This was on his facebook page today. No mention of the case against him in Kansas. ::)
Why don't he just "Man up'' and admit he screwed up?
I really like the part where he says he ''should have hired counsel to review all the laws and advise accordingly" So his defense is that he can't read ??? What a joke! Crap like this is what ruins our sport!
Hello, this is Spook Spann. I wanted to take a minute to express my extreme gratitude to all of the hunters, fans, sponsors, and industry professionals who have supported my family and I during some difficult times.
As you may have read, I was recently charged with a probation violation, as a result of setting out a turkey decoy for some friends to use during a charity hunt we held, to raise money for medical research, on behalf of a family from my church. This family has two little boys who have a terminal illness (Duchesne Muscular Dystrophy ) . I also sit on the board for the Duchesne Muscular Dystrophy Foundation.
I did not attempt to purchase a hunting tag, I did not carry a weapon, and I did not attempt to harvest any animals. I did wear camo, and I did set out a turkey decoy for the charity hunt previously mentioned. Per the State Statute of Tennessee, putting out the decoy is considered hunting. No one I know (including myself) has ever considered anything outside taking a weapon and trying to harvest an animal the act of hunting. I've learned that hunting is defined differently (and sometimes bizarrely) in every state. I should have hired counsel to review all the laws and advise accordingly. I strongly encourage fellow hunters, TV personalities, and those in the hunting industry to carefully read all the laws in each and every state before hunting. Whatever you do, do not go on the advice of outfitters or fellow hunters.
We made our case in court, with the help of multiple witnesses, who refuted the evidence and testimony presented by the prosecution. We left court feeling confident based on the evidence presented to the court supporting our position, but were surprised later when the judge gave his decision. This is a decision that cannot be appealed.
I respect the judge, and the job he has to do, but I simply do not agree with his decision. I made no attempt to hunt, or to violate any other hunting laws for that matter. I provided multiple witnesses who corroborated these facts. At no time did any hunter hunt over feed, see any feed, or even see turkeys act as if they were looking for feed. Each hunter testified to this, including Alex Rutledge, who is an expert on the behavior of turkeys.
It breaks my heart to think that I've brought any negativity to the industry. Outside of God and family, I've given my whole life to the improvement of wildlife - always giving back far more than I take. It has never been my intention to act as though I am, "above the law", God knows that, and the people in my life have shown me that they know it too. I never would have thought that putting out a decoy without a weapon would constitute the act of hunting. At the end of the day I take full responsibility for my actions as I should have been more aware of the state's definition of hunting.
I am simply overwhelmed by the show of support I've gotten, and I assure you, it has touched my heart, and the hearts of my wife and children. I will work tirelessly to find ways to better our sport, passion and industry as I manage through this.
Thank you all and God bless.
-Spook
Just like a lot of people do.... He went and played the God card....
I don't care nothing for spook, or that awful song. So in no way am I taking up for him, from the very first time I saw the show he drove me nuts as, every 10 seconds it seemed during the show he keep saying "this is where I grew up" .. But if all he was doing was just putting out a decoy for someone else and truly had no intentions of killing a turkey, I don't think he did anything wrong. But that not for me to decide, I ain't gonna sit here and say I have or have not done anything wrong while hunting.I would imagine all of us has things we a have done that if caught could have got us in a pickle..
:'( lol
Barry,
I don't care for the show, nor, am I a Spann leg humper. There may be more to the stories, but if he was charged with breaking his agreement to not hunt, by placing out a decoy without a weapon, then I think he got shafted.
My definition of "hunting" an animal, is to seek out to kill animal. If he didn't have a weapon, then how is he able to do so? Personally, I feel he may have gotten the short end of the stick, straight up his rear, just because he is a celebrity.
As for him ruining our sport, it seems everyone remembers the one or two bad things a person does, rather than all the good they have, or may have done. I'm curious as to the good things he may have done, be doing, for his community? He may have done nothing good. Just writing, to judge a man for one, or even two actions, may be the wrong judgement.
I would have liked to have been in the jury for both cases to know the facts.
As for his statement on hiring council, I took it as sacasm, in the definition of "hunting".
Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.
God Bless,
David B.
If you take ANY time to read the actual statute in your state you will see what constitutes "hunting".
In NC it reads something like, "any action to take or attempt to take wild game". That includes calling, putting out decoys, etc. I don't think it's really hard to understand.
He forgot to mention the bait they hunted over.
Quote from: BOFF on August 19, 2013, 10:56:36 PM
Barry,
I don't care for the show, nor, am I a Spann leg humper. There may be more to the stories, but if he was charged with breaking his agreement to not hunt, by placing out a decoy without a weapon, then I think he got shafted.
