someone is trapping on my land without permission.

[mnboy26]

Thursday night my wife came home around midnight and saw someone on our land with a flashlight and placing something in a culvert on our property. I jumped in the truck and went up to the area where she saw this and looked. I saw what looked like an ammo box and backed away, not knowing what it was. Called the law, they came out determined that it was a box with a trap in it. We live in a secluded area and didn't know if it was a drug or money drop, police understood and went on their way. They moved the trap, it was clear that it was moced by someone. Drove past it yesterday, ir was set again. I tripped it and set it on its end so they would know I was there. Come by again today and it was further onto mmy land, I moved it up to the road right of way and left it there. Im not familiar with trapping regulations, but I assume I'm not in the wrong here. Any advice would be aappreciated. I have outdoor cats that roam oout there and do not want traps out there. Thanks in advance. I'm not against trapping, but if someone is going to trap my land it's going to be me.

[highlife4me]

The trap should have an ID tag on it. Might be a drivers license # or MN DNR #. Local law enforcement should be able to tell you who the trap belongs to. If the trap is being set or accessed in the road right of way he probably is not doing anything illegal, but you tampering with his trap is illegal. Any decent trapper should have contacted you though.

[jigginjim]

Call the Game warden, the trap should have a ID tag that can be tracked down. Plus you could file charges for trespassing. This guy is lucky, You could just take it home, leave a address where to pick up the trap, when they come to get it have the cops there to charge them with trespassing. Provided you do have it posted.

[mnboy26]

Thanks for the info. There is no tag or id on the trap. The land is posted but not where he is entering. The road is 45 feet wide(I know, really wide apparently the developer didn't do many roads when they made this devolopment so its wider than most roads) so that gives him 8 feet from the edge of the road which he has exceeded. I think I will give him one more opportunity to take it home with him then contact the dnr. Thanks for your input. Now back to the ice fishing forum.

[mainbutter]

He is already breaking the regs if his traps are not labeled. If it was me, I'd call right away.

[MJ1657]

He is already breaking the regs if his traps are not labeled. If it was me, I'd call right away.

What he said.

[leech~~]

We live in a secluded area

[lawdog]

you tampering with his trap is illegal.

What would be illegal about disabling an illegal trap with no tag and particularly one placed by trespassing?

I'd throw the darn thing in the garbage if I found it on my land and if another appeared the CO would be involved.

[B-man715]

Just leave the guy a note and have a nice little chat with him about asking for permission.

Could be a younger new trapper that needs to be filled in with the ins and outs.

Or it could be a total a dirt ball that needs to be dealt with by the authorities

[highlife4me]

[quote=lawdog

What would be illegal about disabling an illegal trap with no tag and particularly one placed by trespassing?

I'd throw the darn thing in the garbage if I found it on my land and if another appeared the CO would be involved.

[harvey lee]

I would pull that trap in a heartbeat and it would get thrown away but not in my garbage. If they come to check, I do not have it. I will throw them away as long as that person places them where they should not. Period.

Key to the law is, legal set and this does not sound like a legal set on private property with no name tag.

If the dude wants to go to the law, tell them he was trespassing, no trap tags and on and on and say I took one, well fine.

Like trespassing during hunting season, trespassers have all kinds of stupid reason what they did what they did, but they are still trespassing, I will press charges on every one of them. That's the only way for some to learn, the hard way.

I get very tired of people saying, it was secluded, a did not know where the line was and on and on, well, you best know if you cross a property line.

[Big Dave2]

• No person may remove or tamper with a trap or snare legally set to take

fur-bearing or unprotected wild animals without authorization by the

trapper, a DNR agent, or the owner or lessee of the land where the trap

is located.

At the time the OP had not stated that there was not an ID tag on it. Who knows maybe he has not noticed it. When the OP stated that the trap was set in a culvert one would think that the trap was in the road right of way. Most culverts I have seen go under roads and field approaches which usually are within the right of way. If one is to start pulling peoples traps they had better make sure they know what they are getting into, same thing as hunter harrasment.

The original post states that the culvert is on his property. I'm not sure why you would take that to mean it is in a road right of way. I'll have to take him at his word until I know otherwise. I would just keep tripping it until he gets the message.

[leech~~]

Wrong in two ways Dave!

[quote name='highlife4me

• No person may remove or tamper with a trap or snare legally set to take

fur-bearing or unprotected wild animals without authorization by the

trapper' date=' a DNR agent, or the owner or lessee of the land where the trap is located.

