A 23-year-old homeless man in San Luis Obispo, California has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for catching and cooking a federally protected Central Coast steelhead trout from a creek.
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While the sentence is perhaps overly harsh, the fish was a pregnant female, so wildlife experts say his meal caused a severe blow to the struggling species. And anyway, fishing of all kinds is prohibited in the creek.
The Department of Fish & Game were tipped off to a group of homeless men cooking a fish under a bridge. Victor Manuel Silva admitted to catching the fish and was arrested along with another man who had outstanding warrants.
“Each fish really counts,” said Lt. Dean Hileman. “We are talking about a species that is so critical that some subspecies are in danger of going extinct.
Photo Credit: laszlo-photo on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
wtf!!! y would they do that to a homeless man picture if u was homless then what he has to make a living to live in the world. so god bless u homeless man. the devil is trying to put u down in the groud. but a lease he is getting feed 4 10 days but it still was wrong. gnr (got a nigga roll’n) god bless china and america and all other coutries.peace out email me at [email protected] on myspace if u have comments people who r hatters
@bertie: “We’re not allowed to hunt/gather/forage for food anymore and the land has been privatized so we have no natural habitats. I’ve always thought that there should be some wilderness set aside for people who do not wish to participate in post-agricultural civilization to be allowed to live off the land.”
What?!? Have you ever left the liberal urban area you live in? Many, many people in this country hunt game and fish on public lands.
All most everyboby knows that the Steelhead in SLO creek or protected. But I wouldn’t think that the homeless living in the creek area would know this because nowhere have I ever seen signs posted in SLO that this species of fish is protected and must be released let alone the creek being posted as a no fishing area. What happens if some of these fish get into laguna lake? There is no signs posted there either that Steelhead are supposed to be released. Bing in the know about fish and game regulations is not something that people are concerned with as much as before this nation was commercialized. I remember back when I was a kid every kid I knew had there fishing license and knew the local laws.
at least he gets free food for 10 years
“And anyway, fishing of all kinds is prohibited in the creek.”
A law is a law. If you break it, you suffer the consequences, no matter what social class you are. The problem here is not the fact that he killed an endangered fish; it’s that he is destitute in the first place. This is partly due to the governments inefficiency in securing rights such as “food, water, space to live, etc.,” and partly due to the individual’s choice to ignore rules and regulations.
Adolph Hitler never broke a law.
We’re not allowed to hunt/gather/forage for food anymore and the land has been privatized so we have no natural habitats. I’ve always thought that there should be some wilderness set aside for people who do not wish to participate in post-agricultural civilization to be allowed to live off the land. People should have some basic guarantees when born — the right to food, water, space to live, etc.
Of course, the homeless people living in the cities need help. We can’t allow them to hunt geese in the city park or fish from endangered streams. But jail isn’t the answer.
WOW, you think they would have conidered the men where homless and unable to know that the fish where protected. It’s not like they had access to TV’s or internet. They where just trying to eat. Guess they should have robbed and stolen for their meal instead, probably would have gotten a litghter sentence.