens would be able
to investigate wildlife crime on private properties. And that's like
the tug of war here. Private property is sacred in
the United States, for sure and certain, but so is
(08:09):
our wildlife. Now we're waiting for more details to emerge.
In this particular case, game wardens were on Highland's property
because just a few hours before they had cited Hyland's
brother for hunting turkey over bait. Highland had a food
plot on his property, but he says he shot a
turkey that morning quote hundreds of yards away from his
food plot. The camera the game wardens seized was on
(08:32):
that food plot, and they also seized cameras used by
Highland's brother and father on different properties. It sounds like
they suspected all three Highlands of breaking wildlife laws. So
even though they never cited Josh Hiland with any wrongdoing,
it makes me think there might be more to this story. Still.
I also wonder whether the court will side with Highland
(08:53):
because game wardens seized his camera. It's one thing to
trespass on private property without a warrant, it's another thing
to actually take someone's possessions. The Virginia Bill of Rights
prohibits unreasonable seizures of private property, and the Fourth Amendment
of the US Constitution gives the people the right to
be secure in their quote persons, houses, papers, and effects.
(09:15):
The word effects just means personal possessions. Trail cameras along
with the memory cards and photos they contain, seem like
they would qualify. Supreme courts in Montana, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Vermont,
and Washington have all restricted game warden access in one
way or another. Along with this case and the one
in Tennessee, another similar case in Pennsylvania is working its
(09:37):
way through the system. As always, we'll keep you in
the loop. I just want to point out here for
context again, the case that removed the ability for game
wardens to access private property under the open fields doctrine
here in Montana was a real deal poaching case of
a trophy bill elk in a very hard to raw unit,
(10:01):
something that people who like to hunt are very sensitive to.
In that particular instance, you know, it really sucks for
us hunters that folks with the chunk of private ground
could illegally take a bull elk that all of us
have been waiting years and years and years to apply
for and just have the ability to legally pursue. Right.
(10:21):
And that's where the open fields doctrine is a big
can of worms, private land, public wildlife, and it wouldn't
be that big of a deal if we all just behaved.
Moving on to the cat desk. If there's one group
of people who dislikes feral cats more than me, it
is the Australians. They have some amazing native bird species
(10:45):
in the land down Under, but many of those species
are being threatened by feral cat predation. That's why the
State of Western Australia has decided to unleash a new
cat killing machine to help reduce the number of wild
kiddies on the landscape. The machine, cleverly named the Felixer,
will be deployed throughout the state. According to the newspaper
Western Australia Today, the Felixer identifies feral cats from their
(11:08):
silhouette and their gait and fires a sticky gel shot
containing eight milligrams of ten eighty poison. Ten eighty poison
is a colorless salt that tastes like sodium chloride and
is commonly used as a rodenticide. Cats are obsessed with
self grooming, so the felines ingest the poison when they
lick the sticky substance off their fur self. Grooming traps
(11:29):
are supposedly more effective than traditional devices because cats can
be hesitant to take bait or enter traps. The box
like machine also plays audio lures to attract cats, which
I assume are similar to predator calls. The Western Australian
government has worked with the Felixer for years to ensure
it won't harm non target animals, and they're apparently satisfied
(11:51):
with the results. The first comprehensive efficacy trial of the
device successfully targeted seventy two cats without killing any native bilbies, birds, qualls,
rabbits or batoks. It did kill one kangaroo, but researchers
detected a sixty six percent reduction in feral cat activity
within two months. In twenty twenty, researchers from the University
(12:13):
of New South Wales used the Felixer device on a
twenty six hector fenced off property in South Australia. After
six weeks, researchers found that two thirds of the fifty
feral cats on the property had been killed by the device,
and no other wildlife had been harmed. One of the
studies lead researchers, Catherine Moseby, told the Daily Mail that
while the device is not perfect, it does have a
(12:34):
much higher target specificity than traps. Traditional traps can control
for non target mortality through bait and trap size, but
they can't be nearly as picky as the felixer. Of course,
not everyone is a fan of the device. The animal
rights group in Defensive Animals launched a petition to stop
the quote madness of what it calls robotic poisoned death machines.
(12:57):
They say humans are more responsible for decline numbers of
native species and they want the government to institute trap
neuter return programs and mandatory spae and neuter legislation for
all quote cat companions. You know, I agree with the
mandatory spae and neuter legislation for quote cat companions, But
I mean, do I have to tell the joke? Everybody
(13:20):
knows it, right? Trap neuter return programs do not work
because neutering and spain cats prevent them from replicating reproducing, right,
And they're not trying to reproduce all these prey species
to death, right, They're eating them. They're not fornicating with
them anyway. According to some estimates, feral cats across Australia
(13:44):
kill three point one million mammals, one point eight million
reptiles and one point three million birds in Australia every
single day. In the state, thirty six mammal, eleven reptile
and twenty two bird species are vulnerable to predation by
feral cats. The Felixer is not new. You can find
articles about the device going all the way back to
(14:04):
twenty nineteen. But it's in the news again because the
Western Australian government just announced the machine's widespread deployment as
part of a seven point six million, five year plan
to manage invasi of feral cats. Wildlife managers plan to
use the device in areas of high cat traffic and
where biologists are trying to reintroduce threatened species. I am
(14:26):
dying to know the long term effects of the Felixer.
