# Reporting Wildlife Violations



## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Just curious what experiences some of you may have with reporting wildlife violations, and how that experience went. What did you see, and how did you report it? How long did it take for a CO to respond to the issue? What kind of feedback did you get from them? Did you experience any repercussions from the offender? 

This past week I noticed something that was in violation of our game laws. I debated on whether or not to report what I found, but in the end, decided I had to do what was right. I don't want to go into too much detail, as I suspect the offender may keep an eye on these boards, and I worry that if I am identified, they may retaliate. Is there anything I can do besides keeping what I saw between the DWR and I, to protect my family and property from retaliation, or is mischief eminent?


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

Just be vigilant and document anything suspicious. If it becomes a safety issue for yourself or family call the police. Tell the CO you are afraid of retaliation. The only way you should be identified is if he gets charged and goes to court. Then you have to testify. The CO wont go out and say chaser saw you doing this and that and called us. Kudos for taking a stand. It's easy to look the other way. For the most part I've had a positive experience w the CO's. I've called in tips as well as email. All have been followed up on.


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## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

The violator will never know who turned him/her in unless you tell them.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

One spring I was working near a pond with marsh around it that a lot of ducks and several pair of geese were using as a nesting and nursery area. I was working on a tank high enough that I could see most of the area and a pull off on the far side. One day I saw a truck pull in and a guy and his dog got out. The guy turned the dog loose into the marsh and it began jumping females off nests and chasing around the already hatched birds. It appeared to catching plenty of them too. The guy was encouraging the dog and kept gesturing for it to go after more. It really irritated me. I climbed down and went over to the control facility (no cell phones) and called the poacher hot line (I don’t remember if they even asked my name). While I was off the tank I grabbed a cup then went back up to go to work. By time I got back up to where I could see over there an officer had arrived, the dog was tied up, and the guy was getting quite a lecture and was handed a piece of paper (I hope it was expensive). The officer didn’t even try to come and talk to me. I never heard another word about it.
I was darn glad I called.
If any retaliation happens report it immediately. The law enforcement community hates retaliation


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

I called the poaching hotline a couple years back when someone had killed a pile of rooster pheasants out of season at the Salt Creek WMA. The officer spoke to me for a few minutes and that was it. They would never in a million years give out your name as the person reporting the crime.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Im glad you took a stance. We all like to hunt and fish around here, but people that pull that kind of stuff give sportsmen a bad name.


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## Califbowmen (Jul 1, 2008)

Grab the bull by the horns and ride it all the way to the Courthouse. If nobody steps up to stop these slob hunters and poachers, all of our hunting and fishing opportunities are going to suffer. The CO's are not going to put you in harms way.


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## a_bow_nut (Feb 25, 2009)

The CO's have been great to deal with. the problem that I have had in the past is the county dispatcher.

There was a boat down on Deer Creek running around blasting ducks while at full throttle so I called in and explained what was going on and the responce that I got was *"well you know it IS duck season*.

By the time that I explained what the law was and they said that they would call the CO the boat was being loaded and they were long gone before the officer even called back.

Wish that I would could have got their plate #.


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## ROI (Jul 13, 2009)

My experience has always been good with the DWR officers. They have always called or arrived sooner than I expected. Even watched them walk on thinner ice than I would have to recover evidence. 

My experince with County Prosecutors has not been as good. The county attorney is an elected postion and in small counties to get elected you have to know a lot of people. When a local does something they shouldn't, it can get touchy and staying in office usually trumps most wildlife violations. The County Attorney will not make the call so they are insulated from fall out. But they will make a prosecutor. They don't want to out right drop the charge because that would look wrong. So they put pressure on you to back out, then they can say look we did our job but they wouldn't testify.

When I haven't backed down, the coffee shop buddy gets a plea in obeyance (sp). Which says don't do it again and I can quietly drop the charges next year.


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