The convictions of two Michigan hounders were reversed. They had bee charged with hunting out of season while assisting a native American hunter (legally allowed to hunt bear at any time) with their hounds but without carrying firearms themselves.
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Michigan Bear Hunting “Help” Convictions Overturned by Appeals Court
by Edward Pierz on July 6, 2012
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The Michigan Court of Appeals has overturned the convictions of two men who used their dogs to help a hunter take a black bear out of season. In Michigan the punishment for an illegal bear hunt is up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. The court unanimously decided that Russell Lavigne Jr. and William Gerard McNeight were not guilty of a misdemeanor charge.
The charges stemmed from a 2010 incident in which the two men used their hunting dogs to help Todd Yoder, an American Indian, kill a black bear. The kill happened outside of Michigan’s regular Sept. 17-25 season, but because Todd Yoder is an American Indian, treaty obligations allowed him to hunt out of season.
The court ruled that the two men’s convictions should be overturned because according to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources order, out of season bear hunting is only prohibited with a firearm, crossbow, or bow and arrow.
Below is an excerpt from the Court’s opinion, released on Wednesday:
The statutory provision and the DNR order at issue do not prohibit an unarmed individual from assisting someone with the lawful taking of a bear, nor do they prohibit someone from taking a bear without a firearm, crossbow or bow and arrow.
hounds on out-of-season Mich bear case
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Re: hounds on out-of-season Mich bear case
That's kind of strange wording on their part...makes it sound like you can kill them by any means other than conventional any time of the year!
"Copper has treed quarry"
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Emily
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Re: hounds on out-of-season Mich bear case
here's a link to the full opinion
http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/OPIN ... 76.OPN.PDF
sure does sound like its legal to take a bear with, say, a knife, any time you have the guts to do it...
http://coa.courts.mi.gov/documents/OPIN ... 76.OPN.PDF
sure does sound like its legal to take a bear with, say, a knife, any time you have the guts to do it...
esp