poachers – Syndication Server

Hunters who didn’t want to stop shooting get ‘sad slap on the wrist’

Texas Game Wardens track down deceitful duck hunters. They ‘get off easy’ for poaching 30 ducks over the legal limit.

Four duck hunters attempted to deceive Texas Game Wardens over the number of ducks they shot before three of them from Louisiana finally admitted to exceeding their daily bag limit of six each, and for a rather disgusting reason.

The three Louisiana poachers said they didn’t want to stop shooting, claiming this was more ducks than they had seen all season in Texas and Louisiana, the Texas Game Wardens related in a Facebook post.

Game wardens from Hamilton and Bosque counties were patrolling the Brazos River in Bosque County when they heard several volleys of gunfire nearby. They found no violations. But when loading up their boat, they heard more gunfire from the same area.

They used a satellite mapping program to pinpoint several private lakes in the area that could be potential hunting locations.

Near one entrance, they encountered a man in camouflage exiting an equipment shed. He appeared evasive and was seen urgently texting.

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From the Texas Game Wardens report:

“The man directed the wardens to a nearby duck blind, where three nervous hunters were packing up their gear and offered conflicting details about their group size. Initially claiming there were eight hunters—then seven—none of the remaining hunters could name the hunters who had allegedly left.

“As one warden interviewed the hunters, the other went to inspect a pile of ducks on the opposite bank. As he was checking the ducks, the warden discovered a fourth individual behind the dam, dressed in camouflage with a stringer of ducks he was attempting to hide. The hunter lacked a valid hunting license and had crossed two fences to conceal the 16 birds. When confronted, the group falsely claimed he was retrieving a lost bird.

“Further investigation revealed numerous violations. Near the blind, wardens found additional ducks and roughly 250 shotgun shells and hulls containing prohibited lead shot. The hunters admitted to using leftover shot from dove season, knowing it was illegal for waterfowl hunting.”

https://www.facebook.com/TexasGameWardens/posts/pfbid0iJbM1duLwG8WpzH6UUkR5jbkdrszdHG65gJkBLvNAJZyMJskVqkLi2HQ1uXQ7wJul

It was determined that four individuals were hunting, and only three had valid hunting licenses. In all, the men used four shotguns to illegally harvest 54 ducks, 30 more than their combined legal limit.

“Multiple citations were issued for exceeding the bag limit, hunting without a valid license, and using lead shot for waterfowl,” the Texas Game Wardens post stated. “The hunters were also charged civil restitution for the illegally taken ducks. The fines and restitution total for the group was more than $7,000.”

Commenters on the Texas Game Wardens Facebook page took exception to the fine, most saying it should have been much more. A sample of comments:

“Good job busting the outlaws, but what a sad slap on the wrist. That’s not nearly enough to discourage that kind of behavior.”

“Take their hunting privileges!! This is absolutely insane!”

“My opinion is the total fines and restitution should have been a lot more than $7,000. Maybe jail time and loss of equipment and firearms. Does that sound too tough? NO they stole from us.”

“People like this are why hunters get a bad rep. Shame on them. Hopefully lesson learned. They got off easy with only $7,000 fine for the group.”

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“I’m glad the wardens trusted their gut and found these poachers but also wish the punishment would have been harsher. Especially since they actively tried to deceive the wardens and knowingly broke so many regulations/laws.”

“They should never be able to purchase a Texas hunting license. $7,000 is not nearly enough.”

The ducks were seized, cleaned and distributed to families in Hamilton and Bosque counties.

“This case serves as a clear example of the need for adherence to hunting regulations to preserve wildlife populations,” the Texas Game Wardens stated.

Photo courtesy of Texas Game Wardens.

Poachers from Mexico busted with illegal red snapper haul off Texas

The three men, caught fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line, were turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The U.S. Coast Guard this week seized a fishing boat with 200 pounds of red snapper caught illegally by Mexican fishermen in federal waters off southern Texas.

The agency explained in a news release that it also transferred the three fishermen to U.S. Customs and Border Protection “for further processing.”

Several Coast Guard crews participated in the bust Tuesday as the men were observed fishing illegally north of the Maritime Boundary Line.

They were aboard a sleek and speedy vessel known as a launcha. Launchas are typically 20 to 30 feet long and powered by a single outboard engine.

The low-profile boats, which can travel at 30 mph, are commonly used for illegal fishing within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.

Launchas are also used in drug-smuggling operations.

