Posted on 07/22/2011 6:14:22 AM PDT by quesney
While thievery has long been a fact of life in the country, such crimes are on the rise and fighting them has become harder in many parts of California as many grants for rural law enforcement have withered on the vine.
While other states have their own agricultural intrigue — cattle rustlers in Texas, tomato takers in Florida — few areas can claim a wider variety of farm felons than California, where ambushes on everything from almonds to beehives have been reported in recent years. Then there is the hardware: diesel fuel, tools and truck batteries regularly disappear in the Central Valley, the state’s agricultural powerhouse, where high unemployment, foreclosures and methamphetamine abuse have made criminals more desperate, officials say.
“All of our ag crimes are up,” said Sergeant Reed, who oversees a unit of two full-time detectives — down from three a year ago — all patrolling a county about eight times the size of Rhode Island. A wet winter and warm summer, after all, have meant healthy crops, he said, and a healthy market means happy thieves.
“Everything this year is doing well,” Sergeant Reed said. “And if it’s doing well here, there’s somebody looking to steal it.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
First, dogs are but one layer of a protective/defensive onion. Singularly they may be taken out by a determined invader, but not before they provide notice and buy time. I would not expect my dog to survive a home invasion by a determined crew, but I would however expect him to provide me enough advanced warning and buy enough time that I would at least have some chance to prepare myself for what was coming.
The same thing would apply in a larger agricultural setting, although one dog would not be sufficient. Mastiffs have been historically used to patrol large estates for poachers, and in combination with adequate fencing, cleared fields of observation, etc. would be pretty effective deterring, detecting and delaying any but the most determined interlopers on a rural agricultural property.
I have a 20 year investment in restoring native plant habitat with the legal leverage which to establish a precedent to bring a successful free-market encroachment against the crooked environmental juggernaut that is wrecking the entire country. You would have me walk away?
Yeah, right.
Defense of property is not justification for the use of lethal force in California, as is true in most states.
Do what people do around here, get yourself a couple of jackasses.
They’ll bite them or kick the crap out of them.
A dog and an auto loading shotgun for starters.
” Do what people do around here, get yourself a couple of jackasses. “
All of our local jackasses have Gummint jobs....
Just sayin’.....
A pity. My opinion is that all states should take a more Texan view. Thieves are nothing more than two legged vermin, and should be dealt with accordingly.
Well, obviously you’ve done an analysis and decided it was more desirable to stay. Good luck to you.
Some folks, though, are staying in Cali “cuz the weather’s nice”, and then complain about the encroachments on their freedoms. They need to re-examine.
Sneaking around on our property you will likely meet Mr. Bushmaster M-4 and Ms. AK 74 unless I have a headache. then you will meet Mrs. Mossberg 500. “Officer they rushed us and we were afraid for our lives”.
I guess you just have to make sure there’s only one account of the incident that gets told.
“But sheriff, I thought they was feral hogs I was shootin’ at! Oh well, you got any good recipes for Mexican Barbecue?”
Yep, just stealin' the crops and equipment that Americans don't want to steal.
True but it won’t matter when the SHTF and its going to. There won’t be any LEO’s coming around to ask what happened. There won’t be any 911 either.
If you shoot someone for “sneaking” around your property, you’re going to the gray-bar hotel and/or will be bankrupted by a personal injury lawyer who will say you shot a couple of “kids” for stealing tomatoes or whatever. No offense, but don’t delude yourself.
We're gonna need those feral hogs to deal with the corpus delectable. Might finally be good for something.
Unless they’re stealing in the daytime. Texas law only allows for deadly force defense of property at night.
I couldn’t find the article right off, but I think it’s part of Rawles’ writings.
Assume that, at some time, law and government will be re-established and that you will likely be questioned about the circumstances of any death that occurs that you are involved in.
IE, stay “above board” and don’t do things that you would consider to be underhanded when it comes to self defense, etc.
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