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"We
know that if you plant the right food, lime and fertilize right, you
will attract and hold deer. We buy our seed and fertilizer at the
Luverne Cooperative Service’s store. Raymond Trotter and the other
store personnel really know their business," said Paradise
Adventures Lodge owner, George Browder.
Browder
says he certainly wants his hunters to harvest a deer, but the primary
thought on his mind is safety. "We meet our hunters at the lodge,
help them unload their gear, and then I immediately conduct a brief but
thorough safety meeting. Each hunter must sign a statement that they are
aware of the safety rules and understand them. Most of our rules are
just common sense, like wearing hunter orange, proper target
identification, proper firearm handling and being properly equipped. We
insist that each hunter carry a small flashlight to help prevent falls
when going to the stands."
Private
vehicles are left at the lodge and Browder or master guide Horace
Burgans will transport hunters to and from their stands. "We do not
allow ATVs or other personal vehicles in the hunting area," said
Browder.
He
explains that adequate liability insurance is a must for any landowner
who has recreational guests visiting their property, not just those
operating a commercial hunting lodge. "I recommend every landowner
check with their insurance agent and find out just what their policy
covers."
Will
Gunter, Deputy Legal Counselor with the Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources, agrees that adequate liability
coverage is necessary. "Any landowner would be prudent to purchase
adequate liability insurance because of the potential liability and the
cost of litigation."
Gunter
says that Alabama law dealing with a landowner’s duties and
responsibilities vary according to the relationship the landowner has
with the person on the landowner’s property. "Basically, a person
on the land of another will fall under one of four classifications –
invitee, licensee, social guest, or trespasser – and the liabilities and
duties owed each classification are as follows."
INVITEE-
a person who enters and remains upon the premises of another at the
expressed or implied invitation of the owner or occupant and for a
purpose in which the owner or occupant of the premises has a beneficial
interest. The duty of the owner or occupant of premises to an invitee is
to be reasonably sure that he is not inviting another into danger and to
exercise ordinary care to render and keep the premises in a reasonably
safe condition.
LICENSEE-
a person who enters or remains on the premises of another by invitation,
permission, or acquiescence of the one in possession, for the licensee’s
own benefit, convenience, or pleasure. The duty of the owner or occupant
of premises to a licensee is not to willfully or wantonly injure him,
nor negligently injure him after discovering he is in a position of
peril.
SOCIAL
GUEST- one who is on the premises of another for reasons purely social,
with no mutuality of benefit in a business or commercial sense. The duty
of an owner or occupant of premises to a social guest is not to
willfully or wantonly injure him, nor negligently injure him after
discovering he is in a position of peril.
TRESPASSER-
(1) a person who goes upon the premises of another without permission or
invitation, express or implied or (2) a person who, after rightfully
entering upon the premises of another remains on the premises after
consent or license to enter or use the premises has been terminated.
Landowner owes the duty to refrain from intentionally injuring a
trespasser (such as laying a trap for him) and after knowledge of the
trespasser’s presence to exercise reasonable diligence to warn him of
dangers known by the proprietor to exist on his premises. |
