HUGE poaching ring busted in Nebraska

Poaching, in any form, is disgusting, unacceptable, and steals from the guys who have the character and integrity to do things right and proper.

One out of too many out of commission for awhile.

Good work by the DNR.
Every outfitter I've ever hunted with has been a straight shooter, but it makes you wonder how much of that goes on in the guided hunting business? I don't get what reward or satisfaction they would get from it?

I would say one main reason it wasn’t taken lightly is the Huge amount of money they pocketed while poaching .... more to it then a grip and grin!

New article from Florida. Every state have their poachers. I bet the number of poachers in each state is very high. Lot more than most think.
www.foxnews.com/science/7-charged-in-million-dollar-flying-squirrel-trafficking-ring

I remember many years ago reading that the Arkansas DNR estimated the number of deer taken illegally to be about equal to the number taken legally. They couldn't put actual numbers to to the estimate, of course. Some years after that, I'd seen similar estimates issued from other states. I wondered at the time how much weight to give such an estimate. It could be an official looking for a chance to be quoted, or hoping for an increase in support for his branch of government's efforts in enforcement. Doesn't sound like much of an endorsement for a job well done, but could be an exasperated expression of the need for more support from a frustrated employee who has fought the battle for years and has seen little improvement in the numbers.

I thought at first that it was surely an exaggeration, but through the years, I've come to see that it was probably closer to the truth than I gave it credit for at the time. Those of us on here talking about it where our words will be seen, are not really typical of the average of all those out there shooting critters. When mingling with others who have killed deer, and the conversation comes around to regulations, it was surprising to me how little regard there is for doing it completely by the book, even among those who consider themselves to NOT be poachers, and who might just thump a few knots on your head to emphasize that opinion.

Mostly it seems to come down to whether you're using a "strict interpretation" of the regulations, or one that's more generally accepted informally, that might consider it to be immaterial whether the legal shooting time had actually arrived before your shot, as long as you had "shooting light". Or whether it was actually baiting if you were hunting over that place where there used to be a salt block and the deer were still pawing and eating the dirt where it had been, as long as you weren't the one who had put it there. Or whether you actually had a written permission slip on your person stating that you could hunt there.

I'll admit that I was guilty of some of the above in my early years. I was always strict on the time issue, and the baiting, but I did go into the "south entrance" to Atterbury with some buddies several times, and had "unofficial permission" to hunt some of the places where I hunted squirrels and later deer when I was a kid.

I always considered myself to be legal hunter, and took a more strict interpretation as the years went by. The only deer I ever took that turned out to be "a little bit illegal" (I know, that's like being a little bit pregnant) was one I shot on a morning hunt on Thanksgiving Day, back when we had only 24 hours to check them in. He was legal when I shot him, but there was no place open to check him in on that day. I called the usual places near me where I'd checked deer in before, and when that didn't work, I called all the ones listed in the Hunting Guide within about fifty miles, and had no luck. I'd shot him just after sunup, and none of the places were going to be open early enough the next day to check him in legally, so so he was skinned and hanging in the garage to be processed after we got home from the family T-day dinner that evening. So did I "poach" that deer, because he never showed up on the DNR toll of legal deer taken ?

I've long been a proponent of regulations being more reasonable and more enforceable, even while obeying the ones I consider to be unreasonable and unenforceable. And some of them have changed over the years. The requirement to check in the deer within 24 hours changed a few years after mine went into my freezer un-checked, to "within 48 hours", and of course with today's technology can be accomplished electronically before even dragging them out by most of us. And a couple years ago, the completely silly "possession limits" on squirrels were changed to no longer include any that were processed and in the freezer at home. The daily limits remain, and should be sufficient discourage anyone from decimating the squirrel population.

I still think the baiting regulation should be either eliminated or modified. It's no secret that all those bags and blocks of deer attractants that are also tasty edibles that are sold every year at this time at feed stores, Walmart, and many gas stations, are not going to be used to attract "wildlife for viewing purposes only". A regulation that can't be enforced effectively is one that really works in reverse to its intent. Rather than discouraging the taking of game by the use of bait, it aids and abets the taking of game by those who choose to ignore the law, and eliminates their competition from those who obey it. It ends up being worse than having no regulation at all.

Pic of poached game

More TV hunters ensnared..

www.deeranddeerhunting.com/content/articles/deer-news/grand-jury-indicts-popular-bowhunting-couple?fbclid=IwAR29jhZ-z0U5xl8WXWUVzpSVJmv2gI0UjyzfoqZv6-gqah7aFvBn7ORqZ5Q

I've never heard of them..

I believe the Bowmars were the ones that stirred up a stink over spearing (legally) a bear and then posting the videos.