There's definitely lots of areas that I know of where
one could be put to good use, including my mother's barn.
Moving on to the cyanide desk. In other controversial wildlife
management news, the Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the
(14:49):
Bureau of Land Management to prohibit the use of what
the organization calls quote cyanide bombs. The actual name for
these devices is the M forty four. Wildlife managers have
used M forty fours for decades around livestock to kill
coyotes and reduce calf predation. The device contains a small
spring loaded charge of sodium cyanide powder that kills whatever
(15:09):
sticks its nose close enough to investigate. The devices have
killed pet dogs and other non target animals, but no
humans have ever been killed. Still, seventy six groups, including
the Humane Society and Project Coyote, are petitioning the BLM
to ban their use. Their efforts were galvanized by a
tragic incident a few years ago in which a teenage
boy and his dog stumbled upon an M forty four.
(15:32):
The dog died instantly, while the boy wasn't hurt. His
family believes he was only saved due to the direction
of the wind. As a result of this incident, a
group of three Democratic congress people also introduced a law
in the US Congress that would ban M forty fours
from all federal public land. The petition to ban M
forty four's claims that forty two people were exposed to
(15:53):
the cyanide between nineteen eighty four and twenty fifteen. Twenty
five of those people were federal employees and seventeen were
members of the public. None of them died, but they
experience paints, dizziness, and blisters, along with pet dogs, raccoons, possums,
and skunks, which are occasionally killed. The petitions believe the
ranchers and wildlife managers should use other methods of predator control,
(16:16):
such as fences, guard dogs, and electrified netting. Ranchers point
out that they already used many of these methods and
that M forty fours are a handy tool in areas
where direct control work is difficult, such as around calves
or lambs. They also take issue with the term cyanide bomb.
M forty fours are designed to shoot the toxin directly
into the animal's mouth. They don't spread the poison over
(16:38):
a wide area. We'll see if the FEDS pay much
attention to this petition. M forty four's have been used
for a long long time, and if they were causing
widespread harm, it seems like we know that by now.
I have been on plenty of properties where these M
forty fours have been set. I have never had any
bird dog issues. Obviously it'd be like a horrid, horrid,
(16:59):
gross bummer, and I feel for this kid and his
dog big time. As we see with trapping regulations just
about everywhere, lots of signage involved with the deployment of
M forty four is typically or you know that rancher
is going to grab you by the arm and say, hey,
this is what's going on out there. If you have
permission to hunt. It's their business on private property. When
(17:20):
these things get set out in public grazing allotments, lots
of signage doesn't mean mistakes can't happen. When they do,
it's a real bummer. Moving on to the ancient history desk.
Could you kill a bird with a double pointed wooden
stick thrown like a boomerang if you were an early
human living three hundred thousand years ago in Germany? Archaeologists
(17:43):
believe the answer is yes. All the way back in
nineteen ninety four, a large cache of wooden tools was
found at a site in Germany called Shown Engine, but
it hasn't been until recently that researchers have conducted a
systemaized analysis of those tools, and they've made some interesting discoveries.
One of the tools, for example, is a short stick
made from a spruce branch that's been sharpened at both ends.
(18:06):
It's a simple tool, but it demonstrates advanced woodworking skills.
Early human hunters would have had to cut and strip
off the bark, carve it into an aerodynamic shape, scrape
away more of the surface season the wood to avoid
cracking and warping, and sand it for easier handling. Researchers
believe this tool was used for hunting because it was
found alongside herbivores that were butchered along the lake shore.
