Wildlife Officers Gone Bad?
May 1, 2007
Before I get into this article, let me take a moment and discuss the title of this article. Aside from perhaps a stray wildlife officer or two, I don’t for a minute believe the wildlife officers or game wardens in this country, whichever you prefer to call them, have gone bad. I asked the question in order to draw focus on a red hot issues that has confronted outdoor sportsmen for decades – the love hate relationship between those sportsmen and wildlife officials. I also believe that all game wardens under the direction of a somewhat errant commissioner can present a problem and the perception by the public that these wildlife officers have taken the law into their own hands.
Back a few months ago I wrote an article for my parent company, U.S. Hunting Today, and published it at several state hunting websites – part of the U.S. Hunting Today network of hunting magazines. The title of that article was, “Why Are Game Wardens Our Enemy?”
In that piece I cut the warden service some slack although I didn’t let them completely off the hook by any stretch. This is what I said in leading up to the explanation of why outdoor sportsmen see wildlife officers the way they do.
I’m not really sure why hunters perceive game wardens in the way that they do. There is a certain amount of ownership if you will with the public because it is their tax dollars and license fees that pay the salaries of these wardens. Some of it can be justified but I think most of it is the result of story embellishment, rumors, spin, guilt, anger and just about anything else you can think of.
There is good in everything and even though some people think hunters shouldn’t be questioning the tactics used by wildlife officers, I think they should. No law enforcement is absolute. Laws are created in our society to aid in keeping control over the reckless and those who choose to disregard the rights of others. We live in a free society and not one that is controlled by the law.
I went on to further explain what I thought were two basic reasons why we see wardens in a bad light. One reason is personal experience. The other hearsay and the embellishment of stories. In brief, personal experiences are those that actually happen to you and you alone. You can’t argue with that fact. What you can argue with is how an individual perceives the event.
The second reason is the more flagrant. We all love to pass on stories and with each pass the story gets bigger and better until we end up with a doozy of a tale.
Personal stories and documented factual events are what we should reserve our judgment of the officers on. Mind you though, those documented events can paint a real lousy image of a law enforcement entity that needs all the help it can get when it comes to public image.
Many of you here have read what could become a lengthy book on the ins and outs surrounding Dr. Rex Rammell’s elk escape in Idaho. I let it be known from the beginning that I believed what happened to Dr. Rammell was in direct violation of his rights as a property owner.
For those who may not know, when Dr. Rammell’s elk escaped his ranch, then Gov. Risch ordered the elk to be shot on sight, spreading fear and near panic among citizens that these elk were disease infested and genetically altered and would wreck havoc in the wilds.
When this executive order was signed into law, this brought in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game wildlife officers as well as private licensed hunters to shoot and kill the elk.
Let’s get one thing straight right now. I do not fault the individual game warden for following the orders of his superiors. I fault the decision made by Gov. Risch, which I’m sure was influenced by not only the hierarchy of Fish and Game but probably other prominent individuals and entities as well.
The decision to needlessly slaughter the private property elk of Mr. Rammell was a decision that showed reckless abandon in my opinion. Making that decision was bad enough. The tactics used to carry out the order is a whole different story. This is a classic case of why outdoor sportsmen view wildlife officers as, well, let’s say they get called names not proper to be repeated in this forum.
When I was younger and learning to be a coach of my son’s Little League baseball team, my older brother told me something that has stuck with me for over 25 years now. He said, “Remember on thing. The kids on your team will emulate the attitude and demeanor of you, the coach.” Such as is the case here, I”m afraid.
I was sent a copy (pdf) of a story written in The New American. In the magazine there are actually two stories. One is the story about the elk escaping the Chief Joseph Ranch as told by the author Dennis Behreandt. The second part is a short piece written by Dr. Rammell himself. These are his words.
What I was also able to get hold of were some photographs taken by either Dr. Rammell or his wife. Some of these have captions, some don’t. Some of the pictures I will leave without a caption so you can make your own.
If you chose to read the stories you will learn a bit more about the events. I would like to point out that in the story written by Dennis Behreandt, the overall content of the story is true. There are some specific parts that probably at the time the story was written were thought to be accurate but have proven not to be. It doesn’t change the events that took place during the slaughter of the elk.
