So i caught a poacher.....

[blakeb]

I was looking at my facebook the other day and i noticed that there is a new set of pictures that a "friend" whom is a neighbor that i no longer talk to from ten years back's younger sister. I see pics labeled Baudette and i looked through the fish pics and see that they kept a sturgeon that looks to be about 40-45 inches, in the pic it is laying in the floor of the cleaning shack and they are pouring beer into its mouth, So they obviously kept it and killed it but stated that they didnt eat it just threw it away.

I called the DNR tip line they seemed to not give a darn, how do i send them this set of pics off of someone elses fb?

[fishinfey8]

Go to the album that the picture is in, click on the picture. In the bottom left corner it says "Download". Download it to your comp. then send it away in an email.

First time I noticed that you could steal others pictures was the last time I downloaded one to my fb page.

[mainbutter]

be careful of copyright laws.

[Shack]

Just make a copy of the URL. Example would be for this page:

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2652460#Post2652460

and send it off to the DNR. Downloading the image only puts it on your hard drive and in a twist of the issue, especially if there are no faces in the picture, you could be construed as being the owner of the image.

The DNR I am sure has ways of seeing the page and the page would be the only creditable evidence. Not a downloaded image on your PC.

Out of your hands and you did all you could do.

[TooTallTom]

Here's a link to the telephone directory for Game Wardens. You could call the local C.O. and ask for his/ her email address and send your link directly to the person that'll be doing the first check on enforcement.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/phonedirectory.pdf

[DTro]

Any faces in the picture that can clearly be identifed? If not, then there is most likely nothing a CO can do.

However, if there is someone that can clearly be identified and you have their name, the CO would have a reason to pay that person a visit to get the whole story and do an investigation.

[cbrooks]

This reminds me of a story that happen a couple years ago in Grand Forks. A man was convicted of animal cruelity by the ND game and fish because on his profile pic for Facebook he was on a snowmobile with a deer under it. There's a story in GF Herald of the details but anyhow, he was convicted and I think he had his snowcat taken away.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

be careful of copyright laws.

You serious? Everybody knows if it's on FB it's fair game. That's one reason some folks no longer use it.

[Down Deep]

There is a sturgeon take season. Are you sure that the fish was caught out of season? I guess there isn't anything wrong with emailing it to a CO, but it seems to me that any type of meaningful investigation would be a long shot.

[Matt C]

Pouring beer down its mouth? Sounds like a great idea! Let me go get my dog a line of coke to sniff. Heck while I am at it, there are 3 fawns in the ditch next to my house, I'll brb, I'm gonna go shoot em....and post to facebook. WINNING! Duhh.

[mainbutter]

You serious? Everybody knows if it's on FB it's fair game. That's one reason some folks no longer use it.

Facebook backed off of declaring that any uploaded photos are their property. The photo-taker is still copyright owner (unless they transferred those rights to someone else).

Because legal issues are involved with the aforementioned photograph, copyright laws complicate things.

[delcecchi]

I would call it fair use and let them try to find a lawyer.

[hovermn]

I believe that it's fair game to download pictures for your own personal use. Copyright issues may only come into play if you were to publish someone elses pictures. Showing a downloaded picture to the DNR would not be considered copyright infringement'

Same goes for patents. You're free to make things using others patented ideas for your own personal use. It's when you go to sell it or benefit yourself monetarily through services that you run into legal issues.

[Sonicrunch]

I believe that it's fair game to download pictures for your own personal use. Copyright issues may only come into play if you were to publish someone elses pictures. Showing a downloaded picture to the DNR would not be considered copyright infringement'

Same goes for patents. You're free to make things using others patented ideas for your own personal use. It's when you go to sell it or benefit yourself monetarily through services that you run into legal issues.

Correct.

[TooTallTom]

blakeb, where do things stand on this?

