Nameless Range
Well-known member
Curious what folks here think the prevalence of poaching is in the areas you frequent?
A half-hour of searching on my part didn't yield much in terms of data, but that's no surprise given how poaching typically occurs. I did find this article, from 2010 in Oregon:
I have found poached animals many times in the hills where I grew up. This year alone, having only done a little hiking, I have found a few suspicious carcasses. Due to access and degradation of what I have found, I haven't contacted FWP. It's just a hunch. In 25 years of hunting, I have run into a warden once, and that was in an area 70 miles south of where 90% of my hunting takes place. It would be interesting if they planted microchips on a sample of a population of deer and elk like they do on dogs, that were imperceptible to poachers, so that some reliable statistics could be derived. But I'm not sure how they would do that with taxpayer dollars without folks knowing anyway.
I just have this strong suspicion that in the district I live in south of Helena, MT, illegal take is prevalent as hell. Just one ruinous bastard could get away with so much. Anyone else have hunches or thoughts on poaching where they hunt?
A half-hour of searching on my part didn't yield much in terms of data, but that's no surprise given how poaching typically occurs. I did find this article, from 2010 in Oregon:
State biologists recently discovered a shocking level of poaching while conducting a mule deer distribution study in central Oregon south of Bend.
"If we look at the illegal take, it's basically equal to the legal take -- it's bad," says Michelle Dennehy, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman in Salem. "Poaching is not ethical, it's not hunting."
I have found poached animals many times in the hills where I grew up. This year alone, having only done a little hiking, I have found a few suspicious carcasses. Due to access and degradation of what I have found, I haven't contacted FWP. It's just a hunch. In 25 years of hunting, I have run into a warden once, and that was in an area 70 miles south of where 90% of my hunting takes place. It would be interesting if they planted microchips on a sample of a population of deer and elk like they do on dogs, that were imperceptible to poachers, so that some reliable statistics could be derived. But I'm not sure how they would do that with taxpayer dollars without folks knowing anyway.
I just have this strong suspicion that in the district I live in south of Helena, MT, illegal take is prevalent as hell. Just one ruinous bastard could get away with so much. Anyone else have hunches or thoughts on poaching where they hunt?