poachers – Page 2 – Syndication Server

After shooting decoy, charges pile up for suspected deer poachers

Three individuals were arrested in Massachusetts recently after officers observed one of them shooting a deer decoy from inside a vehicle after legal hunting hours on private property.

Three individuals were arrested in Massachusetts after officers observed one of them shooting a deer decoy from inside a vehicle after legal hunting hours on private property.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police stated in a news release that officers on patrol in the Templeton/Phillipston area saw a vehicle spotlight illuminating the woods before one of the individuals shot the decoy with a crossbow.

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“Realizing it was a decoy, the vehicle attempted to flee but was subsequently stopped by Officers,” MEP said of the Nov. 11 incident. “Officers then observed deer legs within the truck bed in plain view.

“Three individuals in the vehicle, including the operator, were arrested. Through the interview process, it was reported that additional deer had been taken illegally.”

Officers seized the crossbow as evidence and impounded the vehicle.

The individuals were arraigned Monday on charges that include firing of a crossbow within 150 feet of a road; illegal hunting with a crossbow; hunting with the aid of a vehicle; hunting with artificial light; hunting after hours; tagging violations, and hunting on public land without permits.

Massachusetts Environmental Police added that additional charges stemming from violations in another state “are forthcoming.”

–White-tailed deer image is generic

Deer decoys help nab poachers as Oregon’s hunting season begins

Oregon’s general buck deer-hunting season opened Saturday, and for law enforcement personnel that meant it was also open season on prospective poachers.

Oregon’s general buck deer-hunting season opened Saturday, and for law enforcement personnel that represented open season on prospective poachers.

Oregon State Police announced Wednesday that Fish & Wildlife Troopers deployed Wildlife Enforcement Decoys in rural Washington and Yamhill Counties over the weekend.

The deer decoys were placed within sight of roads at night, when hunting is illegal, and Troopers waited for the inevitable.

“On four occasions hunters stopped their vehicle in the public roadway and discharged firearms at the decoys,” OSP stated on Facebook. “The subjects were approximately 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hours, and 3 hours outside of legal hunting hours.”

The state takes illegal hunting seriously, stating that “poaching is not only theft from the hunting community, but from Oregon.”

The subjects were cited for unlawful take of buck deer and their firearms were seized as evidence. They also face charges of hunting in prohibited areas – shooting deer from roads is illegal – and with the aid of artificial light.

The crimes are Class A misdemeanors, just below felony offenses. Punishments can include a three-year hunting-license suspension, forfeiture of evidence, court-mandated fines, loss of accrued preference points, restitution, and probation.

Additionally, under the Wildlife Violator Compact, hunters with suspended licenses cannot purchase licenses or tags in the 48 states that participate in the Compact.

“The Oregon State Police wants to educate hunters on the importance of lawful, ethical hunting,” OSP stated. “Rules developed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to allow for fair-chase hunting ensure a stable population of wildlife not only for future generations of hunters but for all people in the state to enjoy as well.”

–Deer decoy image courtesy of Oregon State Police

Fishermen from Canada busted for crabbing in U.S. waters

Fishermen from Canada face criminal charges after they were found illegally fishing in U.S. waters and in possession of 260 Dungeness crabs.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police announced Monday that officers on night patrol near the U.S.-Canada border observed a vessel with crab pots on its deck operating without navigational lights.

The unnamed fishermen claimed their boat wouldn’t start and that a southerly drift carried them into U.S. waters. But the drift was northerly during the vessel inspection.

https://www.facebook.com/WDFWPolice/posts/4500176783373230

The crabs, 40 of them undersized, were seized as evidence.

The WDFW Police, which did not mention the day of the bust, stated in a news release:

“The suspects must have forgotten that they told officers that their engine was broken because they sped back to Canada as soon as the vessels parted ways. Multiple criminal charges will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.”

Florida traffic stop uncovers poached lobsters, drugs, and cash

Police in the Florida Keys arrested two men this week after discovering large amounts of cash, drugs, and illegally harvested lobsters in their vehicle.

