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New Deer ‘Shining’ Law in Effect in Minnesota

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:00:10 +0000

Published in the Duluth News Tribune
September 1, 2009

A new “shining” law has gone into effect in Minnesota, aimed at reducing poaching opportunities and minimizing the disturbance of rural residents.

Deer shining is “freezing” deer in bright lights to temporarily immobilize them. Recreational shining is legal at times for viewing wildlife. However, previous statutes made it too easy for people to poach wildlife while posing as recreational shiners, according to Department of Natural Resources officials.

The DNR met with stakeholder groups to determine how to curb abuse.

“Their collective opinion is that deer shining is a statewide problem,” Capt. Rod Smith, a DNR regional enforcement manager, said. “It’s also one of the most common complaints to law enforcement officers.”

Here are details of the new shining law, which took effect Aug. 1, according to a DNR news release:

Shining with firearms, bows

The old law allowed an unloaded and cased firearm or cased bow to be carried in the rear portion of a vehicle while shining. The new law prohibits shining with an artificial light while in possession of a firearm, bow or any other implement that could be used to take wild animals.

Shining without firearms

The old law allowed shining without firearms onto private agricultural or residential property or onto posted property until 10 p.m. from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, with no time restriction the remainder of the year. The new law removes the Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 provision and allows recreational shining up to two hours past sunset throughout the year.

The old law gave people up to five hours to recreationally shine. That extended period generated complaints among farmers and rural residents, DNR officials said. Law enforcement officers found that the extended period also enabled poachers, giving them more time and cover as recreational shiners to scope out potential areas to poach.

Another change prohibits shining onto residential property or building sites, a common complaint to law enforcement.

The new law also allows a landowner to post agricultural, residential and

nonagricultural property as “no shining.”

An exception in the new shining law allows the retrieval of dead or wounded big game animals past sunset using an artificial light while on foot, as long as the person does not possess a firearm or bow and arrow.

two bears killed, abandoned near orr sanctuary

admin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:28:52 +0000

From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 24, 2008

Two black bears have been found dead about 150 yards outside a bear sanctuary near Orr in the past week.

Both of the bears were regular visitors to the American Bear Association’s Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, said Dennis Udovich of Greaney, who is president of the association and also president of the Minnesota Bear Guides Association.

The first bear was found dead Saturday. It was not field-dressed, and its hide was intact, said Lt. Greg Payton, district enforcement supervisor at Eveleth for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The second bear was found Monday, Payton said. Its head, hide and paws had been removed, but its carcass was left behind. Because the usable parts of the bear were left, enforcement officials could charge the shooter with wanton waste, which carries a $275 fine.

Neither bear was unusually large, unlike the 800-pound sanctuary bear, Duffy, that was killed near the sanctuary’s boundary in 1998, Udovich said. Another sanctuary bear was shot and killed in 2004 just outside the boundary, he said.

Payton said enforcement officials have no suspects at this time. A reward of $2,250 has been offered for anyone with information about the shootings that leads to an arrest and conviction. Information may be forwarded to the TIP (Turn in Poachers) hotline at (800) 952-9093.

Minnesota’s bear season opened Sept. 1 and continues through Oct. 14. It is legal to hunt near the 520-acre sanctuary’s boundaries, but hunters are discouraged from doing so, Udovich said.

“Certainly, it’s unethical, whether we have a poacher or licensed hunter involved,” Payton said.

The Minnesota Bear Guides Association in 2006 passed a resolution stating that just because a bear is legal to kill doesn’t mean it’s ethical, Udovich said.

“I’m just so upset that people would do this,” he said.

The bears were shot on state land, Payton said.

“They were definitely sanctuary bears,” Udovich said. “These guys [shooters] set up along a travel corridor. It would be like a runway going to a deer feeder.”

About 20,000 people visited the sanctuary last year, Udovich said. Wild bears are fed at the sanctuary. Volunteers at the staff provide interpretive information about bears to visitors. The sanctuary is about 14 miles west of Orr and four miles from Nett Lake.