"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...

I'm simply helping him understand laws he is 100% unfamiliar with. The
same
laws I've become 100% familiar with in order to enjoy the simple pleasure
of
a vegetable garden in the midst of a few neighbors who don't care.


Well, I can remember a case that I saw on one of those TV court shows
(I know, not the best forum) where a neighbor had problems with a cat
or dog tearing up their garden, and after finally having enough, set
out some rat poison. The neighbor's pet ate it and died. The pet
owner figured out what happened and sued the "killer" and was awarded
damages for her loss.

Two things: First of all, the guy who killed the pet didn't finish the job.
He should wrapped it in a trash bag and taken it to a dumpster. Either way,
he was rid of the problem. Second: It's highly likely that the pet owner
learned to keep her next animal where it belonged.


The laws you referenced were put into place to cover wild animals
destroying commercial crops, not domestic pets invading a vegetable
garden.

The law here does not specify animals by species. Any uncontrolled animal is
"wild". And, answer a question which I posed to one of the Patsy Twins: How
large do YOU think a vegetable garden has to be before YOU consider it a
food source which, if threatened, is the same as someone sticking a knife in
your face and demanding your wallet?

In an earlier post, you remarked about the intrinsic "value"
of crops versus that of destructive animals as some sort of
justification for killing them. In the case of wild animals, the
"value" of commercial crops would seem to exceed the "value" of
rabbits, deer, or other indigenous wildlife.

Commercial crops? Who are YOU to determine the monetary value of the food I
grow? One year, I got a 20x40 area to crank out what we estimated to be over
$800.00 worth of food.


But pets are another
matter. People place a high "value" on their pets, and as such, they
are not as arbitrary and subject to the same considerations WRT
intrinsic value versus a wild animal.

Correction: ***SOME*** people place a high value on their pets. The ones who
let dogs roam the neighborhood do NOT. Those people have clearly
demonstrated that they want their dogs to be hit by cars. Otherwise, they
would not let them roam. Got it?


Do you have a right to kill a wild rabbit who invades your garden?
What if it was your neighbor's prized poodle? What if it was the
neighbor's kid? Where do you draw the line? I'm curious to hear your
justification.

Rabbit: 99% of the time, no. Bugs and rabbits sometimes eat 10% of your
crops. I plant 10% extra. It works out nicely. Rabbits may eat some lettuce,
but they don't dig up a 1x1 square every time they take a crap. One
particularly bold rabbit became coniglio con aglio, rosmarino & pomodori,
served with buckwheat polenta. Delicious.

Poodle: If it fits the necessary criteria and diplomatic efforts to stop the
problem have failed, the dog is in trouble. Incidentally, you've chosen or
pretended to miss the difference between a rabbit and a dog. The rabbit's
doing what it's supposed to do. The dog belongs to a person who is
pretending not to know that you cannot destroy your neighbor's property.

Neighbor's kids: Don't be stupid. That's a human being, easily dealt with
via the standard laws of civil trespass. Call the cops. In reality, every
single kid I knew enjoyed visiting the garden. They were, without exception,
fascinated by seeing where their food came from. They were free to come get
vegetables any time they wanted, as long as they were shown how each thing
needed to be picked so the plant wouldn't be hurt. A couple of kids asked if
they could grow something they liked, so I added a few more feet to the
garden and designated it as the "kid zone", where *I* had to ask *them* if
it was OK to have some of what THEY grew. The net result of all this was
that the kids were eating vegetables that their parents had been trying to
get them to eat for years. The immediate neighbor shut off her stupid
ChemLawn service rather than contaminate the source of her daughter's
snacks.

Anything else you need to be taught today?