A Mozambique court has sentenced a Vietnamese woman to 16 years in prison for possession and trafficking of lion and rhinoceros parts.
A Mozambique court has sentenced a Vietnamese woman to 16 years in prison for possession and trafficking of lion and rhinoceros parts.
According to Club of Mozambique, Trang Kiu Trang was arrested in 2020 at Maputo International Airport. She was found to be in possession of 127 lion claws, 36 lion teeth, and five rhino horns.
Illegal trafficking of items collected from poached wildlife, for sale mostly in Asian markets, can be lucrative. Lion claws and teeth, for example, are in high demand for use as pendants and amulets.
Man facing 10 charges for illegal deer hunting makes outrageous claims and admissions to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
A man who admits to being an unethical hunter but doesn’t care because he claims to be addicted to venison was in court last week for a pretrial hearing regarding the 10 charges he faces relating to illegal deer hunting in Michigan.
Scott Kevin Meisterheim, 55, of Kalamazoo was arraigned earlier this month in 8th District Court of Kalamazoo County for taking white-tailed deer outside of lawful hunting hours (one count), hunting white-tailed deer without a license (two counts), using deer hunting licenses of someone else (two counts), taking an over-limit of antlered white-tailed deer (two counts) and transporting/possessing untagged antlered white-tailed deer (three counts).
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also reported that it requested additional charges for illegal baiting, failing to immediately validate/attach kill tags and using another’s hunting license.
DNR conservation officers began investigating Meisterheim in February 2022 after receiving tips via its Report All Poaching Hotline.
Several witnesses spoke to Conservation Officer James Nason about the suspect’s illegal hunting activity from October to December 2021.
From the DNR:
Evidence collected during the investigation revealed that Meisterheim took at least 11 deer from Oct. 1-Dec. 24, 2021, including three deer Oct. 1, and that he believed he was “tagged out” the first week of archery season. Within three days, Meisterheim let two deer spoil; those were rejected by the processor due to their condition…
Meisterheim, who was hunting without a hunting license, during all hours of the day and while using illegal bait [sic], also obtained other people’s deer tags to cover his illegal deer, if he even tagged them at all.
While serving time in the Kalamazoo County Jail for domestic abuse, Meisterheim made his outrageous claims and admissions in an interview with Nason.
“Sure, I love to kill deer,” he said. “If I could kill more I would, to be honest with you.”
He also said he “is not the most ethical hunter, tagging other people’s deer, but I don’t care—I am addicted to the venison.”
Meisterheim also claimed that injured deer would stumble to and die near his hunting location. This was the reason he gave for being in possession of so many deer.
He also hunted several private properties without permission in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
“This is an excellent investigation of a poacher who shows no respect for the resource or the ethics of fair chase,” said Chief Dave Shaw, DNR Law Enforcement Division. “Violations of this type deprive law-abiding people of their opportunity to have access to and enjoy a public trust natural resource, in this case white-tailed deer.”
Meisterheim is due back in court in February. He is currently serving 18 months’ probation for aggravated domestic assault in Kalamazoo County.
Photo of the suspect with a deer and generic image of a white-tailed deer courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
A Chinese food blogger who cut up, cooked, and ate a great white shark – and captured the lavish production on video – has been fined $18,500 by authorities.
A Chinese food blogger who bought a great white shark at market, then prepared and ate the apex predator in a lavish video production, has been fined $18,500 by authorities.
The blogger’s user name is Tizi but authorities identified her as Jin Moumou, while explaining last week in a statement that Jin bought the shark last April for $1,100 and posted her footage in July.
The footage went viral, which is what tipped authorities. (CLICK HERE to watch the video.)
White sharks are protected in China and Jin’s actions were in violation of the “Wild Animal Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China,” authorities explained.
According to the statement, the fisherman and “shark sellers” were arrested for catching and selling a protected species. The white shark, a juvenile, looks to measure about six feet.
In the footage, a smiling Jin informs her followers, “Don’t be fooled by their scary appearance, its meat is very tender.”
A Michigan hunter is serving two months in jail after pleading guilty to sabotaging another hunter’s tree stand, causing the victim to fall more than 15 feet.
A Michigan hunter is serving two months in jail after pleading guilty to sabotaging another hunter’s tree stand, causing the victim to fall more than 15 feet.
Thomas Steele III, 23, of Chelsea, pleaded guilty in Marquette County Court to misdemeanors of aggravated assault and hunter harassment.
