Originally Posted by
Sidney
To be really honest I am not sure that a sign is sufficient. What I do know is that trespass is not completed until you have been warned to leave and failed to do so. I would think that you would have to establish that the sign had been seen, that the contents of the warning on the sign were legally sufficient to constitute a legal warning. The "trespassers will be prosecuted" sign is not legally sufficient to met the legal requirements of notice.
There are other offences when firearms are involved when it comes to being unlawfully on private property... as pointed out by others...
Brad...
In so far as this thread may educate some about their legal responsibilities or rights it is not a waste of time. Provided of course we concentrate on the facts and not the emotional opinion.... and to be honest the emotion appears to be mostly from a landowner perspective...
I take your point about about mushrooms and apples. I would also make the point that a lot of people are a lot more precious these days than they used to be about such things. It may have always been technically wrong to jump the fence for a few mushrooms, but in the past few worried about it and we are the poorer for being so indignant now.
People also keep harping on about the similarities regarding private property whilst ignoring the very obvious differences.. it is not the same for the simple reason of proximity. Wandering around my 800 square meter section with a firearm in a built up residential area, is entirely different to some furtive poacher sneaking around your back paddock trying not to attract your attention whilst in the pursuit of a wild animal that does not belong to you.
That being said it is illegal to do so... if you wish to take that risk, to potentially lose your firearms licence, to be convicted of an offence with firearms which may affect your travel plans and immigrant status for other countries, then I guess you can.... personally I would think that it may not be worth the risk...