Police in Florida arrested two men this week after discovering large amounts of cash, marijuana, and illegally harvested lobsters in their vehicle.

Miami residents Lazaro Rolando Martinez and Edward Franklin Mora, both 27, were jailed Sunday night after a Florida Keys traffic stop led to the unusual discovery.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez was charged with driving an unregistered vehicle, possession of Alprazolam without a prescription, possession of 38.5 grams of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia and THC oil.

Martinez also was cited for possession of 23 undersized lobsters and 31 lobsters over the daily bag limit. A total of 37 lobsters were discovered in buckets in the back of the truck.

Mora was charged for possession of 114.8 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and THC oil.

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The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office described the bust in a news release:

“The case began at approximately 11:30 p.m. when Deputy Jorge Moreno stopped a northbound black Ford F-150 pickup truck on U.S. 1 at Mile Marker 86 after 911 Communications Specialists informed him the truck came back as not being registered and the tag that was attached as not being assigned to the truck. The truck was emitting a strong odor of marijuana.

“The driver, Martinez, handed another Deputy a mason jar of marijuana as well as THC oil vape pen. The front passenger, Mora, also produced a mason jar with marijuana. A search ensued and $3,590 in cash was found in Martinez’s possession. Additional marijuana and baggies were found inside the truck which Martinez and Mora each claimed ownership.”

Only six of the 37 lobsters were still alive. All 37 were “returned to the water.”

Blow darts to kill deer? Oregon poaching case takes ‘cruel turn’

Authorities in Oregon are hopeful that a $1,000 reward will help lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for killing and injuring mule deer with blow darts.

Authorities in Oregon are hopeful that a $1,000 reward will help lead to an arrest for the killing and injuring of mule deer with blow darts.

At least two deer have died and three others were injured after being struck with blow darts during the past four months in Burns County.

Hunting large animals with blow darts is illegal in part because darts kill slowly over time, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife explained Tuesday in a news release.

“Either the wound will lead to an infection, or if the stomach or intestines are punctured, the deer will die, but it will take a while, and it will be painful,” said ODFW biologist Rod Klus.“It takes a deer anywhere from days to weeks to die from infection.”

Deer shot with blow dart. Credit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

On Feb. 13, acting on a tip, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers discovered a doe “in failing health” with a dart in her side. She was subsequently euthanized.

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On Nov. 6, 2020, Troopers found a fawn carcass in the same area with a dart in its neck.

From November through February three other mule deer were discovered carrying darts in their bodies. They were sedated and released after the darts had been surgically removed.

The Oregon Hunters Assn. this week offered the $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or citation.

Said the group’s chairman, Fred Walasavage: “It is no secret that mule deer populations continue to be on a decline in Oregon. Granted, there are many factors such as habitat loss, road kills, and predation. But when it comes to intentionally poaching wildlife, that’s where OHA members draw the line.”

Added Yvonne Shaw of the ODFW’s Stop Poaching Campaign: “Poaching steals natural resources from all Oregonians. In this case, poaching takes a cruel turn. Thankfully, residents in Burns are quick to alert OSP Troopers by calling the TIP Line. Let’s hope they find whoever is doing this.”

Klus expressed concern that more mule deer will turn up with darts in their bodies unless the investigation takes a positive turn. The ODFW TIP Line text and phone numbers are *OSP (677) and 800-452-7888. Email: TIP@osp.oregon.gov.

–Top and bottom images are generic

Suspected abalone poachers caught after pursuit on jetty

Two men were apprehended and cited for the unlawful take and possession of abalone last Saturday after a pursuit on a Southern California jetty.

Two men were apprehended and cited for the unlawful take and possession of abalone last Saturday after a brief pursuit on a Southern California jetty.

A California Department of Fish and Wildlife officer and Long Beach Police Department officer, on joint nighttime patrol, became suspicious when they spotted silhouettes of the men on a Long Beach Harbor jetty.

The CDFW officer was dropped from a boat onto the jetty and approached the men, who began to run, according to an agency news release issued Thursday.

