Mule Deer Poaching - Fur Fish Game Magazine

[Alpine Mojo]

On page 5 of the December issue of FFG they report on a 6 year study in south-central Oregon where the number of illegally poached mule deer exceeded the number of mule deer taken legally.   If that is true then I would figure WA isn't far behind as we are right next door, geographically and politically.  Anyone have any insight on the statistics for Washington State?

[Rainier10]

I have heard estimates of 2 poached for every 1 taken legally in Washington in some areas.  I don't have a study to back that up, just rumblings I have heard.

Poaching is a huge problem in Washington.

[elkboy]

We need to put pressure on the court system to hand down sentences that will actually fit the crime. We also need to out pressure on the Legislature to earmark funding for wildlife enforcement. And I do mean earmark funding, so that DFW has no choice but to allocate those funds to wildlife officers, vehicles, etc.

[Alpine Mojo]

Those are insane numbers!  There can't be that many dishonest people in this world.  But I have been wrong before.

[WSU]

Think how easy it would be to get away with it?  Middle of the night, no season going on so no reason for enforcement to be around, etc.  Damn near the only way to get caught would be to get pulled over on the way home.

And, courts don't care.  They care far more about drugs and DUI than some deer that got shot in the woods.

[bigtex]

We also need to out pressure on the Legislature to earmark funding for wildlife enforcement. And I do mean earmark funding, so that DFW has no choice but to allocate those funds to wildlife officers, vehicles, etc.

Already done in WA

[Rainier10]

I am guessing that I have been involved in at least 40 deer harvested and 20 elk harvested and only had 3 checked by a game warden.  That's 57 animals that never needed to be tagged.  Could have just got them out of the woods, butchered at home and been hunting poaching the next weekend.

It wouldn't be that hard and like others have said if you get caught it's a slap on the wrist.

The rules keep the honest people honest.

Poaching is a huge issue with everything from clams and shrimp to moose.

[Gringo31]

Throw trespass in there as well......

[bigtex]

Poaching is a huge issue with everything from clams and shrimp to moose.

And that's the truth in every state. Only Florida has 24/7/365 statewide game warden coverage, and as a result they are the state with the most game wardens. However, even with that many officers poaching is still a big problem in Florida.

About 10 years ago a staffing study was conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) that found just to provide adequate coverage WDFW needed to double the amount of officers it has. Notice I said adequate and not 24/7/365 coverage. Since that time the number of officers has risen slightly (less than 10). There are several counties in WA that do not have a WDFW Officer residing in them, and haven't for some time. This requires officers in neighboring counties to patrol them as well.

[PolarBear]

In my local area elk are poached at least 5 X legal kills.

[Rainier10]

Throw trespass in there as well......

I told Scott to go for it if he was on cat tracks next week.    Leave those dogs for us and our new years shoot.   

[Griiz]

Those are insane numbers!  There can't be that many dishonest people in this world.  But I have been wrong before.

One dishonest person or group can harvest a lot of animals.

[Mtnwalker]

I am guessing that I have been involved in at least 40 deer harvested and 20 elk harvested and only had 3 checked by a game warden.  That's 57 animals that never needed to be tagged.  Could have just got them out of the woods, butchered at home and been hunting poaching the next weekend.

It wouldn't be that hard and like others have said if you get caught it's a slap on the wrist.

The rules keep the honest people honest.

Poaching is a huge issue with everything from clams and shrimp to moose.

I’d almost guess that more poachers are caught through word of mouth than by LEO in the field at the time of the incident. Seems like the blatant poachers always get off easy and the guys making honest mistakes get hammered

[Rainier10]

Those are insane numbers!  There can't be that many dishonest people in this world.  But I have been wrong before.

One dishonest person or group can harvest a lot of animals.

[elkboy]

We also need to out pressure on the Legislature to earmark funding for wildlife enforcement. And I do mean earmark funding, so that DFW has no choice but to allocate those funds to wildlife officers, vehicles, etc.

Already done in WA

Thanks for weighing in, Bigtex.  Is it having an effect?  Is there room for additional advocacy?  If you can point me to some more information, I'd appreciate it.