My definition of "hunting" an animal, is to seek out to kill animal. If he didn't have a weapon, then how is he able to do so? Personally, I feel he may have gotten the short end of the stick, straight up his rear, just because he is a celebrity.
David, I was a fan of his because he always put an emphasis on "God, Country & Family" and I "thought" he did it right! He was "guiding" a hunter which I consider as "hunting" as does the Tennessee Dept of Game.
As for him ruining our sport, it seems everyone remembers the one or two bad things a person does, rather than all the good they have, or may have done. I'm curious as to the good things he may have done, be doing, for his community? He may have done nothing good. Just writing, to judge a man for one, or even two actions, may be the wrong judgement.
I'm sure he has done good things but 2 things he failed to mention is his letter...He was on probation for killing a deer illegally in Kansas and his former cameraman turned him in for baiting turkeys. This is not heresay, it is documented. I'm not judging him as a human being, I'm judging him on his hunting ethics as are others and we as hunters fall in his shadow because he is on TV.
I would have liked to have been in the jury for both cases to know the facts.
Evidently the jury found facts in some of the evidence because he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and barred from hunting for 1 year
As for his statement on hiring council, I took it as sacasm, in the definition of "hunting".
Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.
I my opinion I honestly don't think this was sarcasm.
God Bless,
David B.
David, I have great respect for both you and your opinion but this guy is/was looked up to by young hunters all over the country and I just feel he did a great disservice to hunting as a whole by doing what he did.
Barry,
He may very well be guilty of it all.
I also understand as one is put in a leadership role, one is to held to be more responsible for his/her actions. I also know, as one is put in a leadership role, the target is automatically drawn on his/her back to fling poo at.
I don't know all the facts, and just feel there may be a lot missing, whether it be to make his character worse or better.
Regardless,
It does put a black eye on our sport.
God Bless,
David B.
He was on probation,and he broke the law. Period.
He,is no better or worse,than any of us. If we did that do you think they would cut us a break? I think not. A person,in his position has to be legal at all times,where ever they hunt. Just ask Uncle Ted.
Who needs bait to kill a turkey? I'll tell you who, an AMATEUR!!!!
I cannot believe anyone supports this wannabe hunter. He forgot to mention the pictures of him spreading bait. I thought he also pleaded guilty? What case did he make to the judge? No time for this dud/dude.
Whats he on probation for?
I don't know Spook Span but have seen his show a few times. I'm not taking up for him nor condemning him. I don't know the laws where this took place, but I live in Alabama & below is what they define as hunting. I personally think it is way too broad of a term defining it as it covers way too much in my opinion. According to the laws of Alabama Spook would have been guilty because of his assisting someone else. (placing a decoy)
HUNTING DEFINED
Hunting includes pursuing, shooting, killing, capturing and trapping wild animals, wild birds, and all lesser acts, such as disturbing, harrying or worrying, or placing, setting, drawing or using any device used to take wild animals, wild birds, whether they result in taking or not, and includes every act of assistance to any person in taking or attempting to take wild animals or wild birds.
So in NC the way as described above if you are tagged out you cannot enter the woods with friends and family an call a bird in for them. This would be considered an action or attempt to take game as it is stated in the regulations digest.
The fact is, as has been stated before, that vague regulations like this one pretty much make every single person that enters the woods illegal in some way, shape, or form. These types of regulations are essentially unenforceable. They are in place to give law enforcement agencies the flexibility to go after individuals that they know are breaking the law, but can't get any real hard evidence on for whatever reason.
As I understand it, Spann poached a trophy whitetail buck off of a neighbor's property that he was not licensed to hunt on,...and he got caught. Law enforcement is now teaching him a lesson by enforcing a regulation that they would probably never use against the average, law-abiding citizen.
He took a chance and caved-in to the temptation of killing a trophy animal illegally for the sake of glorifying himself in the public eye. He is now paying the price for that indiscretion.
Quote from: blueridgegobbler on August 26, 2013, 10:19:57 PM
So in NC the way as described above if you are tagged out you cannot enter the woods with friends and family an call a bird in for them. This would be considered an action or attempt to take game as it is stated in the regulations digest.
No, that is not correct. The tag is not what allows you to hunt, it is merely the method to track possession.
If you are properly licensed, and have no legal judgement that prevents you from "hunting", there is no reason you cannot participate by calling, putting out decoys, etc. The circumstances change if you are also toting a gun and have filled your tags.
If calling, setting decoys, etc was not "hunting" why would a guide need a hunting license???
I don't know the facts in this case and will not comment on his guilt or innocence. I hunt and guide in both Tennessee and Alabama and I do know the law in both Alabama in in Tennessee. The laws are basically the same. If you are trying to call in turkeys, you are considered hunting.