Steele was ordered to reimburse the victim’s medical expenses for injuries sustained in the fall, and his hunting privileges were revoked indefinitely throughout most of the U.S.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the harassment began in October 2020 when the hunter arrived at an Upper Peninsula tree stand he had set up and discovered a note on his trail camera.
Close-up view shows a cut strap from the tree stand in Marquette County. Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The note stated that the spot belonged to Steele.
Steele included his phone number, requesting a call. The hunter called Steele and was warned to stay off the land.
Hunters in Michigan cannot claim rights to public hunting land. Nor can they prevent other hunters for using abandoned tree stands and blinds.
The hunter stayed away for a few weeks, then returned to his tree stand, grabbed the memory card from his trail camera, and began to ascend the tree via climbing sticks.
Footage from a trail camera shows Thomas Steele III, 23, of Chelsea, cutting the straps on a hunter’s tree stand. Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Nothing seemed amiss, but when he stepped onto the platform it gave way and the hunter plummeted 15-plus feet, injuring his back and ankle.
“Concerned that Steele was watching him on a camera, the hunter quickly limped out of the woods,” the Michigan DNR stated in a news release issued Friday. “Once at home, he called 911 and checked his memory card, which had been wiped clean of images.”
An investigation was launched by DNR Conservation Officer Josh Boudreaux.
Several weeks passed before the hunter again returned to the spot, bringing new straps for his tree stand.
Steel was spying on the hunter with his trail camera, the Michigan DNR explained, and the next day Steele sent threatening text messages.
Boudreaux and Officer John Kamps, meanwhile, kept an eye on the stand. They acquired photographic evidence showing Steele sabotaging the hunter’s tree-stand straps.
“The straps were cut in such a way that they would support the weight of the tree stand but would break as soon as additional weight was applied to them, having a trap door effect,” Boudreaux explained. “The victim would have fallen 15 to 20 feet to the ground.”
Afterward, Boudreaux obtained a search warrant for Steele’s trail camera and arranged a meeting with Steele, whereupon Steele confessed to sabotaging the tree stand and other charges.
Steele was charged in 2021.
Said Dave Shaw, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division: “Hunter harassment is real and taken very seriously. The DNR hopes that by sharing the details of this case, we can bring awareness to the consequences of this person’s unethical and dangerous behavior and know that it will not be tolerated.”
One person was hospitalized after shots were fired following a boys high school basketball game in Oklahoma on Tuesday.
A suspect was arrested on Wednesday in relation to the shooting at an Oklahoma high school basketball arena following a game the night prior, KOCO News 5 reported.
Shots were fired both in the stadium and in the parking lot of the campus of Del City High School (Okla.) around 7:30 p.m. after the boys basketball game against Millwood (Oklahoma City, Okla), according to the outlet. The Oklahoman reported that two Del City on-duty officers and two more off-duty officers were working security at the game, and they evacuated the gym. As they did, more shots were fired in the parking lot.
One person was struck and taken to the hospital. KOCO News 5 reported that the victim was transported to the hospital in a private vehicle and was in stable condition as of Wednesday evening.
The suspect was an 18-year-old, according to the outlet. Police have not yet released the identity of the accused shooter because he has not been formally charged, according to the Oklahoman.
Del City High School officials released a statement:
“After the completion of the boy’s basketball game against Millwood High School, a fight occurred and gunshots were fired inside the field house. The Del City Police Department is onsite and investigating the incident. We have made the decision to shift to a virtual learning day for Wednesday, January 18. We will continue to update our families as more information becomes available.”
According to Fox 25, Millwood Public Schools has instituted a policy for the remainder of the season prohibiting minors not accompanied by an adult from attending any more home games. Millwood has three more home games this season.
The hunter was located after Department of Environmental Conservation officers responded to a Nov. 18 report that a K-9 unit had tracked a bear that had been shot earlier in the day.
The K-9 unit had been part of a nighttime spotlighting detail involving officers trying to catch hunters illegally using lights to locate and shoot deer.
A Washington State motorist was fined for “negligent driving” Sunday after being pulled over with most of the vehicle’s windshield covered in snow.
A Washington State motorist was fined for “negligent driving” Sunday after being pulled over in Kitsap County with most of the vehicle’s windshield covered in snow.
A photo was tweeted by Katherine Weatherwax of the Washington State Patrol, showing only the tiniest clearing in the top left portion of windshield. A thick snow blanket covers the rest of the windshield, the hood and roof.
“A trooper stopped this driver on SR 16 after the vehicle was observed to be completely covered in snow,” Weatherwax stated. “The driver received a $553 ticket for negligent driving in the 2nd degree. Please take the time to remove all snow from your vehicle before you leave the house.”
