california pig tag price increase

[BDB]

RIFLEMAN, I'll give you a hand, I'll buy the tags, come along on the hunt and then take the piggies home with me. There you go, problem solved

I can see your point that it makes a large financial difference to someone in your situation killing that many hogs. For me personally I have killed 3 hogs in the last year and half and plan on about 2/yr if all goes well. For me the extra cost is not an issue really. What bothers me more than the increase is the fact that I doubt much, if any, of the extra revenue will be used for anything related to wildlife management.

 

[shaginator]

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1. It is a violation of Fish and Game code to use monies generated from the sale of hog tags for purposes other than hog management. I sincerely doubt that the cost of managing hogs is 900% higher than it was a year ago. How coincidental it is that the cost of the tags increased so dramatically during a time when the state is roughly $40 billion in debt![/b]

Sounds to me DFG did some re-arranging of their books so that there wouldn't be a "violation." In other words, they probably killed nearly the entire hog budget, moved it to something else, and then made it so that the program would need to rely solely on tag fees. There were increases across the board (licenses, stickers, etc.) but nothing like the increase in hog tag fees.

It remains to be seen whether this increase will offset any revenue loss, as this also competes against discouraging hunters from buying tags in the first place. However, in my experience, hunters tend to suck it up and eat the extra cost.

Yeah, pulaski, I think it's generally accepted that only a fraction of hunting/fishing revenues go to hunting/fishing. It's the same sort of game that's played with the state gas tax; it's supposed to go to roads, but the money gets siphoned off to other programs. I think by "liberalism," folks mean that there's so much money going to various social programs that it hurts the programs that the money's supposed to go to in the first place.

 

[easymoney]

Shag,
You got it right buddy...
Funny how that works.
And I as well as many others don't object to the price hike as much, if it were truely going to benefit the species and the habitat. BUT, this is not the case.

 

[PIGIG]

Originally posted by RIFLEMAN@Sep 14 2004, 01:13 PM
I keep a hunting journal, so I can answer your question exactly...

2003 - 27 (I didn't hunt hogs until April 17, as I was waiting for my protective dog gear to arrive.)
2002 - 50 (+/- 75% killed; Lost my truck and nearly lost 3 dogs trying to attain a goal of 50/yr.)
2001 - 46 ( +/-75% killed; Hogs (sows, small boars) released when safe and practical to do so.)
2000 - 48 (+/-75% killed; My catchdog was killed, making it more difficult to release hogs alive.)
1999 - 41 (+/-50% killed; I killed enough to keep meat in the freezer for anyone who wanted it.)
1998 - 37 (100% killed; I could hardly eat or give it all away; this prompted me to get a catchdog.)

DAMN dude sign me up

i would glady try and offset some of your costs

 

[BDB]

RIFLEMAN: Maybe I'm just a little thick today (unlike any other day

) but what does the +/- % killed part mean???

 

[Shot]

I killed 7 hogs last year, all on public land. That would be around $105 dollars for this year. I would pay double that if DFG did something were my hog hunting would be more injoyable and successful. $105 dollars is not much considering all the other expenses of hunting. But since the DFG can do it and get away with it, it would continue to do so.

Rifleman, Do you know any way that we can get info on where the pig tag money will end up, like an offical document from DFG. I already talked to some officers but they gave me some BS story. Also, I would love to help you out with some of the expenses

(maybe even get into using dogs).


On other thing, just compare our DFG to other state's Fish and Game, ours don't even come close in the service the provide (for example, simple thing like on-line payment of tags).

 

[MikenSoCo]

Rifleman, are you a guide, and is that why you kill so many hogs?

 

[Bishop]

If there is a pig problem on public land that is not open to hunting, the DFG will spend thousands of "our"dollars paying commercial hunters to kill the pigs.

If you want to hunt pigs, and basically provide the same service, controlling the population of a non-native, invasive, and destructive pest. Then you have to pay DFG a ever increasing annual fee.

Whats wrong with this picture?

 

[noonanda]

hey all in about a year I will hopefully be able to join in on the complaints. If I get stationed back at Camp Pendleton. but right now this is what it costs to hun in oklahoma compared to Cali
1) California licenses $32.80 good for rabbits and some varmints.
Oklahoma license is 20.00 and you can hunt squirrel, rabbits, quail, dove and pheasant, AND pigs.

2) You want to hunt upland birds, you need to buy a stamp.
already covered by regular license

You want to hunt waterfowl, you need to buy 2 stamps.
10.00 for regular waterfowl stamp, 15.00 more for federal duck stamp

You want to hunt bobcats, you need to buy tags
you need a tag for "Furbearer" species here as well, 10.00

You want to hunt deer, you need to buy tags.
Deer tag is 20.00, price increase went from 12 to 20

Pigs, you need to buy tags.
No tag other than basic hunting license

Bear, you buy tags
no bear here

Antelope, you buy a tag
Here it is 51.00

Bighorn Sheep, you buy a tag.
dont have em here

Elk, you buy a tag.
51 dollars

And then if your lucky enough to draw a elk, antelope, or bighorn tag, you pay tag fees you'd expect to pay if you were a non-resident.
here non resident fees for elk is 301.