The fish were donated to the Harte Research Institute, and Sea Turtle, Inc., to feed turtles under rehabilitation.

Juveniles tip off the law, leads to jail, $6,750 in fines for poachers

White sturgeon in Scappoose Bay in Oregon is catch-and-release only, but three men thought they could get away with keeping five.

Unfortunately for these perpetrators, some much younger—and wiser—than them had an eye on them.

What the juvenile sportsmen witnessed were the men in a boat catching a white sturgeon and not releasing it. So, they contacted the poacher tip line of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and reported what they saw and where they saw it.

The tip led to wildlife troopers monitoring the area, a slough off the Columbia River north of Vancouver, and after two days of surveillance, trooper Scott Bernardi and senior trooper Justin Morgan approached the men at a dock where they had moored their boat.

At first, the three men denied catching any fish. But when the troopers pulled up two lines they saw tied to the dock, they found four live white sturgeon, ranging in size from 5 to 7 feet. The troopers discovered a fifth live white sturgeon when inspecting the boat.

The incident occurred in 2022 but ODFW just issued a press release Monday about the repercussions.

Julio Duran of Salem pleaded guilty to take/possession of a giant white sturgeon (a Class C Felony) and take/possession of four oversized sturgeons (Class A misdemeanors). He also pleaded guilty to fishing without a fishing license. He served 20 days in the Columbia County jail and owes $5,000 in restitution to ODFW and $500 to the Turn in Poachers TIP reward program. He was given 36 months probation and a three-year fishing ban. He also forfeited the fishing rods and equipment, presumably including the boat, used during the crime.

Jose Plascencia of Dayton pleaded guilty to fishing without a fishing license and must serve either 10 days on a Columbia County work crew or 80 hours of community service. He received 24 months of bench probation, and must pay $750 in restitution. His fishing privileges were suspended for three years.

Axel Guell of St. Helens pleaded guilty to angling without a fishing license and must pay $500 in restitution. He is to serve 24 months of bench probation and is prohibited from fishing for three years.

“This poacher [Duran] spent 20 days in jail over the holidays in hopes of changing his behavior [sic],” Morgan said. “Luckily, the quick-thinking juvenile sportsmen were able to report what they witnessed to the Oregon State Police, through the TIP line, and we were able to apprehend this individual and release the large sturgeon back into the bay.”

The juveniles were awarded $500 each for reporting the poachers.

Fortunately, the other four sturgeon were also released alive back into the bay.

“White sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers can currently generate between 30,000 – 40,000 angler trips annually, which contribute millions in economic benefits,” the ODFW stated. “In recent years, lower populations of the slow-growing fish preclude taking one home for a meal. But anglers can still catch and release the massive fish, which provides the thrill of the experience.”

Generic images of white sturgeon courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Feds offer $50,000 reward after 3 wolves are found dead in Oregon

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hoping the large sum will help authorities catch those responsible for poaching three endangered wolves from the same pack.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hoping that a $50,000 reward will help authorities catch and prosecute the person or persons responsible for killing three endangered wolves in Oregon.

An investigation was launched after Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers found the carcasses of two collared research wolves and an un-collared wolf last Dec. 29 in Klamath County.

All three wolves – a breeding adult female (OR115) and two subadults – belonged to the Gearhart Mountain Pack.

Troopers responded after Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists received mortality signals from the two collars.

The ODFW stated Friday in a news release: “ODFW and OSP are assisting USFWS in the investigation of three Gearhart Mountain Pack wolves found dead in late December.

“ODFW is aware of seven wolves remaining in the Gearhart Mountain Pack including the breeding male. ODFW continues to monitor these wolves.”

Neither agency revealed how the wolves were killed but the case is reminiscent of a 2021 case – also involving a $50,000 reward – centered around the poisoning deaths of all five members of the Catherine wolf pack.

Gray wolves are federally endangered in the western two-thirds of Oregon.

Anyone with potentially helpful information is asked to call the USFWS at (503) 682-6131, or the Oregon State Police Dispatch at (800) 452-7888. Tipsters can also text *OSP (*677), or email TIP@osp.oregon.gov.

Callers can remain anonymous.

–Generic gray wolf image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Montana game wardens travel the country seizing game killed illegally

Montana game wardens went to five other states and collected 18 illegally killed wildlife from Montana. Case involves multiple violations.

Montana game wardens traveled to five other states and, with the assistance of game wardens in those states, collected 18 illegally killed wildlife from Montana.

