The 2011 Dumbest Poacher Awards
5/25/2011
In the first four Poachey Awards, One-Track Mind has celebrated outdoor stupidity in the mold of the famed Darwin Awards. You've witnessed everything from the adventures of Robo Deer to a murder mystery-style thriller involving “Poacher X."
I've gotten ahold of three more stories that will both amaze and confuse you, and trust me, this isn't the last you've seen of these awards in 2011.
Poachers Caught Near Royal Honeymoon; Win Paparazzi Poacher Award
To all those who followed the courtship and eventual marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, some of the details of this poaching case might sound familiar. In late October of last year, William and Kate traveled to Mount Kenya, Kenya to a safari lodge where the Prince would propose to his future bride. During the couple's stay, the first of four elephants to be illegally killed in the area was found some five miles from the royal love shack.
From the Scotsman.com out of Edinburgh:
Four out of seven elephants fitted with satellite tracking collars have been killed on the slopes of Mount Kenya in recent months, only a short distance from the safari lodge where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton. Scottish conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton said the animals were fitted with collars over the last year by his charity, Save The Elephants. Mr Douglas-Hamilton said the mountain's dense forest made it difficult for rangers to patrol and protect elephants which do not have GPS collars.
Poaching has a long and sordid past in Africa, and with over 300,000 reported elephants in Kenya alone, ivory thieves are ramping up their fearless efforts. All the followers of the royal wedding can just be happy to know that the epic nuptials were not affected by these criminals. There is no word of any arrests in the case.
Poachers Use Fake Identities; Win Covert Ops Award
This is without a doubt the first case of poaching I've seen reported that would make a quality storyline for an episode of CSI. On April, 21 the Southern Oregon newspaper The Mail Tribune reported that a ring of nine poachers were facing racketeering charges for allegedly stealing the identity of Oregonians to buy hunting licenses and tags and then illegally killing as many as 300 black-tailed deer over the past five years. The charges stemmed from a 15-month investigation and could result in fines up to $375,000 and a Class A felony that could land these poachers in jail for 20 years.
From the Mailtribune.com:
Most of the alleged poaching occurred in 2009 and 2010 on federal Bureau of Land Management and private timberlands within the state's McKenzie Wildlife Management Unit. It focused largely on black-tailed deer, though also included elk, antelope and bear, according to the OSP.
Many of the animals were killed to fill tags for people who either did not hunt or had their identification stolen strictly to gain licenses and tags in their names.
The case broke open when one of the victims received an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife envelope requesting a tooth from a black bear killed during a hunt be sent to the agency as part of the study, police said. When the victim told ODFW he had no hunting license or bear tag, agency officials discovered a license and tag were bought illegally in the victim's name, police said.
This case involved years of lies, deceit and what can be summed up as organized crime. Oregon Police officials seized 18 hunting rifles, 108 sets of antlers, several hunting licenses and tags, keys to gates on private timberland, two whole poached cow elk and about 1,600 pounds of processed game meat after a search of the accused's homes.
Men Poach Deer for Super Bowl; Win Party Favors Award
Check this story reported earlier this year on this blog and on WTAE.com in Pittsburgh:
Two Fayette County men are in trouble for allegedly serving poached food at their Super Bowl XLV party—and that doesn't mean eggs or salmon.
A state wildlife conservation officer has charged Christopher Layman, 21, of Uniontown, and James Donaldson, 35, of Lemont Furnace, with killing two deer out of season on Feb. 5 so they could serve fresh venison at their party for the big Steelers-Packers game the next day.
The two culprits confessed to killing the deer and skinning it in their garage before feeding it to their hungry guests. They were both charged with misdemeanors. Seems that the Steelers weren't the only losers in Pennsylvania on Super Bowl Sunday this year.
*To report suspected poaching in your area check the NRA's list of poaching hotlines.
