Lending a hand

[posiedon]

I have heard two separate accounts this year of somebody getting a ticket for helping somebody else drag a deer out that was taken without a tag without the helpers knowledge. Example, person A gets a call from hunter B asking for help to drag a deer. Person A shows up and helps upon reaching vehicle IDNR CO is waiting and Hunter B gets ticketed but then person A gets a separate ticket also. I am guess they were accessory tickets, but dunno. This could be stories or it could be true I dunno as they were both 2nd or 3rd hand encounters.

What are your views could this happen? Am I legally obliged to check somebodies license before I help them or even get in a truck and go hunting with them?

[morrison]

I would like to start off my response with the advise of using caution to what you hear on stories passed on at the local coffee shop or check station.

Our officers go to great lengths to ensure they have the complete story of what is going on in any particular situation before taking any law enforcement action. I also believe that if I know someone well enough that I am going to hunt with them or assist them in retrieving a deer or any other game, I have an idea of whether this person is one that obeys the game laws or not. If I assist a person that I believe is known to violate certain laws, I am ethically responsible to a certain extent as well as legally if we are both in possession of the deer.

Unfortunately, life only has a few certainties. One of those happens to be that when someone gets caught doing something wrong they typically do not talk about it honestly. Our officers have to justify every desicion they make through reports and other documentation. I believe that if you were able to check into the stories you mentioned, you might find that a few details were accidentally left out. However, there are two sides to every story. If a person truly believes that they were in the right, they should make every effort to get the truth out.