I will end this article with the pictures. Remember, I have been writing to you about public perception and image of wildlife officers. If pictures could talk I think some of these would tell us much.
Caption from New American magazine: Heavily armed: Idaho Fish and Game officer checks his military-style assault rifle while hunting for elk that escaped from the Chief Joseph Idaho ranch. According to rancher Rex Rammell, the officer had just killed four of his elk right outside the pen being used to recapture the animals.
This image certainly paints a thousand words. This shows both arrogance and ignorance combined with the lack of respect for a dead animal. I know of no hunter who would do that after a kill. If Idaho Fish and Game was intending to send a message, they certainly did.
As I have already heard one reader say, there’s only one thing more intimidating than having a law enforcement officer, wearing sunglasses and pointing a finger in your face. And that’s being surrounded by the same.
For those of you who continue to ask me why game wardens are universally disliked, here’s one good reason.
Tom Remington
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EVERY American should read this story and see these pictures. Regardless, this isn’t how citizens deserve to be treated when it comes to their property. Dragging a cow elk by her head with a chain from a truck?! UNREAL. There is no word adequate to describe that image. Period.
Those wardens dragging the elk certainly are not sportsmen. I don’t imagine they bothered to dress the game they killed or use the meat either, a total waste of a fine animal and the taxpayers money.
I hope the voters of ID remember this and cast out the fiend that governs their state.
I know a Michigan DNR officer and what he told me what he was tought or brain washed was he was going to save the world of all violaters, and everybody was a voilater at one time or another so treat everybody as guilty until proven not. With age most officers grow up and realize that is not true. Some never do. Most new officers are d#^* H#*@$ Trying to save the world and That Looks like what was going on in ID. It’s to bad that they are tought that in the academy. I hunt and fish in 4 different States and when an officer comes into our camp they shake you down like you are already a criminal. In the 25 years of hunting I have never had a violation but it’s not because the officers didn’t try. This is one reason they are not liked.
Here’s a bit of a different take on this whole elk/private property issue. First let me say that as a land owner and the owner of livestock you have an obligation to keep them on your property and in a pen. Second if you can not do so because you are “laid up” you have an obligation to hire it done or call on your friends or whatever. Third if you can not or will not keep your livestock in a pen and the state feels that they are a danger to the public ie hitting one with a car or by spreading disease or messing up the purity of the wild life the state has an obligation to the public to rid the open ranges of such critters. This while may be to the detrement of the land owner is for the good of the public. Granted we all have rights but in this case the owner of the elk was unable or unaware that they were on the loose. I only question if the state contacted the owner or tried to before they were shot. I don’t know the full story but if the owner did not do everything and I mean EVERYTHING reasonably in his power to keep them penned up or get them rounded back up then shame on him.
My second question is: Is that a .223 the officer is carrying. If so shame on him. This is an elk we are talking about and a .223 is not the best choice for a humane kill.
Dragging the elk behind the truck may give a bad impression but how many critters were these guys charged to dispose of. An elk is a big critter and if you’ve got many I’d drag them with a truck too. No different than we do with a dead bovine.
As far as game officer are concerned some are good some are bad just the same as regular law enforcement. Their life is dealing with people who have made bad choices and more often than not lie through their teeth when they are caught. Must the be suspicious of everyone. To be effective they probably do. Give’m a break, don’t break the law and treat them with respect and you will get along with them much better. Remember they are enforcement officers, not baby sitters, and hopefully not fools……..so don’t fool with them. A little common sense and a little common courtesy goes a long ways with most of them.
Thanks Glenn for your comments. There is much more to this story than one can get from this one. Many of Rex Rammell’s elk were slaughtered just before they reentered the pen. They had grain in their mouths.
Not sure if the AR was a .223 It is believed it was.
Glenn:
Idaho is an open range state, which means if livestock escape and a driver hits and kills one, the driver owes the rancher money for the loss of that livestock. I heard a gentleman discuss just such an incident at lunch today after he hit and killed a loose horse.
I understand that Rex was laid up following back surgery or something similar and had someone watching his elk. The F&G contacted him, and based on the photos, he was obviously present for the slaughter of his livestock. Imagine the frustration Rex must of felt as he was trying to lure his elk back onto his property and the F&G shooting his prized animals right in front of him.
