Mad Mike
Well-known member
I lived on a ruralproperty near Gormley, we had several break-ins. I got a nasty Leonberger guard dog.Many decades ago a guy was being sued by the person who tried to break into the guy's cottage. Because of previous B&E the cottage owner set a booby trap using a string and shotgun. I think the cottage owner ended up paying for the crook's lost leg.
While the knee jerk reaction might be on the side of the cottage owner, think about collateral damage. What if the crook got scared off before he triggered the gun, police showed up to investigate and an officer entered the partially opened door?
This is why you don't set booby traps.
If you saw someone setting a trap and asked them why, the answer would probably be "To keep people off my land".
That is incorrect as it wouldn't be a deterrent to the first victim unless the traps were marked, defeating their purpose.
The correct answer is "I'm going to hurt, main or kill someone to set an example for others."
In a court, the victim could be a wandering kid, lost hiker etc and the court wouldn't likely look kindly at the trap setters for their premeditated actions.
On the other hand I believe a person has the right to control the use of their land and too many people pull the "Rights" card to do whatever they want. Chippy attitudes and slack law enforcement are pushing us towards an ugly reckoning. Throw in liability concerns and the land owners dig in further (You knew people were using that path and didn't keep it safe." No more access.
Fixed that problem.