Get The Poachers

[RangerBob]

I wanted to bring this NEWS to the attention of our group here, as I had not seen mention of it yet and neglected to do so until now. Recently some fools posted video of themselves on YouTube poaching ducks. It could just have easily been Trout! The original poster of the video has since yanked it... and deleted his accounts. Another AO member captured the video, and another posted it back up to YouTube to help catch them.. and founded the Facebook group. I have been helping where I can.

 

SEE FOR YOURSELF.

 

The video is here (very graphic):

 

Here is a link to the video itself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-g7Ie0nr2k

 

Anyways, long story short... see this thread below.. the Facebook group... my blog. If you spot these dirtbags... please let the authorities know. To date, Ducks Unlimited has not made comment on it.... I will be approaching them tomorrow though.. and following up the several media contacts that have requested information from me in the past 24 hours. I just got back from vacation past two days.. and this story has grown exponentially.

 

Carl and I are looking for ways to come up with a "reward" for the capture of these folks... and I am now calling on my homies... and all their contacts for ways we can go to raise funds... and help widen the dragnet on these folks. Remember, they could have just as been easily poaching trout!

 

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread....cher&page=1 (Alberta Outdoorsmen)

 

http://ranger-bob.net/?p=1364 (My Blog)

 

http://www.facebook.com/lance.a.taylor#/gr...2984&ref=mf (Facebook)

 

---

 

A YouTube Video has the hunting and wildlife conservation community in western Canada furious. The video that was posted this week shows a group of young men driving around in a car, shooting ducklings illegally and breaking several wildlife and firearms laws in the process.

 

Several members of Internet hunting forums, including canadiangunnutz.com and outdoorsmenforum.ca, have been contacting government officials to try and get something done about the video and the people that are featured in it. Online comments range from total disgust to outright anger. One forum member says, "Deep down I really hope all of these guys get what's coming to them. The blatant disrespect for wildlife and ultimately the law is just cause to put these guys in jail, not to mention the millions of law abiding gun owners, hunters and huntresses that they have disrespected."

 

One office that is taking things very seriously is that of Gary Provencher and the Ministry of Environment.

 

"Conservations officers have reviewed the YouTube video and there are a number of violations taking place on the video so it is currently under investigation by our department. Anybody that sees the video and does recognize some one in it or knows anything about it, is encouraged to call out toll free tip line at 1-800-667-7561."

 

Provencher says they have several tools that can help them identify who is in the video and who posted it on the Internet. He says they will likely be working with the RCMP on the investigation.

 

Another group that has received some complaints about the video is the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. Thursday night and Friday morning the SWF started receiving emails and phone calls from concerned hunters and wildlife enthusiasts. Officials with the SWF are looking into the matter and are very concerned with what they see in the video.

 

Again if you recognize anyone in the video please call 1-800-667-7561.

 

--

 

 

I am starting this group because of a poaching incident, that was blatantly posted on youtube to show the world what kind of big men they were.

 

These guys are NOT HUNTERS!!! THEY ARE POACHERS!!! The more people who see this video the better the chance is that they will be caught. PASS IT ALONG!! It was filmed in canada, probably in AB, or SASK. The original poster pulled the video, but it has been put up again to catch these guys. I know that not everyone is a hunter like myself, but everyone should be disgusted by the total lack of regard for the law, and lack of respect for the animals.

 

Quick warning. The video is graphic, but must be seen.

 

If you have any info contact the RCMP

 

British Columbia

•DFO: Observe, Record, Report (ORR) Line - 1-800-465-4336

•Province: Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) - 1-877-952-7277

 

Alberta

Province: Report a Poacher - 1-800-642-3800

 

Saskatchewan

•Province: Turn in Poachers - 1-800-667-7561

 

Ontario

•Province: 1-877-TIPS MNR (847-7667)

 

Quebec

•DFO: Poaching Alert - 1-800-463-9057

 

Nova Scotia

•Natural Resources Canada: Report a Poacher - 1-800-565-2224

 

•DFO (via Coast Guard Regional Operations Centre) - 1-800-565-1633

 

Yukon

•Territory: Turn in Poachers / Polluters (TIP Line) 1-800-661-0525

 

Northwest Territories

•DFO: 1-867-669-4900

•Territory: Report a Poacher - 1-866-762-2437

 

 

Again Pass this along. Invite anyone in your contact list. GET THEIR FACES OUT THERE!

