As a hunter it sickens me when I read stories such as the one below.The Conservation Department of Missouri states in a press release that conservation agents closed a two year investigation on a large-scale illegal wildlife and wildlife parts commercialization.
A total of 299 serious violations in seven counties across southern Missouri were documented and 240 items were seized at a taxidermy shop. Investigators discovered and documented that 62 percent of the wildlife brought in for mounting at a taxidermy shop was taken illegally.
The violators were all arrested, which is good news but it still leaves me with a gut wrenching feeling. I hate poachers, they are thieves that steal wildlife from law abiding hunters and give all hunters a bad reputation, and that is besides disrespecting the animals they killed.
We hunters have to be vigilante at all times. If you see poaching in progress or witness something that doesn't look right in the field or by a taxidermist, or anywhere else for that matter, don’t approach the person/s, instead phone the wildlife officers. Let them take care of it. Every U.S. State and Canadian Province has a poaching hot line commit it to your memory.
You can read the full story here.
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