It was said that he was on probation for a deer violation and that his camerman turned him in for baiting turkeys. That would not surprise me. I have turkey hunted for forty five years and have hunted with some of the very best in the country. Those who kill an unusually high number of Eastern gobblers are usually doing something illegal or unethical , be it baiting or tresspassing or sometimes even both. Even the best go home empty handed quite often unless they are doing something not quite right. Just my opinion , been at it too long.
Why does Sportsmans Chanel still air his show? It was on yesterday. I don't get it. Do they know what is going on or do we need to email them this?
Quote from: cuppednlocked on August 27, 2013, 11:25:57 AM
Quote from: blueridgegobbler on August 26, 2013, 10:19:57 PM
So in NC the way as described above if you are tagged out you cannot enter the woods with friends and family an call a bird in for them. This would be considered an action or attempt to take game as it is stated in the regulations digest.
No, that is not correct. The tag is not what allows you to hunt, it is merely the method to track possession.
If you are properly licensed, and have no legal judgement that prevents you from "hunting", there is no reason you cannot participate by calling, putting out decoys, etc. The circumstances change if you are also toting a gun and have filled your tags.
If calling, setting decoys, etc was not "hunting" why would a guide need a hunting license???
IMHO, I disagree. Blueridgegobbler is correct in his questioning. While you are correct in stating that a tag is only for possessional purposes, you must possess a valid tag to even be in the woods.
From pg. 42 of the 2013-14 NCWRC reg digest:
"Manner of taking"Definition of take : "To
TAKE is defined as
ALL OPERATIONS during, immediately preparatory and immediately subsequent to an attempt , whether successful or not, to capture, kill, pursue, hunt or otherwise harm or reduce to possession any fisheries resource or wildlife resource."
If you are out calling for someone (trying to reduce to possession) and you don't have a tag, you will get a ticket for "TAKING" turkeys without possession of a valid tag.
Another example:
I have a friend that shined a light on a field during deer season, after 11 p.m. one night, in a county where shining was legal up until 11 p.m. He possessed no weapon of any kind in the vehicle, he was truly out looking at deer...albeit, illegally after 11 p.m.
He was not given a ticket for just shining a light, the ticket said he "TOOK" deer with the aide of a spotlight...even though there was no gun, and no shot was fired...and it held for the state in court.....
If I didn't have a tag, I wouldn't dare be out there hunting, calling, or puttin' out dekes....done seen too many people go down that road in NC in 35 years of hunting here......
Missouri regulations state that anyone using a turkey call must be legally licensed meaning having a "filled or unfilled" turkey tag. I couldn't find any mention of placing decoys, etc.
Bowbendr,
Where in the GS or Reg Digest say that the tag is what allows you to "take" game? To be more specific, where does it say the tag must not be filled? It is illegal to take big game without tags issued to you. There is no mention of filled vs unfilled, only "properly licensed" ie having tags.
On youth day, adults can (and are encouraged to) help the youth kill a bird. The season is NOT open for adults. Why don't properly licensed adults get tickets for hunting out of season when helping with the youth hunt? It's not because they still have unfilled tags. (pg56 of Reg Digest)
What you are saying is roosting a bird the night before the season opens is illegal? You should have unfilled tags, like in the youth example, but you are "taking" turkeys out of season and after legal shooting hours.
My question regarding hunting guides still stands.
In reference to your friend, there are too many variables to mention: first ticket for violation, season open/closed, is there even a charge for "spotlighting" or is it only "taking with the aid of artificial light" (I don't know and don't feel like researching it)? It isn't the gun that makes the act of shining out of hours illegal.
Quote from: cuppednlocked on September 01, 2013, 03:19:11 PM
Bowbendr,
Where in the GS or Reg Digest say that the tag is what allows you to "take" game? To be more specific, where does it say the tag must not be filled? It is illegal to take big game without tags issued to you. There is no mention of filled vs unfilled, only "properly licensed" ie having tags.
On youth day, adults can (and are encouraged to) help the youth kill a bird. The season is NOT open for adults. Why don't properly licensed adults get tickets for hunting out of season when helping with the youth hunt? It's not because they still have unfilled tags. (pg56 of Reg Digest)
What you are saying is roosting a bird the night before the season opens is illegal? You should have unfilled tags, like in the youth example, but you are "taking" turkeys out of season and after legal shooting hours.
My question regarding hunting guides still stands.
In reference to your friend, there are too many variables to mention: first ticket for violation, season open/closed, is there even a charge for "spotlighting" or is it only "taking with the aid of artificial light" (I don't know and don't feel like researching it)? It isn't the gun that makes the act of shining out of hours illegal.
