Food dump ethics??

[Moondog55]

Just a note to ay that things are not what they used to be ( Again)
Just came back from Falls Creek and Pretty Valley Hut.
A family emergency meant I had to leave some gear behind and return in haste to home in Geelong.
This meant caching some heavy and bulky gear and leaving a food dump in the hut.
Some-one of little moral stature broke into the clearly labelled and heavily sealed food box and helped themselves.
I know it wasn't in an emergency because all the y stole was the dark chocolate Cherry Ripes and the Mars Bars and my bottle of BB Milawa Muscat
I would never have a problem with folk using any food dump in an emergency but to open and take the luxury items is simple greedy theft isn't it.
In my defence: before you all say anything; the box was clearly labelled with my name. my mobile number and the expected date of retrieval, that date was the cup W/E.
What do you all think?
I was actually expecting my stuff to be looked at and I was giving myself a 50-50 chance of not having any food left in the box at all.
I also cleaned up a lot of rubbish and brought that out too.

[wayno]

not on at all. a cache is a cache , you dont break into on for anything if you're not in dire straits yourself. they obviously aren't serious bush walkers who will ever be in that situation themselves, they didnt put themselves in you shoes at all.... theft is theft, be it just certain items or the lot if they are consoling themselves they left you the majority of the gear....
must admit i pinched a chocolate biscuit from an open cache once but i knew it wasnt an emergency cache and they had buckets of luxury food.... no way i'd take all the luxury items or break into a cache.
might pay in future to leave the luxury items out as sacrificial lambs and label the cache saying no luxury food inside.... only crucial supplies...

[andrewbish]

Pretty crappy outcome, Moondog. I must say I like your taste in luxury items.

[Moondog55]

If it hadn't needed an urgent return I would have had time to rebury the cache, but as the English would say "Pretty poor form, chaps."

[Moondog55]

Absolutely no point in reporting the theft to the local police either.
Could have been worse, could have been Triple Choc TimTams that were stolen.
Better luck next year hey? Maybe next year my wife won't fall and break a leg in Melbourne while I'm on my skiing holiday in the hills.

[maddog]

Things are not how they used to be? Australia was a nation of convicts, many of whom were keen bushwalkers. In the good ol' days, you would have lost a good deal more than a few chocolates and a bottle of plonk.

Though this is a surprising, from a kiwi

not on at all..theft is theft...must admit i pinched a chocolate biscuit

[madmacca]

Yeah, but the convict bushwalkers didn't need a cache, all they needed was a cookpot.

But to your point, not just unethical, but reckless and even culpable to raid someone's cache.

And if they were snowed in themselves and needed to raid your supplies, given your mobile number was attached, surely the responsible thing to do would be to contact you and offer to replace (or at least pay for) what was consumed.

Last edited by madmacca on Wed 07 Nov, 2012 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[maddog]

Not a sheep?

[Moondog55]

Well maybe they were with the Optus network, only the other company starting with "T" has coverage out there.
Lesson to be learned here, never ever forget to hide the chocolate and the booze.
Still some big snowbanks left too, there were kidlings with plastic toboggans everywhere

[wayno]

Things are not how they used to be? Australia was a nation of convicts, many of whom were keen bushwalkers. In the good ol' days, you would have lost a good deal more than a few chocolates and a bottle of plonk.

Though this is a surprising, from a kiwi

not on at all..theft is theft...must admit i pinched a chocolate biscuit

I was young and impressionable and my trip leader led the theft....

[maddog]

I was young and impressionable and my trip leader led the theft....

Australian trip leader?

[wayno]

I was young and impressionable and my trip leader led the theft....

Australian trip leader?

nope
the food had been helicoptered in for a work party, they had copious amounts of it, at the time, our trip leader decided it was ok for the three of us to pinch a biscuit.

[Strider]

I was young and impressionable and my trip leader led the theft....

Australian trip leader?

nope
the food had been helicoptered in for a work party, they had copious amounts of it, at the time, our trip leader decided it was ok for the three of us to pinch a biscuit.

Thieving *&%$#!

[wayno]

I think i left out "forgive me father, for I have sinned".....

[Moondog55]

Thanks for the support Wayno
I just finished unpacking the cardboard box ( which i will re-use next year BTW ) and they also took the sugar and the Nescafe Gold Blend coffee Ovaltine and Milo.

[kanangra]

Aren't those dark chocolate Cherry ripes to die for. One of the best things about walking is that you can pack a couple of those with a clear conscience.

K

[Moondog55]

"To die for"
Will I would happily kill the parasites who stole them for sure.

[maddog]

An ancestor of my ex-wife was transported to Tasmania for stealing a loaf of bread. Her family claims she did it because she wanted a free holiday. Anything more serious in those days, and it would have been the gallows for sure.

Cheers

[Moondog55]

You know "If" it was hunger I would have had no problems, any offer to pay would probably have been refused in the event of an emergency, your ancestor probably was starving, if i had any Gypsy blood in me I would lay a curse on the thieves and condemn them to a long life filled with indigestion and heartburn.

[Rob A]

Tax. They probably thought it was a good find.
Personally, I dont even move peoples packs.
Hut ethics? Oxymoron.

[wayno]

next time lace the coffee with laxatives....

[Moondog55]

Epsom salts in the cocoa, great idea. I may just do that next year

[maddog]

But what if the thief next year has the reasonable excuse of emergency?

Is setting such a trap really ethical? Or legal?

[Moondog55]

A thief deserves all he or she gets

[wayno]

lots of people use laxatives....you could put a sign take anything EXCEPT the COFFEE if its legit they'll leave the coffee. they were warned if they take the coffee....

[Son of a Beach]

Or a sign that simply says, "ONE of these items is laced with laxatives."

[Moondog55]

Or a sign that simply says, "ONE of these items is laced with laxatives."

LOL Now that is a good idea

[maddog]

Interesting ideas.

But what would stop the thief, being of low moral standing, from eating all the packaged items then adding laxatives (or worse) to the all of the remaining items as revenge.

'An eye for an eye will leave everyone blind' (Ghandi)

Would it not be possible to just conceal the items?

[Strider]

Would it not be possible to just conceal the items?

This would be my suggestion also. Put it all in a lockable container and chain it to something immobile.

[Moondog55]

Hiding by burying is what I usually do, I was forced to retreat home because my beloved broke her leg at work in Geelong and needed me home urgently. 3 weeks earlier than planned