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With the help of a police air unit, the unidentified men were found hiding in the rocks and in possession of 16 green and pink abalone. The Los Angeles Port Police also assisted in the effort.

“This is a perfect example of mutual aid cooperation allowing us to create a force multiplier in order to protect our precious resources,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. “This joint patrol effort allowed us to apprehend these suspected poachers who were targeting abalone, a protected species south of the Golden Gate for more than 23 years.”

Abalone have been protected south of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge since 1997, after a near collapse of the population. A statewide ban was imposed in 2017 because of the continued decline of red abalone “mostly due to environmental stressors,” the CDFW stated.

The men were cited for 16 counts related to the unlawful take of protected wildlife. The abalone, still alive and deemed “survivable,” were placed back into the ocean.

–Image showing the seized abalone is courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Serial poacher appears on the loose in Oregon

Oregon wildlife officials appear to be hunting a serial poacher, and are using a K9 officer named Buck to sniff out clues.

The crimes are being committed in Lane County, and poaching victims include a black bear that had been decapitated, and several elk and deer that were left to waste.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Josh Wolcott, a Senior Trooper with Oregon State Police, stated in a news release issued Friday. “Things are happening all over Lane County right now. Every day is a new report.”

Wolcott and Buck, a yellow lab and the state’s only K9 officer, have been traveling to poaching sites where the dog can sniff evidence such as shell casings and gunpowder, and detect human scent.

But State Police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are seeking public information that might reveal a suspect’s name or vehicle description.

The black bear carcass, discovered on private property outside Veneta, was missing its head, claws, and portions of meat. It might also have been missing its gall bladder.

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(Poachers sometimes kill bears for their gall bladders, which bring a high black-market price in Asian markets, where they’re sold for medicinal purposes.)

A partial list of animals that were poached was provided by the ODFW:

A black bear discovered on Roseburg Forest Products property outside of Veneta. The bear was likely poached about Oct 13. The head, claws, portions of backstrap meat and portions of leg meat were removed. The remainder of the bear was left to waste.
A doe deer discovered on National Forest Property near Fall Creek. The deer was likely poached on or about Oct 14. No meat was taken; the doe was left to waste.
A doe deer discovered along US Forest Service Road 2118 near Hills Creek Reservoir. The deer was likely poached on Oct 14 or 15. No meat was taken; the doe was left to waste.
A buck deer discovered on private property near Lowell. The deer was likely poached during the night of Oct 15 or early morning hours of Oct 16. No meat was taken; the buck was left to waste.
A spike buck deer discovered near High Pass Road. The buck was likely poached on or about Oct 16. The buck was field-dressed and left to waste.
A doe discovered in the Veneta area. It was likely poached on or about Oct 18.

Many of the carcasses were discovered after calls to the state’s Turn in Poachers (TIP) line, and it remains unclear whether the list has grown during the investigation. But authorities are exasperated and hopeful for leads.

Said ODFW Wildlife Division Administrator Doug Cottam:

“There are available and inexpensive opportunities to legally harvest a deer or bear to eat in Oregon. There is no excuse for poaching. I am very concerned about people who kill wild animals just to satisfy their desire to kill something.”

–Black bear and elk images are generic

Convicted poachers get ‘enhanced’ fines for trophy bucks

In separate cases, two men who attracted deer by feeding them and then each shot a buck will pay huge fines for their illegal actions.

In separate cases, two California men who unlawfully attracted deer using a bait pile and an automatic deer feeder and then each shot a buck will pay “enhanced” fines for their illegal and unethical actions.

In an El Dorado Superior Court, Myron Barry Woltering, 66, of Granite Bay pled no contest to one misdemeanor count of taking deer over bait. Because it was a trophy class 6×4 buck, the penalties were enhanced.

Woltering was fined $17,500, will receive three years’ probation, be prohibited from hunting for three years, and forfeit all seized items, including his archery equipment used in the crime, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week.

A month earlier, the CDFW reported that William Vaden, 70, of Elverta pled no contest to baiting deer and unlawful take of deer out of season, and admitted the trophy allegation. He will serve 90 days of alternative sentencing, pay the enhanced fine of $20,000, forfeit most of the seized items and serve three years’ probation, during which time he is not allowed to hunt.