[RangerBob]

[RangerBob]

 

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT A COPY HERE> / SEND TO YOUR LOCAL SPORTING; HUNTING SUPPLY SHOP TODAY!

 

http://lance-taylor.net/poacher/DuckHunted.pdf

 

Thanks to my "Hunting & Fishing" buddy Greg Scratchley for making this up before he went away on family vacation at the last minute.

[RangerBob]

Fletcher Kent of Global TV is coming over to my house at 11:00 AM to do a story on the duck poachers for the 6 o'clock news

[RangerBob]

Television interview is in the can, will air on Global TV at 6:00 PM. Thanks to buddy Greg Scratchley for coming over to lend a hand.

 

 

[RangerBob]

From 5:00 PM Early News Broadcast. Main segment airs at 6:00 PM.

 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=...id=145886442984

[RangerBob]

6:00 PM Extended News Coverage Here:

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=1458...id=145886442984

 

PS - Greg even wore his NLFT shirt.. just for you.

[RangerBob]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianp...YZd5JMiq06zyyhA

 

Three Saskatchewan men arrested in connection with YouTube duck shooting video

 

(CP) – 35 minutes ago

 

SASKATOON — Three Saskatchewan men have been arrested in connection with a recent video posted on YouTube that shows a trio of males using rifles to shoot ducks on a prairie pond.

 

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment says all three suspects are from a Saskatoon-area community.

 

The ministry also says the video was shot at a location in rural Saskatchewan, and that all three suspects face charges under both federal and provincial wildlife protection laws.

 

The video depicts two of the men firing at the ducks while the third captures their glee on camera.

 

The Internet posting led to widespread public outrage over the shooting.

 

The three men will appear in Saskatoon provincial court on Monday.

 

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

[canadagrey]

Great job on the news guys.

Here's hoping that they throw the book at them.

[RangerBob]

Lance Taylor wrote

at 8:17pm

 

Greg Scratchley and I were out "in the field" today at my Aunt's place helping to clear out the gopher population.. and coyotes.. and setup up our trail camera for our first Antlerless Mule Deer Draw out in WMU #232 this year.

 

It so happens when we got back to the farm house, there were messages from the Calgary Sun and Global TV whom "hunted down" both me and Greg for phone interviews -- looking for "hunter reactions" to the capture.

 

Greg.. whom speaks so eloquently did the phone interviews, and a few sound bytes from one interview made GlobalTV tonight. The others will likely appear in print in the Calgary Sun tomorrow and on-line.

 

http://tinyurl.com/mkebqx

 

PS - To my buddy Greg, congrats on your "New Hunter" article that appears in the latest issue of Alberta Outdoorsmen. I don't think you could have timed that one any better. I am glad to instill what skills I have to you as an outdoorsman, you have many more mentors in line. Keep preaching the faith.. never stop learning.

[don't have a clue]

I hope clearing out the "gopher population.. and coyotes" doesn't mean what I think it might mean. I would think they are just as important as ducks.

[johnk]

I hope clearing out the "gopher population.. and coyotes" doesn't mean what I think it might mean. I would think they are just as important as ducks.

You're kidding, right?

You might want to check the statistics on fawn survival rates due to overpopulation of coyotes. Don't know the survival rates in Alberta but in 2007 the survival rate in Vermont was 0% and the gophers perforating farmers' fields with ankle breaking holes are a nuisance. Ducks and members of the varmint grouping are two totally opposite issues.

 

Oh ya, good luck with your draw Bob!

