Poaching???

[bigwhiteys]

Carl Did anything come of that poaching?
Do u still have picturesof the Ram poached - or was it someone else on the forum..

I do not know... I think it was Stone Sheep Steve that posted it up here.

Carl

[Stone Sheep Steve]

There was one lead over on Huntshoot(thanks to Cariboo for sticking it at the top) from an Alaskan State Trooper. They were working in conjunction with Washington State Game officials and caught some guys with several poached trophies including, what he thought, may have been the ram in question. Haven't heard anything more.

Here's the link back to the story and pic.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=9182

SSS

[WoodOx]

thanks a bundle steve

[GoatGuy]

Hunting has become a big business for some people and when there is money involved, some are tempted to cross that line...

Would you do business with someone that was convicted of poaching?

Would it change things if you had been doing business with them before they were convicted or before you knew about it?

Depends on the conviction?????


Bring it into the real world.


Speeding ticket vs. a serial killer.


Get it?

Things getting haywire in your part of the country?

[dana]

Steep,
I see you had this posted on MM and she's been nuked this morn. Always nice when ol' bobcat goes on his tangents eh? It was probably just your timing as the official CODOW press release came out last week on DeerKing, who at one time was very respected on MM, but not now. His poachin has created many disillusioned MM members. I'm sure Bobcat was just thinkin you were creating yet another thread on the subject of DK.
As to your question, I think the degree of the offense definately plays a roll into the decision making of whether or not to continue doing business or even maintaining a friendship. If you look at the DK thread you'll see numerous people saying they will maintain their friendship and are supporting him through his hardships, even though they all say what he did was repulsive and unjustifiable. Sometimes friendships go through hardtimes and yet the friendships still remain. You can relate wildlife offenses to other criminal activity. Do you abandon a friend that is arrested for a DUI???? It's dead wrong and you don't support the action but you may chose to help your friend instead of cutting off ties to him. Now if the DUI meant he killed family or friends of yours in an accident, you may feel totally different. It's the severity of the offense that dictates your final decision.

[steepNdeep]

Steve - I posted this on a few sites, just to see the different attitudes. I hadn't looked at MM since last fall. Was Deer King the guy that wrote that book on Muleys back in the day?

GG - I was actually thinking of Glen Berry of Berry Thunder Bugles / Videos and his incident with an elk in Idaho. I own a Thunder Bugle now and love it, but I don't think I'll buy another one...

Here's the story:

IDAHO FALLS - Filming the shooting of a big 6 x 6 bull elk in Idaho is something that should have been the perfect film subject for Glen Berry, owner of Big Bull Productions, a company that specializes in the producing videos of big game hunts all around the globe. The problem was that Berry was hunting the bull with a Montana tag! While the video that witnesses reported seeing being shot was never recovered, their precise GPS (Global Positioning System) marking of the kill site and nearly instantaneous reporting of the incident via cell phone to IDFG Senior Conservation Officer Lew Huddleston, helped earn Berry a film credit for poaching.

On September 19, 2005, witnesses observed Berry kill the big 6 x 6 bull elk approximately ½ a mile inside Idaho. The site was astride the Idaho side of the Continental Divide, so little doubt could have existed as to what state the party was hunting. Additional confirmation regarding Berry's knowledge of the exact location of the kill site was confirmed by the fact that he purchased an Idaho elk tag after the bull had been shot!

The witnesses observed the kill site and recorded its location with a GPS and immediately reported the information to Officer Huddleston. This information and the ensuing investigation resulted in a 27 hour-long work day for Huddleston, something that is not all that uncommon for an Idaho Conservation Officer during the fall hunting season!

Whereas some film stars reap millions for their productions, Berry ended up costing him! He pled guilty to the four charges; Possession of an unlawfully taken big game animal, Hunting without an Idaho elk permit, Failure to validate his elk tag, and Violating the U.S. Forest Service Travel Plan. The penalties were the maximum for the possession, $1,000 plus court costs, $750 civil penalty, 180 days in jail and 3 years license revocation. The other three violations resulted in $9,000 in fines, plus court costs! Because Idaho is a member of the Wildlife Violator Compact, Berry will also not be able to hunt as part of his filming during the next three years in any of the 20 other member states!

Because his son Chad Berry was part of this big game shooting gone bad, he is scheduled for trial on possession of unlawfully taken animal in Clark County in January.

Here's a link to the source.
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/re...fm?NewsID=2894

[Will]

Well I wouldn't buy a Used Car from someone that was charged with resetting odometers..........

And I probably wouldn't Hire an Outfitter/Guide that had "Known" Wildlife Poaching charges either

However I guess every incident deserves it's Own conciderations.

I do know some 100% stand up guys that through 100% Honest errors on thier Part that have in the past been charged under the Wildlife act.
They turned themselves in when thier errors became apparent to them.