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A California state law to enhance poaching penalties went into effect July 1, 2017 as a tool to deter poaching and punish violators for serious poaching crimes.

“California hunters have long considered baiting for deer a violation of fair chase principles,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. “The Legislature and Fish and Game Commission enacted laws and regulations to prohibit the act, then took it a step further to enhance the penalties associated with conviction of baiting trophy class deer.

“As more and more would-be poachers see poaching convictions with these enhanced penalties, we hope they will be deterred from poaching the largest deer out of these local herds.”

In the Woltering case, wildlife officers conducted surveillance throughout the 2018 deer hunting season and observed the archery hunter repeatedly adding food to a bait pile on his property in Pilot Hill in El Dorado County. He used alfalfa, corn, other grains and salt licks to attract the deer.

The officers used surveillance, a review of mandatory hunting report records and search warrants at Woltering’s home, business and property where the baiting was taking place. They were able to prove he poached a very large trophy buck over the bait.

In the Vaden case, a wildlife officer observed what appeared to be an automatic deer feeder in El Dorado County. For more than a year, the officer monitored the place to see if illegal deer feeding for the purpose of poaching was occurring and it was. When presented with the evidence, Vaden confessed to the feeder as bait and killing a trophy class deer on the property.

“Baiting cases involve persistent investigative work on the part of a wildlife officer,” said the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Lt. Stacey LaFave. “Early mornings, long hours of surveillance and keen observations are required to make a case.”

In these cases, that persistence paid off.

Photo of two bucks feeding at a bait pile caught on a trail camera, evidence seized in the Woltering case, and two generic deer in the snow provided by the CDFW.

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Sea Shepherd says it was fired upon by poachers in Mexico

The crew of a vessel involved in a campaign to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in Mexico says it was shot at by poachers.

The crew of a vessel involved in a campaign to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in Mexico says it was fired upon Sunday by poachers.

Capt. Jacqueline Le Duc of the M/V Sharpie says in the accompanying video that her crew was surrounded twice by angry fishermen in the Sea of Cortez, and that at one point crew members heard what sounded like gun shots.

Viewers can hear the possible reports of weapons at 49 seconds. Subsequently, when the footage is slowed, viewers can see splashes, possibly from bullets, well short of the ship. Nobody was injured during the confrontation.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdcb9IRELK0]

“It just shows how aggressive the poachers are here, and it proves to us that they are armed, and that we need to take every [skiff] that we come across seriously, because we have no idea what they’re capable of,” Le Duc says.

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The M/V Sharpie is one of four Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessels working in conjunction with Mexico to patrol a vast area in the northern Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of California, and remove gill nets set by fisherman to snag a type of fish called totoaba.

Vaquita image courtesy of Tom Jefferson/NOAA

Totoaba swim bladders are sold on the black market in China for up to $10,000 per bladder, and illegal fishing operations inside the Vaquita Refuge are directed largely by Mexican drug cartels. The nearly invisible gill nets pose a grave danger to vaquita, whose numbers are said to be fewer than 20.

The skiffs, referred to as pangas, are speedy and not easy to detect. Their crews set gill nets inside protected waters at night and hope to retrieve them before they can be found by authorities.

Sea Shepherd, whose ships typically have Mexican authorities on board, have retrieved several illegal nets since it launched Operation Milagro in 2015.

Monday morning’s encounter was not the first scary confrontation involving angry fishermen. In January 2019 Sea Shepherd captured footage of fishermen racing alongside the M/V Farley Mowat, hurling objects and attempting to foul the ship’s propellers with nets.

The vaquita porpoise, the world’s smallest cetacean, is endemic to the northern Sea of Cortez. The estimated size of the vaquita population in 1997 was 600, but they’ve been in sharp decline for decades, thanks mostly to the use of indiscriminate gill nets.

–Tom image is courtesy of Sea Shepherd; vaquita image is courtesy of Tom Jefferson/NOAA