Seven elk, six mule deer, three whitetail deer and two antelope were confiscated as evidence in cases that include multiple wildlife violations, as announced by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“These cases involve complex, long-term investigations of the most serious type of violations of hunting laws in Montana,” MFWP Chief of Law Enforcement Ron Howell stated.

Game wardens from the Montana cities of Kalispell, Billings and Miles City participated in the investigation, which included traveling to Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Kentucky.

Violations include license fraud, hunting without licenses, hunting during a closed season, over-limits of game animals, waste of game animals, tag transfer and unlawful possession of game animals. Charges are pending on all cases.

“Without the assistance of officers from the states involved, these cases would likely not be successfully investigated and prosecuted,” Howell said. “These investigations highlight the hard work and tenacity of our wardens to ensure that serious violations are investigated, and suspects are held accountable for those violations.”

Watch: Poachers fire at elephant-viewing tour boat; ‘scariest day of my life’

Video footage shows the scary moment as the tour boat driver shifts into high gear and the guide yells to ‘lie down, lie flat, flat, flat.’

A dozen people aboard an elephant-viewing tour boat in South Africa were forced to duck for cover when they came under fire by poachers Wednesday morning.

It occurred on the eastern shores of the Jozini/Pongolapoort Dam, located on the southern border between South Africa and Eswatini.

Several shots were fired at the double-decker tour boat Jozenic, allegedly by a group of nearly 20 armed men linked to the recent slaughter of about 25 elephants and other illegal wildlife poaching activity around Jozini Dam, according to the Daily Maverick.

Video footage captures the scary moment as the tour boat driver shifted into high gear and the guide yelled for the passengers to “lie down, lie flat, flat, flat.” Two sounds that might be shots can be heard early in the video, though it’s unclear whether that was part of the gunfire.

On board at the time were five Germans, two Americans, one Australian and four South Africans, including local elephant and rhino monitor Suzette Boshoff, who described the attack as “the scariest day of my life.”

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Several elephant carcasses have been discovered along the shoreline of Jozini Dam in recent months. They are part of a herd of more than 70 elephants originating from the private Pongola Game Reserve that roamed into the area during a severe drought seven years ago.

Crash of pickup truck leads to conviction of two poachers

Two men who committed several wildlife crimes when illegally killing three antelope might have gotten away with it had they not crashed.

Two Texas men who committed several wildlife crimes when illegally killing three antelope in Wyoming might have gotten away with it had they not crashed their truck soon after driving away from the crime scene.

Matthew Adams, 26, and Carl Denmon, 25, pled guilty to 17 crimes, resulting in over $31,000 in fines and restitution, and each was sentenced and served 30 days in jail, along with 11.5 months of unsupervised probation, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

They also lost their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges in 48 states for five years, and surrendered the firearms used in committing these crimes, which were two Smith & Wesson M&P .22-caliber rifles with homemade suppressors.

On Oct. 18, a Wyoming game warden received a tip from a tow truck driver who had towed a Ford F-150 that had been involved in a crash, as reported by K2 Radio Wyoming. The tow truck driver suspected foul play upon seeing blood and hair in the bed of the truck.

The next day, the game warden inspected the pickup and discovered blood and hair consistent with antelope hair, along with numerous spent and unspent .22-caliber long rifle shell casings, a receipt for the ammunition, a laser boresight and a rifle scope that had been purchased in Rock Springs on Oct. 15.

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The game warden interviewed a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper who apparently responded to the scene of the crash. He said the occupants were Adams and Denmon, who claimed the blood and hair in the bed of the truck was from the coyote they had shot and put in the back of the truck for a photo. Afterward, they said they left the animal where it was killed.

The tow truck driver told the game warden that Denmon had blood on his pants, and when he took them to a local hotel, he saw them unload their rifles and a cooler with blood on it.

It was discovered that neither Adams nor Denmon had ever applied for or bought any license in Wyoming; they had traveled 1,600 miles from home to commit these crimes.

From K2 Radio:

Law enforcement officers Interviewed Adams and Denmon. Adams said he killed one doe antelope and one buck antelope when they were driving on the evening of Oct. 15.

Denmon said they killed three buck antelope. They took the heads of the antelope, and some meat from one of the bucks. However, they dumped the heads and meat in the sagebrush near the crash site.

Officers received warrants to search the hotel room, and Adams’ iPhone, which showed two pictures of him posing with one of the buck and his rifle.

The photos had time stamps and locations.

Officers located the remains of the carcasses, and the pair were arrested on Oct. 25.