Do I still Hunt with these Guys ?........You bet your A$$.

[dana]

Steep,
Deerking was a wildlife photographer and hunting consultant from CO that was a very active member of MM over the last 5 or 6 years. He was a internet legend for killing big bucks and filming big bucks. He was very well liked and made a ton of friendships with MM members. It took a good year for the case to work through the system and finally after all the rumors and speculation the official press release came out last week.

ANTLER FEVER’ DROVE COLORADO RESIDENT TO POACHING
Jeff Coldwell, 43, of Firestone, Colorado recently pled guilty to poaching charges
In May of 2006, Jeff Coldwell pleaded guilty to illegal possession of three or more deer in Weld County. In addition to the loss of the illegally taken wildlife, he forfeited his muzzleloader and the court fined him $7,500 with 36 months probation. Coldwell also pled guilty to abuse of public records in Adams County and received a 2 year deferred sentence for false statements made regarding a bear license. The courts donated a portion of his fine to Operation Game Thief.
The abuses also led the Colorado Wildlife Commission to suspend Coldwell’s privilege of applying for, purchasing, or exercising the benefits conferred by all DOW licenses for 20 years. His license privileges are also suspended in 22 Wildlife Violator Compact states.
It all began with a hunch. Wildlife Officer Windi Padia contacted Jeff Coldwell while on ATV patrol in Game Management Unit 20 during the 2005 muzzleloader season. Coldwell had a muzzleloader, but no hunting license in his possession. Noticing a clump of deer hair near his truck, Padia inquired further, but Coldwell denied taking a deer. Coldwell was visibly nervous throughout the contact and told Padia he had been hunting with a family member who had a deer license for GMU 18, about seven miles to the west and over the Continental Divide. After checking the records for Coldwell’s license, Officer Padia found that it was valid for GMU 20 only.
Additional Wildlife Officers, Aimee Ryel and John Koehler, were engaged to conduct interviews in Coldwell’s hometown, whereupon he admitted he had taken a large mule deer buck illegally in GMU 18 and had already transported the cape out of the unit by backpack. Another deer was shot by the licensed family member and both animals were left to rot. Officers hiked to the kill site and located the trophy-quality skinned buck, as well as a quartered buck. The meat was only salvageable on one of the animals.
Now, the full arm of the law reached in--a search warrant was obtained for Coldwell’s residence yielding evidence that Coldwell used another family member's license to tag a buck in 2000. Padia seized Coldwell’s computer and found further evidence of a wildlife violation--emails from Coldwell showed that he had gone bear hunting in 2005 and finding that people were camped near his hunting spot, promptly told a representative from the DOW that he was not able to go on his bear hunt due to medical issues. Six bear preference points were reinstated to Coldwell based on his statements. This fraudulent activity led Officer Padia to charge him with abuse of public records. After disposition of the case in Adams County, his bear preference points were revoked.
In connection with the case, two members of Jeff Coldwell’s family have received citations for wildlife violations and have chosen to pay their fines.
One poaching leads to proof of another
Evidence also seized from Coldwell’s computer revealed information from a 2003 Trophy Hunter magazine article depicting Coldwell in Fox Park, also in GMU 18, with a harvested buck. This evidence prompted Officer Padia to obtain another search warrant for his residence. The buck in question was seized and it was determined that Coldwell poached it in 2003 in GMU 18 during muzzleloader season. He did not have a license for GMU 18 that year.
“Transferring licenses, a form of ‘party hunting’, has severely negative impacts on our wildlife,” said Officer Windi Padia. “Hunting opportunities are regulated for a reason—any additional opportunity created by a poacher is one less opportunity for an ethical hunter. Everyone who values our wildlife should know that poaching doesn’t pay.”
You can help stop poaching. If you see a poaching incident, report it. Poaching is a crime against you, your neighbor, and everyone else in the state of Colorado. Call 1-877-COLO-OGT toll-free or Verizon cell phone users can just dial #OGT. If you'd like, you can e-mail us at game.thief@state.co.us.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

[wjh131]

No, I don't think I would. Perhaps if it was an honest mistake. There was a guide near my hometown who is a stand up guy, good guide, excellent hunter. Anyways, this past year he guided a couple guys to above average (170+) whitetails. Then the guy takes an absolute monster (220 non-typical) after legal light on posted land. People back home don't have a clue what he was thinking. I guess he just got a little jealous or impatient. His trophy was taken away but he will still be able to guide.

[416]

I'm with GG........were talking poaching in this instance, but where do you draw the line and who gets to draw it? Truth is, most of us have at one time or another broken some laws, either knowingly or by mistake. I tend to try and live by the philosophy of not judging my fellow man.......what goes around comes tends to come back around, and very few have a claim to a perfect track record