[don't have a clue]

Not kidding in any way what-so-ever. I would check your stats on Vermont, I have and according to Vermont fish and wildlife fawn survival rates are up. I suppose if the survival was 0% there would be no deer at all in Vermont. I just don't see the killing of animals as justiable. Sorry that we disagree but I quess that is whole idea behind discussion.

[dave robinson]

There was a time when I was a kid that you could collect 5 cents a gopher tail. Increasing areas of cultivated fields reduced the gopher population somewhat and Government decided not to subsidize junior shooters any more, so the bounty lapsed.

Then along came DDT with the subsequent reduction in raptor population and the introduction of minimum tillage farming practices. Gopher numbers have since been on the increase. That has lead to an increase in raptor numbers, but more notably, an increase in other predators, including coyotes. Increasing coyote population has found the critters being forced by competition for food and territory to expand their range into cities and towns and to target other prey. That, plus the increasing jackrabbit populaton in cities, has led to Fluffy being snatched from right in front of the pet owners eyes and folks being concerned about small children being stalked by Wiley.

All this points out dramatically that where ecosystems are concerned, "you can't do just one thing". Everything in an ecosystem is interrelated.

So how does gopher and coyote hunting fit in? Is seems to me that targeted control of population numbers may eliminate both problems from a human perspective. Reduce gopher numbers and coyote numbers will drop more that just by coyote hunting alone. Hence young deer and domestic animals will have a better survival rate. But you gotta be careful or the local redtail hawk may starve and the mouse population explode.

This relates directly to hunting regulations and the need to enforce them. Hunting laws, licencing and bag limits are designed by professionals to mange wildlife populations so as to strike an ecological balance between predators, prey and human needs, to the benfit of all three. Those who step outside those rules can tip the balance in a very undesirable way. That's one reason why poaching is such a deplorable crime.

Another reason is that wildlife is a resource that belongs to everyone. Hunting regulations are designed to permit fair and equitable access to that resource, without damageing the base resource. Those who flout those laws are, in effect, stealing from all of us and should be treated like any other thieving criminal.

Also, at the root of hunting as a "sport", is the desire to obtain food. Hunting does so in a more "natural" way than penning up animals for mass slaughter in an an anonymous way. It brings the hunter closer to the reality of life and death by which he feeds himself. Most of us never have to face that reality because we get our steak as a comodity in a grocery store. If many of the anti-hunting crowd had to raise, kill, dress and butcher their own meat, they'd either go malnourished on a vegan diet or starve to death.

And lastly, I have yet to meet any long time hunter who enjoys the act of killing for its own sake. Good hunters fully realise what they are doing and understand that it's not about the joy of death. They pay respect to and and honor the animals they shoot.

Those three Bozos are as far from hunters as you can get. I put them in the came category as child bullies who derive pleasure from pulling the wings off flies. They lack empathy with other people and animals and are only concerned with themselves. The believe that the rules of civil society don't apply to them. They make excuses for their antisocial behaviour but really don't give a rat's behind unless they are caught. They are called sociopaths. They often grow up to become serial killers and corporate criminals. They should never be allowed to own firearms.

I'm not convinced that these three learned anything of social value from their experience. I expect to see one or more of them in jail for a serious crime one day.

Edited August 12, 2009 by dave robinson

[johnk]

Not kidding in any way what-so-ever. I would check your stats on Vermont, I have and according to Vermont fish and wildlife fawn survival rates are up. I suppose if the survival was 0% there would be no deer at all in Vermont. I just don't see the killing of animals as justiable. Sorry that we disagree but I quess that is whole idea behind discussion.

I have no problem agreeing to disagree.

 

In regards to Vermont, I suppose if whitetails were salmon and they only "spawned" once before dying then I would agree to agree with you!