At the time the OP had not stated that there was not an ID tag on it. Who knows maybe he has not noticed it. When the OP stated that the trap was set in a culvert one would think that the trap was in the road right of way. Most culverts I have seen go under roads and field approaches which usually are within the right of way. If one is to start pulling peoples traps they had better make sure they know what they are getting into, same thing as hunter harrasment.

[/quote

The original post states that the culvert is on his property. I'm not sure why you would take that to mean it is in a road right of way. I'll have to take him at his word until I know otherwise. I would just keep tripping it until he gets the message. [/quote']

[Big Dave2]

Are you saying I was wrong or Highlife4me is wrong?

[leech~~]

Are you saying I was wrong or Highlife4me is wrong?

He made the statement right! I know your always looking for a fight with me. But, we do agree on this one. 2/15/2015 at 2:16PM.

[delcecchi]

There are those who consider the land up the the edge of the roadway pavement/shoulder to be theirs even though the plat map may show the land to be public some further distance from the road. For example, there is a culvert under the end of my driveway to let the water run down the ditch. Located next to the road. The ditch and the culvert are not actually my property even though I mow the grass and maintain the culvert. The road right of way extends 33 feet from the center of the road.

But I would be sort of upset if I saw some guy setting traps in my culvert or ditch/front yard (even if I didn't live in town) without asking especially if I had a pet. Heck, I am careful with mouse poison and only use live traps because the folks across the street have a couple german short hairs.

[Jmnhunter]

get it straightened out by just calling the CO

[Jameson]

There are those who consider the land up the the edge of the roadway pavement/shoulder to be theirs even though the plat map may show the land to be public some further distance from the road. For example, there is a culvert under the end of my driveway to let the water run down the ditch. Located next to the road. The ditch and the culvert are not actually my property even though I mow the grass and maintain the culvert. The road right of way extends 33 feet from the center of the road....

Interesting how there are so many different possibilities. I own to the yellow line in front of my house and county has easement for a 66 foot roadway that is the first 33 feet of one side of my property. In the house I grew up in it was similar, but a smaller road. When some folks pushed for sewer/water/sidewalk to be put in near or under the road, some other folks against it found the original easement language that only allowed for vehicle travel. Or to make it relevant to the thread, no trapping either.

[Big Dave2]

He made the statement right! I know your always looking for a fight with me. But, we do agree on this one. 2/15/2015 at 2:16PM.

I wasn't sure what you meant in your previous post so I was just checking.

I'm not always looking for a fight with you. It just happens that you are wrong a lot and I feel compelled to tell you about it.

[eyeguy 54]

bwaa haaa haaaaa

[highlife4me]

Hey Leech and Big Dave, what did I post that was wrong?? I simply was telling him to be sure that the culvert was not in the road right of way, or even a public waterway for that matter. We do not know the situation. The OP already stated that his land in this area is not posted. Maybe the trapper had permission from the next door neighbor and the culvert was on the property line. We don't know. He stated he didn't see a tag on the trap, maybe it was engraved into the trap it self, again we don't know. I am in no way advocating tresspassing or even trapping in right of ways for that matter but there seems to be loopholes for just about everything. I would hate to see the OP get into trouble for doing what would seem like the right thing. The fact that the trapper keeps resetting the trap in the same location has me believing that he thinks he has permission to be there or that he is on public property and keeps moving the trap further from the road to avoid people messing with his trap. Maybe the trapper knows the guy and got permission late one night at the local watering hole and the land owner doesn't remember, we don't know. If the trap is without a doubt on his land he has every right to pull the trap. I can not believe the comments from Lawdog and Harvey Lee telling him to pull the trap and throw it in the garbage though. How immature.

[Big Dave2]

Hey Leech and Big Dave, what did I post that was wrong??

[leech~~]

I wasn't sure what you meant in your previous post so I was just checking.

I'm not always looking for a fight with you. It just happens that you are wrong a lot and I feel compelled to tell you about it.

Thanks buddy! Wrong, seems to be more of a point of view on this thread!

[Big Dave2]

Thanks buddy! Wrong, seems to be more of a point of view on this thread!

Hey, it's a way of life for me!

[highlife4me]

So if I see two dogs running around and they step on my property they are mine since you gifted them to me? Or if a snowmobile breaks down or runs out of gas in my ditch or in my field the snowmobile now belongs to me? If the trapper was intentionally breaking laws by all means, do what ever you feel is necessary. But an honest mistake if this is indeed what it is should be treated like one. Over and out.