There is no mention of filled vs. unfilled tags in the NC reg. book, but it does say that to hunt you must also be in possession of your NC hunter harvest report card. If your card doesn't have any valid slots left to be filled in for the species and season that is open, you could have a problem......
The reason that adult hunters are not ticketed for hunting out of season during youth hunts is because you are given an "exemption" by the state in the law that states all youth hunters under 16 must be accompanied in the field by a properly licensed adult.
Just read what I posted about "manner of taking" and what constitutes "taking", then let your mind really try to wrap around what it's saying....that sentence, that one broad, sweeping, blanketing sentence.....you can't completely even fathom it if you really start thinking about it.....it could mean anything to any GW out in the field that's looking to write a ticket.
That's why I gave the example of my friend and the spotlight. It doesn't take a weapon, a shot being fired, a dead deer or a turkey, or even anything criminal to get yourself started down the road to legal troubles. The law is so blanketing that it becomes gray and can be argued any way any LEO sees fit,IMHO.
Should my friend have received a ticket for "shining a light after 11 p.m." ? YES ! It was a crime.
Should my friend have received a ticket for "taking deer with the aide of a spotlight ?" Absolutely not. Now people think he was out killing deer and it's hurt him in the community, all the while he's trying to admit to the crime of shining after 11. He tells people he had no gun and killed no deer and they say....what ?..........yeah right...............but HE opened that can of worms.......
Yes, I do believe that in NC if you were out roosting turkeys the night before opening day and you were using turkey calls to roost birds as some do (fly up cackles/cutting at sunset)...you could have a problem if somebody wanted to be an arse about it....AND, you had previous legal troubles as Mr. Spann had.........
My post wasn't to de-bunk you or confront your post, it was to address the OP's original post and as to whether or not Mr. Spann was actually out trying to break the law. Tennessee has a law very similar to ours here in NC, and if I had experienced the legal troubles that Mr. Spann had previously had, I be danged if I would have been anywhere near a turkey hunt. I would have took my punishment and laid low, trying to recover my credibility to the hunting world and my sponsors. Instead, he chose to be out in the field and whether he was just trying to help a kid out on a youth hunt, baiting, whatever......he's on his way to jail now, crime or no crime....HE opened that can of worms.....but it's that "hunting" definition that got him........
Guys,
I don't think it was some vague definition of hunting that got Spann into further trouble.
He was an unlicenced person who participated in a hunt.
I don't know Tennessee law but here is what Pa. law has to say about unlicensed persons.
Unlicensed Persons: An unlicensed person may accompany a properly licensed hunter or trapper
provided the unlicensed person acts only as an observer and does not, in any manner, participate in hunting or trapping.
Petersen's Hunting has an interesting article , evidently fellow poacher Ted Nugent is supporting Spann. :TooFunny:
Here's the link.
http://www.petersenshunting.com/2013/08/02/tv-host-spook-spann-violates-probation-gets-jail-time-and-hunting-ban/
GWs have latitude to do their jobs (good or bad). If a GW wants to write you a ticket they WILL find something.
I am not trying to be an internet tough guy. However, I believe the idea you have of hunting with a buddy (after tagging out) and getting a ticket is a bit extreme and narrow.
As you pointed out, the law does not state you must have unfilled tags in the report card to be in the woods, only that you are properly licensed (have report card on you, etc). If you are alone with a gun, with no open slots on the card, and hunting, the GW will certainly give you a pink slip. If you are with helping someone, they have the gun, and have not tagged out you are going to be OK.
I'll give you another example:
You are duck hunting with friends, and are shooting accurately. Before the birds stop flying you shoot your limit and case your gun. Your birds are segregated to follow the law. You call, help retrieve birds, etc and your friends continue to shoot. By your interpretation you are now taking ducks "over the limit". I have been in that situation and the reverse, been checked by different GWs and not gotten a ticket.
I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you call the NCWRC Enforcement Division and ask about it you will be told it's ok as long as you are "properly licensed", you don't have a gun and no more than 1 bird is taken.
Edited to add:
I spoke with a former student/friend that is a NCWRC officer. He confirmed that if you are properly licensed to take game you CAN call, place decoys, etc for someone else to "take" game after tagging out as long as you do not have a gun as well. The catch is "reasonable interpretation". By helping with calling, etc you do not have intent to reduce to posession, kill, harm, etc. The gun is what causes the reasonable interpretation that you intend to kill.
The charge for shining deer after dark past legal hours is a curfew violation, not taking deer with the aid of artificial light. A firearm in the vehicle is what causes the difference.