[KingFisher22]

You could be completely wrong on the circumstances of the photograph. The fact that you think something will come of this is ridiulous, its beyond a longshot, and quite frankly this entire thread makes me sick. You obviously have something against this "friend"/"neighbor".

[John478]

You could be completely wrong on the circumstances of the photograph. The fact that you think something will come of this is ridiulous, its beyond a longshot, and quite frankly this entire thread makes me sick. You obviously have something against this "friend"/"neighbor".

Have to agree. I would be surprised if a CO would write a citation for some picture you pulled off of FB. Even if he did it then goes to the court. I dought a prosecutor would even waste there time with it. Theres alot more to prove then what you can get out of a picture. Who accually caught and kept the fish? Was it even caught or found dead?

[varmithtr]

I agree with the 2 statements above.

With new technology, everyone seems to think they are part of law enforcement.

Like my old man used to tell me, life is a lot better if you mind your own business and not worry about anyone elses.

[Finns]

So, blakeb, what did you do?

[cheddar 86]

I agree with the 2 statements above.

With new technology, everyone seems to think they are part of law enforcement.

Like my old man used to tell me, life is a lot better if you mind your own business and not worry about anyone elses.

It's true ignorance can be bliss...but really if you always mind your own business then how does TIP line work? What if you saw your neighbors house being vandalized and saw people doing it...would you mind your own business? I think people should feel obligated to report people misbehaving. Granted I would let the very small stuff go...and what one person deems small another may find significant. And what is wrong with people helping out law enforcement. By posting in this thread you really aren't heeding the advice of minding your own business anyways.

[varmithtr]

While I concede that upon review, perhaps my statement was a bit to vague, I still appreciate the advice about worrying about myself instead of that which other people are doing.

I don't consider using a hypothetical situation of watching someone doing willful and purposeful damage to my neighbors property quite the same as someone seeing a picture on a public domain, of someones relative that he used to know, assuming the date, time location, etc.. was all very accurate at the time of the photo, cross refrencing the legal harvest season for the fish in someones picture that appears to be getting fed cold beers.

I certaily hope our CO's have better use of time than listening to the dectective skills of someone saving the world becasue some drunk kids contributed to the deliquency of a fish.

As far as the accusation of not heeding my own advice by posting, I have no argument. You are correct.

[TooTallTom]

I certaily hope our CO's have better use of time than listening to the dectective skills of someone saving the world becasue some drunk kids contributed to the deliquency of a fish.

So the CO's shouldn't check out a report of suspected wanton waste? What if the photo was of a deer someone had shot, poured some beer on, and left in the field or thrown in the trash? According to the OP, the Facebook caption claimed that they didn't use the sturgeon.

[Tom7227]

It seems to me, with my experience as a prosecutor, that you don't know whether a case can be made or not until you alert the authorities and the do what they can to make the case. I have no experience bringing a case forward that starts with a picgture on Facebook, but I do know if law enforcment isn't made aware of the matter nothing will happen. IMO report it and what happens happens. Maybe the CO will take a special interest and work it up, maybe the prosecutor will do the same. Maybe not, but perhaps during whatever takes place after you report it people learn about new possibilities or prcesses that could be used in some future matter.

[Grum]

I'm all for protecting our natural resources and using the T.I.P program, but it is one thing to be an eye-witness and the one who took the photo, quite another to report on hearsay evidence.

[Lund79]

It seems to me, with my experience as a prosecutor, that you don't know whether a case can be made or not until you alert the authorities and the do what they can to make the case. I have no experience bringing a case forward that starts with a picgture on Facebook, but I do know if law enforcment isn't made aware of the matter nothing will happen. IMO report it and what happens happens. Maybe the CO will take a special interest and work it up, maybe the prosecutor will do the same. Maybe not, but perhaps during whatever takes place after you report it people learn about new possibilities or prcesses that could be used in some future matter.

I agree. There is no harm in bringing it to the attention of a CO. Let them decide if they need to make a visit and check things out. Then you can say you did your part.