(18:29):
Early humans would have hunted medium sized game like red
and roadier and possibly fast small prey, including hair and
birds that were otherwise difficult to catch. Researchers think the
stick would have been thrown rotationally like a boomerang, and
may have enabled early humans to throw as far as
thirty meters. The slightly curved thirty inch stick is relatively
light weight, but it could have been launched at high
(18:51):
velocities to stun an animal or break its legs. The
researchers didn't say if they took to stick throwing themselves,
but they do base their assumptions on other rears world
experiments with throwing sticks. What's more, the fine surface, carefully
shaped points, and polish from handling suggests this was a
piece of personal kit with lots of repeated use, rather
(19:11):
than a quickly made tool that was carelessly discarded. It
was found apart from other tools, but the lack of
damage to the stick makes researchers think it was lost
during use rather than discard it, sort of like when
you lose an arrow in the underbrush. Researchers will continue
to analyze the other wooden tools found at this site,
but at the very least, this throwing stick gives us
(19:32):
another window into how humans have harvested meat for literally
hundreds of thousands of years. Moving on to the mail
bag listener Kenyan Harris wrote in this week with some
of the news from his neck of the woods, Tigak,
South Carolina. The city council recently voted to hire sharpshooters
to reduce the area's deer population. There are almost nine
(19:55):
hundred deer in the four point five square mile suburb
of Charlotte, and city leaders worry about traffic accidents, damage
to the local ecosystem, and horror of horrors, obstacles to
golfing and gardening. In all seriousness. Too many deer in
an area can be a major headache, which is why
the city is applying to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources for a permit to hire sharpshooters. The idea
(20:18):
is causing controversy in the small community for the reasons
you might expect. Some think it's the best way to
control the deer. Others worry about the safety of firearms
being discharged so close to homes, while others think the
city should sterilize the deer population, which would totally work
and not be a giant black hole to taxpayer dollars. Anyway,
Kenyon has a different complaint about the plan. He says
(20:40):
city leaders never even considered giving local bowhunters a crack
at some free venison. Bow hunting doesn't introduce the danger
of stray bullets, and I'm sure there are plenty of
hunters in the surrounding area who would answer the call
of duty. Hunters are used to manage wildlife on a
broad scale, but there's lots of precedent for hunters being
called into the managed specific lis situations. In Ohio, for example,
(21:03):
nine special deer hunts have been announced in areas where
deer over eating native Ohio plants. The hunts will take
place in nature preserves around the state, and hunters will
have to attend an informational meeting and pay five dollars
to have their names entered into a drawing. Some preserves
will allow guns, while others will only allow archery equipment
depending on the situation on the ground. Hunters will have
(21:25):
the opportunity to harvest doze only or either sex tags
will be issued. It seems like Tigak city leaders could
institute a similar program, especially given the fact that this
will likely be a multi year process. Anyway, hunters would
have to apply for a lottery or purchase a tag,
which would pay for the cost of the program, and
(21:45):
safety concerns could be alleviated by making the hunters take
a training course to hunt deer in the suburban setting.
The city council would only have to look a little
further north to Virginia to find a model of urban
deer hunting. I'm sure some local residents would oppose the
the idea. Archery hunting almost always involves some tracking, and
I'm sure some folks don't like the idea of a
(22:06):
wounded deer in their backyard. But it could have the
same community money, and it would allow local residents to
solve their own problem rather than rely on sharpshooters hired
by the state. Whatever you think about this story, if
you live in Tiga Ka or the surrounding area, get
in touch with the city council. I'm sure they'd love
to hear from you. One last thing I gotta mention,
(22:30):
and this came to my attention from my dear old
buddy Kelsey Clevenberg, who is an avid golfer these days.
Don't ask me why they're golfing cohorts. My buddy Kelsey
Clevenberg and my buddy Ryan Thompson wrote in and said, Hey,
a dude from Georgia currently leading the Open in parentheses
one of the biggest golf tourneys of the year by
(22:51):
a bunch, is a passionate bow hunter. He has the
British presses panties in a bunch. This is from the
Guardian UK and one of the more bizarre major press
conference departures of recent times. The thirty six year old
explained his penchant for killing animals. He missed the cut
at the Masters and immediately slaughtered a pig and a Turkey.
(23:12):
Here's his quote. I've been a hunter my entire life,
he boasted. I enjoy the strategy of it. We eat
a lot of wild meat at my house, so I
enjoy butchering and I do a lot of hunting. Champions
traditionally drink from the claret jug. One is left to
ponder what on earth Brian Harmon may do with the
famous trophy the Attorney being held in the English town
(23:35):
of hoy Lake, where they've dubbed the player Brian Harmon
the Butcher of hoy Lake, which may be one of
the best things to ever come out of golfing. I
was able to get a hold of Brian. He seems
in high spirits. The Brits attacking his way of life,
who happened to live in a country where they can
buy me shot by other people do not seem to
(23:57):
be bothering him. He's looking forward to a go Boseason,
and uh, I just want to say, keep at it, Brian,
keep swinging away for the good old us of a.
Even though we give golfers a lot of crap here
on the show. You know, you're proven that there's some
good ones out there. We appreciate you. Go get them.
That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you
so much for listening. Remember to write in to Ask c.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
A L.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
That's Askcal at the Meat Eater dot com and let
me know what's going on in your neck of the woods.
On top of that, don't forget to go to www
dot steel dealers dot com to find a local, knowledgeable
steel dealer near you. They're gonna get set up with
what you need and they won't try to send you
home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk
to you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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