Headlines like this come in every hunting season: “Eight hunters cited for violations,” but that one bit hardly tells the whole story.
It’s astounding how many “alleged” game violators remain in our state.
Even more astounding is how many of these guys — and 99.9% are guys — believe they can share their against-the-law activity on one or more social media platforms.
It reminds me of what Forrest Gump’s mother told him, “Stupid is as stupid does” — at least that’s what ol’ Forrest told us in the movie.
What do these guys think? Do they believe their crimes would go unreported, or that state and federal wildlife enforcement folks will never see their postings?
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement has acted on at least six “alleged” violators from information taken from social media platforms. Those actions alone make it tough for outdoors writers to use “alleged” in any story.
If game violations stopped at those six our outdoors world would be in pretty good shape. But, it doesn’t.
Baiting doves
We recently came through a couple of splits in the dove season and the special September teal season and, guess what, enforcement agents were busier than ever.
You’d figure there would be one or two cases every year for baiting to attract doves.
This year you needed more than all 10 fingers and all 10 toes to count the number of citations written for “alleged” baiting violations — had to borrow the wife’s 20 and a couple of a grandson’s fingers to get the total.
What? Yes, that many.
And the lingering question is why?
It’s like this. It’s likely the “alleged” perpetrators had done this in the past, or knew someone who did, and they were able to get a lot of doves in a field and invite friends to engage in this nefarious activity. Oh, yeah, they’ve done it and now it’s my turn — ha.
Today, with cell phones and almost instant contact, a landowner or hunter in an adjacent field void of dove activity is hearing all the shotguns go off nearby and wonders why all the doves happen to be there and NOT HERE.
So the curious neighbor checks out the action and spies a pile of cracked wheat or corn and takes out a cellular device, searches for Wildlife and Fisheries’ Turn in a Poacher” hotline and makes the call.
This nice, juicy tidbit is relayed into the field and within minutes one or more wildlife agents check out the “alleged” baited area.
If not then, the agents will walk the land when hunters are not there, inspect it, and, when finding bait, will stake out the place for the next hunt. Pretty simple for the agents, who can seize any game and all firearms and gather baiting evidence for a court date.
Federal court
That’s the first problem for the “alleged” violators.
See, this is not a state violation. It’s federal, just like the cases state and federal agents made during the teal season (and one after the teal season) and will make during the upcoming 60 days for “big” ducks.
Few pay attention to the judgments in migratory bird and/or waterfowl cases. Suffice it to say federal judges are as tough as 60-grit sandpaper when it comes to handing out fines and even jail time in these cases. It was a long time ago when I heard about a federal judge (God, rest his soul) in Louisiana who went easy on a guilty violator, and the outcry made him vow never to “go light” again, at least not in a migratory waterfowl case.
The next problem is these recent violations only will scratch the surface of the citations and arrests enforcement agents will make between now and the end of February, the end of the bulk of Louisiana’s bountiful hunting seasons.
Do the prep work
C’mon guys and gals, pay attention to the hunting regulations — yes, there were a handful of women cited for “alleged” violations last hunting season.
Get the licenses you need.
Get deer tags and use them.
Get the state and federal waterfowl stamps.
If you’re hunting ducks and geese, then know we’re more than 30 years into having to use nontoxic shot. Enforcement agents easily find lead shot in your larder of ducks and geese.
Know you are limited to take waterfowl one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, the latter is most important because shooting after sunset is easy for agents to find you and they’re mightily perturbed when folks shoot after sunset.
Know the seasons. Know when there’s a bucks-only season in progress and you cannot take a doe. Know the daily and season limits for deer, because it’s not the same across Louisiana’s 10 deer hunting areas.
Most importantly, if you’re hunting with younger folks, make sure you set a good example about safety afield, sportsmanship and learning hunting skills. If not, and you get nabbed, you face a citation for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Hardly a way to educate youngsters in the way of a true hunter.
Fishermen, too. With more enforcement patrols during hunting seasons, now is not the time to ignore new speckled trout and redfish regulations.
While we’re at it, lot of you will be towing a trailer in the dark going to your hunting and fishing locations. Be considerate of others on the road and make sure taillights and turn-signal lights work on your trailers. Nothing like a predawn accident to ruin what otherwise would have been a great trip.
