poaching
Showing posts with label poaching. Show all posts

Undercover Wildlife Operation Cracks Down on Poaching in NC & GA

Thursday, February 21, 2013

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State and federal wildlife officials in North Carolina and Georgia announced yesterday an undercover operation that involved about 80 wildlife violators and some 980 violations.

Primary violations documented by Operation Something Bruin stem from illegal bear hunting but include an array of state wildlife and game law charges. Some suspects could also face federal charges.

The four-year investigation, the largest of its kind in recent years, targeted poachers in North Carolina and Georgia, with work in some adjacent states. Officers began making arrests Tuesday, Feb. 19.

“Operation Something Bruin documented hundreds of wildlife violations. Today’s arrests bring an immediate halt to those crimes and, we hope, will make would-be violators think twice before breaking the law,” said Col. Dale Caveny, law enforcement chief for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “Our long-term goal is to deter illegal wildlife activities from taking place in the future and serve notice to everyone that wildlife officers are ever vigilant in the service of conservation and public safety.”

Officers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission infiltrated poaching circles to document violations including bear baiting; illegal take of bears, deer and other wildlife; illegal use of dogs; illegal operation of bear pens in North Carolina; and, guiding hunts on national forest lands without the required permits.

Operation Something Bruin partners also included the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

For those who persist in wildlife theft, Something Bruin will help agencies better train officers to catch them – an effort strongly supported by hunters and anglers, our nation’s first conservationists.

You can learn more about Operation Something Bruin by clicking here.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
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Two Convicted of Galax Poaching on Blue Ridge Parkway

Friday, March 30, 2012

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NPS Digest is reporting this morning that while investigating a report of a suicidal person on March 24th, a Parkway ranger observed a driver operating a vehicle in a very suspicious manner in an area known for galax poaching. The ranger turned on the vehicle, and, as he approached, saw two men exit from it and flee into the adjacent woods, carrying duffle bags. The ranger later conducted a traffic stop and subsequently arrested the driver, identified as Oscar Rincon Reyes, of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, for illegally harvesting galax. Other rangers responded and a search of the adjacent woods yielded three duffle bags containing 15,000 galax leaves.

During the investigation, one of the other subjects was identified and an arrest warrant was obtained.

On March 27th, rangers and Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office deputies executed the warrant and arrested Francisco Rincon Felipe, also of Spruce Pine. Both Reyes and Felipe appeared before the U.S. magistrate, pled guilty to conspiracy to harvest galax, and were sentenced to 30 days in jail. Investigation is continuing to identify and prosecute the third conspirator.

Currently, local market value for galax leaves, used in floral arrangements, is two to six cents per leaf. Galax leaves are being sold for more than a dollar a leaf in the international flora trade and is estimated that galax harvesting is a $40 million a year industry in western North Carolina.


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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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Former seasonal employee sentenced for poaching in Smokies

Thursday, April 28, 2011

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NPS Digest is reporting this morning that a former Great Smoky Mountains National Park seasonal employee has been sentenced in federal court in Kentucky for taking a deer and a bear in the park while working there in 2009.

Jason Taylor, 25, pled guilty in April to three counts of violating the Lacey Act by unlawfully transporting taken wildlife – specifically, a black bear skin and an eight-point set of antlers – from the park to his home in Edmonson County, Kentucky. He admitted that he’d shot the animals while working in the park. Taylor also aided and abetted the fraudulent use of a social security number to obtain a “confirmation number” from the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources for the deer he killed in the park.

Following a plea agreement, he was ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and restitution and was banned from hunting or accompanying anyone while hunting anywhere in the world for two years. The case was investigated by the National Park Service, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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North Carolina man confesses to poaching elk in Smokies

Monday, November 16, 2009

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A North Carolina man is facing charges for allegedly shooting an elk inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Last Friday rangers in the Smokies found a bull elk carcass lying along the edge of a pasture in the Cataloochee area.

A lead on a vehicle led investigators to Granville County, North Carolina. A NPS Special Agent traveled to the county and located the suspect at his home. The individual has reportedly confessed to poaching the elk, according to Park spokesman, Bob Miller.

The suspect's name isn't being released, pending the filing of charges. Poaching in a national park carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. Violators can also be forced to forfeit the weapon and vehicle used in the crime.

The elk, known as bull No. 21, is one of the herd's biggest breeding bulls.

I'm having a hard time understanding why this guy did this. Did he just shoot the elk from his car for the sport of it - with people around him? Was he threatened or charged by the elk?


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.
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