Son of the landowner involved in viral duck hunting video shares his side of the story
Oct. 31—GRAND FORKS — A man whose father was recorded in a viral video showing a dispute with duck hunters in North Dakota's Eddy County says there's more to the story than the video shows.
The video, titled "Crazy Duck Hunter Harassment Duck Hunting in North Dakota (Game Warden Involved!)," has been viewed more than 1.4 million times since being posted on Sunday, Oct. 23.
As the Herald reported on Oct. 27
, the video shows a group of hunters who were set up along the property line of a harvested bean field when the neighboring landowner drove up in a side-by-side vehicle, saying they were touching his property, a harvested corn field, and that the spot they set up had spoiled his hunting plans for the morning.
The video contains extremely strong language and viewer discretion is advised.
Dustin Erman, whose father, Jeff Erman, was shown in the dispute, said the hunters had gotten permission to hunt the harvested bean field, which is owned by his cousin, but were told not to set up near the property line without permission.
"They were told to stay away from that area," Dustin Erman said. "Also, that video, these guys hunt and they do videos all the time, they edit (stuff) all the time. They edited out every single thing they said to provoke that farmer to get to that point."
Jacob Sweere of Madison Lake, Minn., who posted the video to his hunting and fishing YouTube channel, said he is waiting until the investigation into the incident is complete before answering any questions about the video.
James Myhre, district game warden for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Sheyenne, N.D., responded to the incident after receiving a call from Jeff Erman and conducted the follow-up investigation.
In an email Monday morning, Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies said she couldn't comment since the case remains an active investigation. Lies said she anticipates charges will be filed this week, at which time she would provide additional information about the case.
Dustin Erman, who farms his father's land, said he was in Rochester, Minn., when the Oct. 21 incident occurred but talked to his dad over the phone while the incident was happening.
The area is a major flyway corridor for migrating waterfowl, he said, adding he's had "probably 30 to 50 calls" this year about duck and goose hunting on the property.
"Because of this video, farmers are posting their land and they are denying permission to hunters because they don't want to be in the next video," Dustin Erman said. "So, all these kids have done is wreck it for a lot of good hunters out there that are respectful, that go the extra mile to get the permission."