#KitsapCounty: A trooper stopped this driver on SR 16 after the vehicle was observed to be completely covered in snow. The driver received a $553 ticket for negligent driving in the 2nd degree.
Please take the time to remove all snow from your vehicle before you leave the house. pic.twitter.com/pRHAbdxc8p
Michigan hunters are on alert in Ionia County after a continued uptick in catalytic converter thefts.
Hunters are on alert in at least one Michigan county after an apparent uptick in catalytic converter thefts.
The Ionia County Sheriff’s Office reported this week that at least two catalytic converters were removed from vehicles while their occupants were deer hunting.
The agency stated via Facebook: “Recently, Otisco Township Deputy Joseph Tefft took two reports of catalytic converters being cut and stolen from vehicles that were parked near rural hunting areas while the owners were out hunting for deer.
“We ask the public to watch for suspicious activity, and to report it immediately to Ionia Central Dispatch by calling 616-527-0400 or dialing 9-1-1.”
One comment reads: “Wow!!! That takes some guts…..climbing under somebody’s vehicle and cutting off their converter…….knowing that person is in the woods with a loaded gun.”
The soaring number of catalytic converter thefts for their precious metals – including palladium, platinum, and rhodium – is a nationwide phenomenon and can involve sophisticated crime rings.
A single catalytic converter can fetch as much as $1,000 on the black market.
Fourteen people were convicted on 122 counts, including felonies and misdemeanors, in a case seeing search warrants executed in two states.
Fourteen people were charged with and convicted on 122 counts, including felonies and misdemeanors, as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife closed the adjudication phase of one of the state’s largest white-tail deer commercialization cases.
The list of charges included engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, grand theft, falsification, tampering with records, possession of untagged deer parts, hunting with an illegal implement, and complicity to wildlife sales, according to ODNR.
The case included the illegal taking of deer and selling venison, and focused on A&E Deer Processing in Gallia County.
The defendants combined to pay $70,013.14 in fines and restitution, paid more than $6,700 in court costs and forfeited all the evidence seized during the execution of search warrants.
Collectively, they received a hunting license revocation totaling 63 years.
The maximum restitution to one individual was $20,000 with another paying $13,000. Multiple individuals received extensive hunting license suspensions.
In February 2020, five search warrants were executed in Gallia County by Division of Wildlife law enforcement with an additional search warrant conducted in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Wildlife officers and investigators conducted 22 interviews in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania to verify the alleged violations.
During the execution of the search warrants, more than 1,000 items were seized, including venison and venison processing equipment, deer harvest records, deer mounts and antlers, and hunting implements. A stolen rifle, illegally possessed firearm suppressors, and a moonshine still were also discovered during the searches.
The investigation revealed the owners and operators of the deer processing business falsely game checked deer, created false deer harvest records, falsified deer tags, exceeded deer hunting limits, and stole venison from customers who brought in deer for processing. Falsified records allowed the deer processors to take and have in their possession more deer than they were lawfully allowed.
Stolen venison was stockpiled and laundered into summer sausage that was sold for profit. Over the course of two hunting seasons, investigators documented more than 2,000 pounds of venison that were either stolen from their 280 customers or taken by unlawful means such as jacklighting, taking deer out of season, and falsifying records.
A 52-year-old man was cited Tuesday by state and federal authorities in after his dog was caught on video harassing an endangered Hawaiian monk seal.
A 52-year-old man was cited Tuesday in Hawaii by state and federal authorities after his dog was caught on video harassing an endangered monk seal.
The incident occurred Oct. 10 at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on the island of Hawaii.
The accompanying footage, released this week by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, shows the dog menacing the seal, and the seal’s frightened reaction.
The footage also shows the dog’s owner approaching the seal while trying to catch and leash his dog.
The man’s identity was not disclosed out of concern that he’ll become the target of threats and harassment – as has occurred after past incidents involving the culturally revered seals.
The Hawaiian monk seal, endemic to the northwest Hawaiian islands, is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world. Only about 1,400 remain and people are required to give them space when they haul ashore to rest.
The Hawaii DNLR stated in a news release that it took weeks to track down the man, a recent transplant from the mainland, after receiving video footage captured by a witness.
State citations include harassment of an endangered or threatened species and permitting a dog to stray in violation of the Hawaii County Code. Federal citations include violation of the Endangered Species Act and failure to restrain a pet, disturbing wildlife activities.
The man is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 26, 2023.
