Texas has a law called the Sportsman’s Rights Act that says it is illegal “to intentionally interfere with another person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife.”
Galen Morris of Ellis County, Texas, has been ordered by a judge to
make sure his children don’t disturb hunters on a neighboring property by playing loud music or driving four-wheelers before noon or after 4 p.m. during deer season, which starts in November. Morris was also issued a $250 fine and a year of probation.
Morris says he has mixed feelings about the decision.
“I kind of got mixed feelings out of it,” Morris said. “Basically what they’re saying is, during deer season you got to keep your kids indoors. You could sneeze and scare a deer off.”
Morris lives next door to a ranch that allows hunting. He was found guilty by a jury of violating one count of the Sportsman’s Rights Act.
You can read the entire article yourself here at the Star-Telegram but why is it I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this story than is being told in this article?
If the Morris family is being asked to stifle their normal everyday activities then this is wrong and in my opinion an incorrect interpretation of the SRA. If they are intentionally making the noises in order to disrupt the hunters, then the jury acted within the law.
I have to believe the latter was the case.
Tom Remington
