Texas Says It Is Legal To Kill Bigfoot
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 4th, 2012
John Lloyd Scharf got a response from the Texas Wildlife officials about killing Bigfoot:
Mr. Scharf:
The statute that you cite (Section 61.021) refers only to game birds, game animals, fish, marine animals or other aquatic life. Generally speaking, other nongame wildlife is listed in Chapter 67 (nongame and threatened species) and Chapter 68 (nongame endangered species). “Nongame” means those species of vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife indigenous to Texas that are not classified as game animals, game birds, game fish, fur-bearing animals, endangered species, alligators, marine penaeid shrimp, or oysters. The Parks and Wildlife Commission may adopt regulations to allow a person to take, possess, buy, sell, transport, import, export or propagate nongame wildlife. If the Commission does not specifically list an indigenous, nongame species, then the species is considered non-protected nongame wildlife, e.g., coyote, bobcat, mountain lion, cotton-tailed rabbit, etc. A non-protected nongame animal may be hunted on private property with landowner consent by any means, at any time and there is no bag limit or possession limit.An exotic animal is an animal that is non-indigenous to Texas. Unless the exotic is an endangered species then exotics may be hunted on private property with landowner consent. A hunting license is required. This does not include the dangerous wild animals that have been held in captivity and released for the purpose of hunting, which is commonly referred to as a “canned hunt”.
If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Chief Scott Vaca. I have included his e-mail address. I will be out of the office and in Houston on Friday.
Best,
L. David Sinclair
Chief of Staff – Division Director ITexas Parks and Wildlife Department
Law Enforcement Division
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744Office 512.389.4854
Cell 512.971.2668
Fax 512.389.8400
“Texas Game Wardens Serving Texans Since 1895-Law Enforcement Off the Pavement”From: Peter Flores
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 5:59 PM
To: David Sinclair
Subject: Fw: TAKING WILDLIFE RESOURCES PROHIBITEDPlease respond.
Pf
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
It does indeed sound as if an undocumented species could be lawfully hunted to extinction in Texas before documentation could occur.
I apologize to all caring thinking Texans before I say:
Figures this would be the state.
I’m very afraid that the Bigfoot shot and perhaps killed…will have a Social Sercurity number.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I wonder why a tracker/trapper isn’t hired to do the job and in 6 months to a year the truth will be uncovered. The challenge, fame and royalties of such a discovery should be enough for this endeavour, one would think.
cryptokellie:
And not just for TX, by the way, but the simple revenue possibilities of Texas, The Home of Bigfoot, combined with the considerable evidence, might make it more than worthwhile for a visionary, risk-taking (and this ain’t that big a risk) governor to pay somebody to beat the bush for a year.
OK, we’ll wait for a governor like that.
Which is why I would advocate a small group of trained hunters, under close supervision and observing all necessary safety precautions shooting a SINGLE individual to provide a type specimen.
Then, once the existence of Sasquatch was proven, immediate steps could be taken to attach an endangered/protected status to both the species and its habitat.
For people who claim, “It could be the last one,” remember:
1. It takes more than a single individual to perpetuate a species;
2. Very few creatures in the wild die of old age;
3. If Bigfoot exists as a flesh-and-blood creature, then death – be it via injury, sickness, accident, or a hunter’s bullet – is a certainty at some point in its life!
How can you expect a State or Gov’t Agency to logically/legally protect a species which hasn’t been proven to exist?
So, are there differential implications and ramifications for hunting on NON-PRIVATE property nongame animals and nonendangered species according to this response?
Guys guys guys! Talking about the cart before the horse! Wanting any government, state local or national, to protect an unproven species from being hunted, like Sasquatch, is like wanting a government to declare Unicorns and Hechatonchires endangered species and not to be hunted! What a hype! Might as well try to make laws protecting Hodags, Wampus Cats, honest politicians, Agro-pelters and the Stay-puft Marshmellow Man (it’s on film, so it MUST be true! )
You don’t protect Elves and Trolls from Poachers: you protect known species. Sasquatch will not be proven by photos films hairs DNA “Finding Bigfoot” or even (dare I say it ) Dr. Phil. Only a live specimen, a dead specimen, or major body parts of a physical, not photograph, physical specimen will do. Until then, we look like doofuses living in fantasyland drinking pop-culture snake oil.
What’s next? Fighting to give ETs civil liberties?
I would be surprised if Texas was the only state where killing Bigfoot – which is properly considered as a non-game, non-existent creature at this point – is legal.
Legal probably isn’t even the right word. Its not like the law says you can kill Bigfoot; it simply doesn’t take BF into account. Outside the current legal framework is more like it.
In case you’re wondering about Texas Governor Rick Perry’s receptiveness…see here.
For the meantime, Bigfoot may want to avoid jogging trails in the Austin vicinity. 🙂
Not sure why everybody is all up in arms about this. First off if bigfoot exists, why not allow sport hunters a crack at it? What makes it more special than a deer species?
If it doesn’t have enough natural defenses against a hunter’s bullet then maybe we should just let natural selection and survival of the fittest take its course.
Damion:
Not sure why everyone would be all up in arms about this either. What would be wrong with a sport hunter eradicating your family at a barbecue, huh?
(I really should have answered this one back when.)
Animals aren’t just for shooting; and no “natural defenses against a hunter’s bullet” shouldn’t automatically be, OK, sure, why not shoot ’em? How are your “natural defenses against a hunter’s bullet,” just out of curiosity? Should we check how fit you are? What makes you different from a deer species, or me, and hint, not much? OK, we’ll let you and your family alone, although I’m not sure why, exactly, but hey, got a dog or two we could try out their fitness and “natural defenses against a hunter’s bullet”?
I’m not a WOO-HA! advocate of killing deer, but I understand that killing happens in the natural world, and that there are defensible reasons for hunting MOST of the animals we hunt. (Grizzly bears and wolves: none. Black bears and cougars: not really. I said MOST.)
But something that might exist and we’re not sure yet? We don’t want to take any precaution we can to help us find out what it is before we kill them all?
Come on. Try to show at least the level of interest that I would consider the minimum justified to come here and post, OK?