[milelongleblanc]

Take a little journey back thru history. Coyote was a respected creature for thousands of years by the people of the american southwest. Only those people, because that's the only place they lived. Then about two centuries ago, the white man arrives, decides the coyote must be wiped off this earth and has been doing everything in his power since. Coyote's range has expanded somewhat during this period. For a number of reasons, short-term "population control" leads to long-term population increases in certain species.

 

I may not be as worldly and educated as you, Dave, but I've seen lots of people shooting little furry critters just for fun. Riddle me this; if people shoot gophers because the holes break legs and tractors, how come nobody ever goes around the fields filling in the holes?

 

Rick

[canadagrey]

Can we get this much contraversy on fish, habitat and conservation?

[dave robinson]

Ahh.

But this whole thread is about habitat and conservation and not too far from being about fish.

Poaching is a serious problem for our fisheries, particularly the naturally reproducing ones.

And poaching is a form of habitat damage as are bucket biologists.

Playing around with populations of predator and prey, outside scientifically designed regulations,

has unintended consequences for the entire habitat.

Examples: rabbits in Australia, possums in New Zealand, zebra mussels in the great lakes, perch in Hasse.

All have the same characteristics. Introduced species upset the ecosystem.

Similarly, over hunting can cause extinction (aka Dodo and Passenger Pigeon)

Predator removal results in exploding populations (snow geese in Hudson's bay, deer and elk in wolf habitat)

Overpopulation caused by predator removal leads to even greater problems

The most extreme case was the superstition fuelled elimination of cats in the middle ages.

This led to overpopulation by rats which then carried the bubonic plague

which subsequently killed over 1/4 of the European population at the time.

So we don't go around shooting hawks, wolves, bobcats, weasels etc,

And from time to time, we help those predators out by potting gophers.

And poisoning, trapping and keeping cats to control deer mice so that we don't die from Hanta virus.

All I'm suggesting is hunting and fishing rules are there to protect the habitat, predator, prey and ecosystem.

Vermin control is also sometimes necessary for the same reasons.

We just have to think about it a lot before going hog wild.

Edited August 18, 2009 by dave robinson

[milelongleblanc]

Brian, if you want contraversy, why don't we start a discussion of the netting of the upper muskeg river bull trout spawning run, three years in a row, which F&W was apparently unable to do anything about?

 

Rick

[Scratch]

I hope clearing out the "gopher population.. and coyotes" doesn't mean what I think it might mean. I would think they are just as important as ducks.

I stayed out of this for many reasons. The name says it all. We don't have perfect answers any more than perfect questions.

 

Gophers cause a number of problems for cattle farmers, not the least of which is the holes they leave behind. Other considerations include elimination of grazing habitat for future-burgers, explosion in the populations of fox, coyote, and badger which cannot be sustained through the winter, causing cattle to be harassed by the surplus.

 

The nature of nature it seems has been upset by our 1x1 mile lifestyle. It is impossible to cry out for 'nature' to take it's course in an environment whose purpose now requires the production of meat, grain, feed, or minerals. Nature loses. The best alternative is to support and encourage activities that sponsor balance on the whole.

 

No - I didn't say achieve balance. I said sponsor balance. Those activities that prevent the rural use of poisons to control mice and gophers which end up in the bellies of raptors. Things like managing a population of coyotes to ensure their continuance, but minimizing their impact.

 

We don't have perfect solutions, but we work (anglers and hunters alike) with resource professionals to manage our resources. By supporting catch and release, or slot sizes. By avoiding closed waters, and by taking our daily limits of perch or pike.

 

If you've got a better plan - please explain it. If it makes good sense and pushes us in the direction of balance - then we may be onto something. If you only want to condemn the choices of those who are willing to do the job, then we don't have much left to discuss.

[milelongleblanc]

If a fox gets into your chicken coop, do you roam the county, trying to kill every fox in the field? Of course not, you're a farmer, you've got work to do. That's the kind of "job" you give the kids to keep them out of trouble. You do, however, build a better chicken coop.

 

At least, that's how my Grandpa, Uncle, and their neighbors did it back when I was a farmboy.

 

Rick