I feel for you all and wish I could help you out

 

[New Pig Hunter]

noonanda,

good thing you're not hunting Kali pigs as an out-of-state hunter.

my pal Tim is coming down this way from WA..... he's gotta buy the non-resident annual hunting license, $113.95....
BUT the non-resident pig tag is $52.50 !!

whew, that's just downright awful.....


Carl

 

[oregoncritters]

It's crazy for Non-residents as welll. I'm seriously considering hunting another state because of this issue.

 

[easymoney]

Rifleman,
I agree with all you said on this issue. This price increase is only the DFG's way of testing the waters... Just you wait, they will increase fees in every area if allowed.
The same situation is happening in the Los Padres National Forest with the "Adventure Pass". It is a way to increase fees (already paid by all taxpayers ) to cover costs incurred in the larger metropolitan areas, that have vandalism, grafiti and destruction. I have yet to see any of this money return to my local forest...
It isn't about the money or tags fee increases, it's about how this "new" cash flow is spent. And I'll bet isn't on the resources the tags are charged for.

 

[pappy]

ladies and gentlemen I dont know if anyone has any idea of what we can do or who in the CA DFG we can contact regarding our displeasure with this increase..does any know how to start an online petition that we all could sign and send to the CA DFG to show them we are concerned not about the increase per say, but, where the extra monies are going....I know, a few years back, a pellet rifle association, pursuaded the CA DFG to make it legal to hunt wild turkeys with any pellet rifle .20 cal or larger. a lot of people cant even kill them with a 12 ga. shotgun, let alone a pellet rifle. just shows, if you make enough noise, anything is possible....if that group can make moves, why cant we...any ideas...????? Pappy

 

[RIFLEMAN]

BDB, Shot and pigig,

I would definitely give you all the carcasses you can handle, but I'm admittedly "gun shy" about taking people along on a consistent basis.

Hunting is a relatively personal and private activity that I enjoy by myself for the most part. There's something about being alone with my dogs in beautiful country that I thrive on. I'm the same way when deer hunting. I'm not sure if it is the peace, the solitude or that I am a loner at heart; I can't exactly articulate the sense I get from being out there by myself.

Secondly, as some of the hogs are rough or are commonly bayed in the brush, I worry myself sick that my dogs will be shot by someone I bring along.

However, I try to represent my sport as best I can and do not like turning people away. Maybe we can work out a deal to where you donate some money to the NRA or similar organization in exchange for a hog hunt or something. I'll send you guys an email in the next couple of days so that we can talk about this.


shaginator,

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Sounds to me DFG did some re-arranging of their books so that there wouldn't be a "violation."[/b]

I've been too lazy to check to see if they updated the Fish and Game Code to allow for the "redirection" of the funds. I wouldn't be suprised if they didn't; the government commonly violates its own laws.


BDB,

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what does the +/- % killed part mean???[/b]

It literally means, "plus or minus." I use it to indicate an approximation.


Shot,

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Do you know any way that we can get info on where the pig tag money will end up, like an offical document from DFG.[/b]

You've raised an excellent question that I don't have an answer to. I think the Freedom of Information Act applies to the state governments as well as the federal government, but I am not exactly sure. This would require the DFG to account for every last penny that was generated and spent and make that accounting available to anyone who asks for the data.


easymoney,

You got that right...death by incrementalism.


MikenSoCo,

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Rifleman, are you a guide, and is that why you kill so many hogs?[/b]

No, I am not a guide for the reasons I mentioned above. I catch a lot of hogs because I spend most of my time and effort going after them as opposed to bear or bobcat, my dogs are "sure enough " hogdogs and I spend a lot of time in the hills (about 2 times/week). I hunt private property almost exclusively and do some depredation work for some ranchers.

Good dog hunters who keep only good dogs catch a whole helluva lot of hogs as opposed to spolt and stalk hunters. I do alright for my neck of the woods, but I am sure some dog hunters in the Monterey, Salinas and King City areas can put up numbers that make mine seem like a drop in the bucket. I know of a dog hunter in Texas who catches over a hundred hogs a year...year after year after year. THAT, my friends, is some serious hog catching!

 

[barel74]

It's not just pig tags. Everything costs more here in CA. But such a huge increase is just unbeleivable. But, most of you are right, will you stop buying pig tags? No, you won't. Espescially if you own or have access to land in San Benito Co., Monterey Co., or Santa Clara Co.. If you live in these counties, tags are pretty easy to fill. I guess someone has to pay for the thousands of hogs they trapped in Henry Coe. Might as well charge the people who would've killed them for free.

 

[pappy]

barel74 in answere to your question about buying pig tags, as for me, I wont buy a pig tag....as for others, i cant say....if you dont buy tags, the state doesnt have that money to pay for their parties, but, it still has the pig problem....that is my stance.....Pappy