Category: Poachers

Florida Father and Son Sentenced for Deer Trafficking

White-tailed deer. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS.

Donald W. Wainwright, Sr., 49, of Live Oak, Florida, was sentenced August 3, 2015 in U.S. District Court to 21 months in prison and a $125,000 fine for 12 charges related to violating the Lacey Act, one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. His son, Donald W. Wainwright, Jr., 29, of Live Oak, Fla., was sentenced to four months of house arrest and three years of probation for eight charges related to violating the Lacey Act.

Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Gregory Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Chief Scott Zody, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced the sentences handed down by U.S. District Chief Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Read more

Poachers, Wildlife

Safari Club International Suspends Membership of Hunter, Professional Hunter Involved in Death of Cecil

Washington, D.C. – Safari Club International (SCI) supports a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. SCI has imposed immediate emergency membership suspensions of both the involved hunter and his guide/professional hunter, and they will remain in place pending the outcome of an investigation.

Safari Club International condemns unlawful and unethical hunting practices. SCI supports only legal hunting practices and those who comply with all applicable hunting rules and regulations, and SCI believes that those who intentionally take wildlife illegally should be prosecuted and punished to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Poachers

China Destroys More Ivory in Symbolic Gesture

African Wildlife Foundation lauds Chinese government’s increasing steps to stem illegal ivory trade, including indications to phase out domestic trade

BEIJING—Following on the heels of an initiative announced yesterday by the Beijing Capital International Airport Customs Office to inform Chinese air travelers to never buy ivory abroad and bring it home, the Chinese government today symbolically destroyed 662 kgs of ivory outside of Beijing. It further indicated it may eventually phase out its domestic ivory trade. With China being the world’s largest ivory-consuming nation and with 25,000 to 35,000 elephants killed in Africa each year to supply the illicit ivory trade, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) applauds the Chinese government for taking steps to ensure its citizens do not contribute to the illegal trade. Read more

Poachers, Wildlife

Forensic training for conservation officers paying dividends

At 9 a.m. Nov. 18, conservation officer Richard Cardenas received a complaint that had been phoned in to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Report All Poaching Line about a deer that had been shot.

The caller said she was awakened by a loud thud against her house at approximately 3 a.m. When she went outside to investigate, she discovered a deer lying near her house between a woodshed and the back porch. She then witnessed her neighbor come into her yard, claim the deer and drag it by the antlers to his property.

COs being taught about animal body temperature to determine time of deathAfter speaking to the witness, Cardenas went to the suspect’s residence next door, where he contacted the suspect and observed a bait pile in the backyard, with spotlights from the house pointed toward it.

Cardenas questioned the suspect about the deer in the back of his pickup truck, including about what time of day he shot the deer. The suspect first told Cardenas that he shot the deer at 6 a.m. After further questioning, the suspect changed his answer to say he didn’t know what the time was when he shot the deer. Read more

Poachers

QDMA Supports New York Bills to Increase Poaching Penalties

GW:  Disgusting for sure.  Michigan has just increased poaching penalties, and as far as I’m concerned, they could be much higher – especially if a youngster is induced to cooperate with a perverted mentor.  And, when I think about how much a private property owner/wildlife manager puts into habitat improvements, etc., it makes me grit my teeth. 

This New York buck, estimated to be 5.5 years old by hunters on a 1,700-acre QDM Cooperative in Washington County, was shot by a poacher at night from a public road in late October 2013. The poacher took the head and abandoned the rest of the buck in the ditch. QDMA staff biologist Matt Ross (pictured here) lives nearby and helped start the Cooperative.

The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) supports New York Senate Bill 4727 and Assembly Bill A7171, which would increase the penalties for the illegal taking of deer and help reduce the number of unlawful activities with respect to white-tailed deer poaching. QDMA believes Senate Bill 4727 and Assembly Bill A7171 would benefit the state of New York, its wildlife and citizenry.

Read more

Poachers

Hunting and Outfitter Guide Sentenced for Illegally Killing and Transporting Wildlife

DENVER–Assistant hunting outfitter and guide Nicholaus Rodgers, was sentenced to 6 months home confinement, a $5,000 fine, 50 hours of community service and 3 years’ probation for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law. During his probation he is prohibited from hunting or fishing. Rodgers, worked as an assistant hunting guide for Loncarich Guides and Outfitters. The conspiracy involved felony interstate transportation and sale of unlawfully taken wildlife, and felony creation of false records concerning wildlife that was sold in interstate commerce. The sentence was the result of a joint investigation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read more

Poachers

SCI Foundation’s Hunter Legacy 100 Fund Aid Anti-Poaching Efforts in Tanzania

March 4, 2015 Tucson, AZ – Joseph Hosmer, President, Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation), announced that SCI Foundation’s Hunter Legacy 100 Fund (HLF) donated $100,000 to provide the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania (WCFT) with vehicles to be used by anti-poaching patrols.

SCI Foundation has outfitted anti-poaching units with two fully equipped Toyota Land Cruisers to monitor the Selous Game Reserve. These new Cruisers will allow teams to locate and track areas most susceptible to poachers.

“I am very sure that the elephants and other wildlife are more secure today and we already see the difference in the bush,” WCFT Trustees and Executive Vice President Eric Pasanisi said. “On behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania, I would like to sincerely thank you for your generous donation to our fight to preserve our wildlife in Tanzania.”

The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent decision to ban elephant imports from Tanzania has limited conservation funding considerably; but SCI Foundation’s grant has allowed the WCFT to mobilize additional scouts and maintain programs in place to protect Tanzania’s wildlife. Read more

Hunting, Poachers

DNR recommends charges in Otsego County elk-poaching case,

Michgian DNR conservation officer door shieldA Jackson County man has confessed to the illegal killing of a small bull elk during the firearm deer season in Otsego County, according to Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers who investigated the incident.

A passerby discovered elk parts dumped along a rural road Nov. 29, 2014.  A DNR conservation officer investigating the scene located a grocery store receipt among the entrails of an elk. A six-week investigation ensued, with a suspect being identified and interviewed. A confession was obtained, and charges are now being reviewed by the Otsego County prosecutor.

According to Lt. Jim Gorno, DNR law enforcement supervisor in Gaylord, conservation officers from the DNR’s Gaylord Customer Service Center were assisted in the investigation by officers from southern Michigan, a diligent Report All Poaching (RAP) Hotline dispatcher, and a detective from the department’s Special Investigations Unit.

“This case started with very limited clues and evidence, but through solid investigative follow-up, in conjunction with excellent teamwork being displayed by several of our officers around the state, it was brought to a successful conclusion,” said Gorno. “It shows diligence and tenacity in investigating cases involving our high-value fish and game species.” Read more

Poachers

Texas Game Wardens Seize Shark Boat in Gulf

AUSTIN – Texas game wardens have seized a Mexican shark-fishing boat in state waters near the Texas-Mexico border.

Wardens were patrolling the Gulf of Mexico earlier today for illegal fishing activity when they spotted a Mexican fishing boat moving northbound in Texas waters.

When the wardens, who were operating a 29-foot Safe Boat equipped with twin 250-horsepower motors, attempted to stop the boat its occupants ignored the state vessel and began racing back toward Mexican waters. After a brief pursuit, the wardens were able to pull along the boat and get it stopped. Read more

Fishing, Poachers
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