Adams was charged with wanton destruction (2 counts), taking a big game animal with an illegal caliber firearm (2 counts), shooting outside legal hours (2 counts), using artificial light for hunting (2 counts), using a silencer or suppressor to take big game (2 counts), and accessory before/after the fact.

Adams was ordered to pay $19,070 in fines and restitution.

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Denmon was charged with wanton destruction, accessory before/after the fact, taking a big game animal with an illegal caliber firearm, shooting outside legal hours, using artificial light for hunting, and using a silencer or suppressor to take big game.

Denmon was ordered to pay $12,570 in fines and restitution.

“Each year, hundreds of animals are taken illegally in Wyoming, and without tips from concerned members of the public, many of these crimes would go undetected,” the WGFD stated. “The concerned citizen and another reporting party in this case each received a $750 reward for providing information that led to the convictions of Adams and Denmon.”

Photo courtesy of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Anglers cited for catching 100-plus crappie over the legal limit

In the past two weeks, crappie anglers in Nebraska have been cited multiple times for grossly exceeding the daily bag limit.

For some Nebraska anglers, it seems, a daily bag limit of 15 crappie is not even close to being sufficient.

In the past two weeks, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, numerous anglers have been cited for grossly exceeding the limit at Standing Bear Lake.

During one visit, Conservation Officers cited three people for possessing more crappie than regulations allow. One angler possessed 119 crappie, or 104 crappie over the bag limit.

During another visit, an angler was found in possession of 121 crappie, or 106 crappie over the limit.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which addressed this issue Friday via Facebook, did not disclose possible penalties for those cited. The commission did state that the fish were seized as evidence.

The agency added: “It’s the job of our Conservation Officers to prevent poaching, which includes over-fishing. Overfishing can be detrimental to the ecosystem. There are reasons for limits and far-reaching consequences when people choose to poach and over-consume.”

Some in the comments section called on the commission to impose lifetime fishing bans on those who were cited for excessive over-limits.

Four Texans cited for poaching alligator in Louisiana

Four men from Texas have been cited for their suspected roles in an alligator-poaching incident Sunday in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife cited the men after responding to a complaint about an alligator carcass left at a truck stop.

Agents located the alligator and discovered a bullet hole in its head. Video footage from the truck stop implicated the four men.

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The men, cited for killing an alligator out of season, were identified as Boyd Bumbera, 23, from Brookshire; Baron Vargas, 27, and Manuel Gomez, 33, from Houston, and Jesus Fajardo, 35, from Baytown.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries stated in a news release that alligator hunting in the region does not open until the last Saturday in August.

Killing an alligator during a closed season carries fines of between $400 and $950, and up to 120 days in jail. The men might also be forced to pay civil restitution totaling $375 for the “replacement value” of the alligator.

–Alligator image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

10 arrested in Florida for illegally netting 500 pounds of fish

Authorities in Florida have charged 10 suspects for illegally using monofilament gill nets to capture and kill more than 500 pounds of fish, including sharks.

All 10 suspects are from Atlanta, Ga. They were arrested and charged recently after being found in possession of four gill nets spanning 1,600 feet at the Skyway Bridge North Rest Area in St. Petersburg.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced details of the bust Thursday.

The suspects were identified as Marcos Lopez Navarrete (27), Ernesto Lopez Navarrete (35), Roberto Gonzalez Lopez (41), Carlos Lopez Santana (18), Fredy Lopez Navarrete (38), Fredy Lopez Reyez (18), Rafael Castro Herrera (40), Daniel Reyez Valente (26), Efren Lopez Navarette (43) and Lorenzo Lopez Navarette (40).

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Each suspect was charged with a third-degree felony for use of illegal gill nets. The men also were charged with first- and second-degree misdemeanor violations pertaining to the illegal capture of various species, including permit, black drum, snook, blue crab, trout, sharks, and sheepshead.

The maximum penalty for a third-degree felony is five years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. The maximum penalty for a first-degree misdemeanor charge is one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. Second-degree misdemeanor charges carry a penalty of up to 60 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.

Monofilament gill nets, which are invisible underwater, kill indiscriminately by trapping fish by the gills. The nets, suspended underwater via floats, also pose substantial threats to marine mammals, endangered sea turtles, and diving birds.

The FWC said that the amount of netting seized as evidence spanned “more than four-and-a-half football fields.”

The arrests occurred after a period of surveillance following an anonymous tip.

Monofilament gill nets were banned in Florida in 1995.