The AR-15 in the photo is most likely a .223, which shoots a 65-grain bullet. When I hunt elk with a 30.06, I use a 180-grain bullet. You could down an elk with a .223, but I doubt you would get a clean kill. Sad!
Law enforcement, all law enforcement, for the past couple of decades, have been trained to pursue and adversarial relationship with the people on the street.
It is no accident their methods are pompous, their demeanor is swaggering and arrogant.
They are not trusted. They are deeply disliked. It is no accident. They earned it.
If they want that to change, THEY, must EARN the respect. Respect cannot be demanded.
Speaking from being involved in law enforcement in the past, it is unfortunate that law enforcement as a whole is viewed as arrogant and viewed upon in a negative light due to the ones that do represent those features. It is easy in law enforcement to let the “power” go to your head. Although as law enforcement officers, we need to realize we work for the “community”, that’s you and I.
A disgrace those pictures are. Don’t label all game officials in this category with them however. Give them a chance to prove themselves one way or the other.
[...] But I would like to provide an example of how blogs can do more for you than a few hundred dollars in your pocket at the end of the month. Blogging is a way to sell yourself to your readers as a viable source of information. When you can get thousands of readers to your blog each day to read your material you then can begin to offer more than just your blog. There are speaking engagements you can provide. You can begin scheduling conventions and speaking to small groups of people who will be excited to listen to what you have to say. Tom Remington, co-owner of Skinny Moose Media and prominent blogger for the Black Bear Blog traveled to Idaho last Spring to attend an elk breeders meeting and do a little speaking. Tom had been following some of the political events happening in Idaho and topics surrounding elk breeders in the state. A lot of it stemmed from the shooting of Rex Rammell’s elk. [...]
I cannot give you details of my unbelievable run in with Idaho Fish and game. It has been a three year ordeal that will be settled soon. I would like for you to write me. Its is under a federal lawsuit at this time.
Dennis
I would love the details of your situation.
Tom- if at all possible, could you forward my email addy to him.
I will do that as soon as I hear back from Dennis again that this is what he is willing to do as well.
Thanks Tom
I learned a hard lesson about law enforcement officers about 3-4 years ago. Used to be I thought they were who you went to help fight against the bad guys, but I found out there are bad lemons in almost every basket, these days….
I went to see what a helicopter was doing circling my acreage about 4 in the morning, thinking it was a police helicopter, but wondering what they were doing over the back corner of my property…I was going to be running late for work unless I found out and let my neighbors know if there was any danger thereabouts..So I drove down the graded road that bordered my property and saw an abandoned deputy sheriff’s car parked in the road, and looking down the road, quite a few sheriff’s cars parked together. So I drove down to find out what was happening…That was a bad move on my part, since those boys were stirred up like a hornet’s nest knocked down from the tree…They were scared and eager to hurt someone, and it happened to be me…
So, my advice is from now on, steer clear of those boys when they are all bunched together like bees on a nest…they will hurt you before they know what they are doing…They pounced on me from behind when I went to find out why one of them was getting in my truck without asking, and before I knew it they had three of them on my bad back, twisting my arm out of the socket like they wanted to kill me for no reason….I spent the night in jail and another day as well because I trusted a friend to get me out, instead of calling a lawyer to do the job proper. The bondsman my friend called decided I didn’t require enough bond to be worth his while, and left me still in the caboose…Living and learning is the only way to learn a lesson that sticks, I suppose….
They dropped all charges, but hiring a lawyer is a costly affair, and hiring him again to press charges against the police is even costlier…and after reading the police report, I found that all the police there either said they didn’t see what happened, or just outright lied about what they did see……One hand washing the other, and their own kind sticking up for each other, no matter how many lies they told. I was tempted to spend the money and press the charges just to see if they lied on the witness stand as well, but I’m sure they would have, although it would have been nice to see them squirm under oath…..
I later found out that the lieutenant who was in charge was new to the post, and hope he has been replaced as I would hate to see him do the same thing to a judge or lawyer who happened to chance upon them the same way…….sure I would! ……