Poll: Should DNR Officers Wear Blaze Orange????

[LIB MR ducks]

Could not have said it better...

I can't begin to understand how any human being can be so incredibly stupid that they can't tell the difference between a human and a deer

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!!!

 

[Huntin' Dawg]

Another thought is that when looking for an armed criminal it may be best not to be wearing an orange target that would allow the criminal to get a serious drop on you.

Standard law enforcement does it every day, Jeff. Street cops are visible and clearly identifiable-- not just as a human being, but as an officer of the law. They manage to get the job done just fine, however.

Here, we are not even talking about DNR being identifiable at that level. Instead, we are just talking about game wardens simply wearing orange, a garment that would make them indistinguishable from any hunter walking through the woods.

 

[Huntin' Dawg]

I can't begin to understand how any human being can be so incredibly stupid that they can't tell the difference between a human and a deer

News flash: There are a lot of complete morons out there, and if you don't prepare for their acts of stupidity, then you just might be a member of the club yourself.

 

[Mechanicaldawg]

Standard law enforcement does it every day, Jeff. Street cops are visible and clearly identifiable-- not just as a human being, but as an officer of the law. They manage to get the job done just fine, however.

Here, we are not even talking about DNR being identifiable at that level. Instead, we are just talking about game wardens simply wearing orange, a garment that would make them indistinguishable from any hunter walking through the woods.

So 'standard law enforcement' officers never go covert or undercover or do incognito stake outs?

When did that practice end?

I think what you are really talking about is giving poachers ample opportunity to escape detection because an idiot rarely (though not rarely enough) claims that he thought a man, walking upright, usually in a roadway or on a utility break, was a turkey or a deer.

 

[Huntin' Dawg]

So 'standard law enforcement' officers never go covert or undercover or do incognito stake outs?

When did that practice end?.

Yes, they do, and on such occassions they dress as a civilian. If DNR agents want to put on camo, carry a rifle, wear orange, and walk in the woods looking like a civilian hunter, I have no problem with that (nor would I expect the many folks weighing in on this issue to have a problem with that idea).

I think what you are really talking about is giving poachers ample opportunity to escape detection because an idiot rarely (though not rarely enough) claims that he thought a man, walking upright, usually in a roadway or on a utility break, was a turkey or a deer.

What I am talking about is the same common sense logic that has been employed in putting an end to many other unsafe and inherrently dangerous practices. Take, for example, the case of high speed police chases, which put in danger the lives of all involved. Just as in that case, law enforcement can, and should, find safer means to accomplish its objectives of capture and arrest, without putting themselves and/or others in jeopardy.

But here's my question to you-- exactly how many DNR officers would have to get shot before wearing orange became a good idea? Would one shooting per decade be enough? Or one a year? Or what?

Moreoever, what message does it really send to the public when the State's own law enforcement officers disregard one of the most basic public safety rules of the woods? Sure, DNR agents can come up with reasons why they don't need to wear orange in a given situation, but so can Joe Sixpack sitting out in the woods. This bad example from the State's own officers gives ole Joe the encouragement that he did not need, IMHO.

For me, I'd see them wear orange, know that we did all we could to promote safety in the woods, and make the penalty for fleeing a DNR officer so absolutely brutal that even a moron would think long and hard before doing it.

But then again, that's just me.

Next week we can debate whether State Patrolmen should wear seat belts, or whether the occassional need to exit their vehicle and give immediate foot pursuit justifies relieving them from such annoying entanglements and delays.

 

[rumcreek]

insanity

No game violation is important enough for a game warden to risk his life slipping through the woods. I mean think about it. He might have written 10 tickets last rifle season for a total of 3000 dollars revenue and only got shot at 3 times and only winged once, superficial wound only. Then when the cases went to court, a corn feeding judge lets half the offenders off with a $100 fine and a slick lawyer gets a few of the others off with no to very low fines. I mean what the heck is the purpose, until there can be a mandatory punishment like $500 and 1 yr license suspension on 1st offense for baiting that a judge can't lessen WHY EVEN BOTHER, if the DNR needs some revenue, give wardens radar and let them start writing speeding tickets at least that way idiots won't be shooting them while they sneak thru the woods. It is simply not worth any human life to give someone a baiting, no license, no flo orange, HUI, or whatever ticket when you have to sneak up on them in the woods. Don't take this wrong way, the laws need to be enforced but not at the expense of the reasonable safety of our DNR guys. I know there are folks out there hunting that are drunk or on drugs, they are caught every year, but approaching them in the woods while they are hunting intoxicated and armed is above stupid while wearing a uniform. A game warden should dress just like all the other hunters including flo orange vests and scoped rifles,bows, etc. At least that way the wardens would be seen and even be able to walk right up on idiot hunters and in most cases not be mistaken for a deer by some crack head or drunk. There's just no way to know what kind of situation you are walking into as a game warden or how the hunter will respond. I applaud the job these guys do during hunting season, its beyond dangerous. I guess thats why they get to ride around in fancy boats in the off season checking fishing licenses and making sure all the bikini clad boaters are following the rules. Just kidding (not really), seriously game wardens should be the highest paid of all law enforcement for all they are required to do!!! Thanks for the job you do and be safe!!!!

 

[Throwback]

I can't begin to understand how any human being can be so incredibly stupid that they can't tell the difference between a human and a deer

Cause they've got BIG BUCK FEVER!!!


T

 

[Throwback]

Standard law enforcement does it every day, Jeff. Street cops are visible and clearly identifiable-- not just as a human being, but as an officer of the law. They manage to get the job done just fine, however.

Here, we are not even talking about DNR being identifiable at that level. Instead, we are just talking about game wardens simply wearing orange, a garment that would make them indistinguishable from any hunter walking through the woods.

I never wore an orange traffic vest when I was sneaking up on a drug house for a raid......or trying to find an armed felon hiding from me.


T

 

[Throwback]

Third post in a row cause I ain't had my caffeine yet.


Did ya'll know they also walk around at night, sometimes for miles on end with no flashlight? Wonder of wonders a coon hunter hasn't shot one, or been shot by a night deer hunter, or been eaten alive by the thousands of black panthers that walk the woods. Or snuck up on someone and scared the daylights out of them and got shot because they thought they were a bigfoot. Maybe they should be required to wear a flashing white light on their heads at night along wtih an orange vest so everyone can see them and not think they're a coyote or chupacabra or something of the sorts.

Hey, about 15 years ago, a hunter in a nearby county shot a guy out of a tree stand thinking he was a deer. Another guy shot a teenager in the head with a 300 magnum less than 50 yards away because he saw a feather in his cap and thought he was a deer. Or what about the genius hunting beside a hiking trail that shot a hiker? Maybe instead of being prosecuted, these guys should have gotten some kind of medal or something since they shot someone that wasn't so "smart" to wear an orange vest. We all know the woods exist to please deer hunters only.

maybe DNR can just open a new season simultaneous to deer season and call it "people in the woods not wearing an orange vest season".


T

 

[Branchminnow]

I can't begin to understand how any human being can be so incredibly stupid that they can't tell the difference between a human and a deer

Im with you buddy.

 

[Mossy]

Cause they've got BIG BUCK FEVER!!!


T

last time i checked humans didn't have horns