POACHERS...!

DanniGirl · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:53 am Post subject: POACHERS...!

So here's the story...
I was out training Danni yesterday when we heard shotguns going off. We looked around and about a 600 yards away there were 5 individuals walking along a hillside. Well, after watching them I realized what they were doing...THEY WERE SHOOTING MOURNING DOVE! (For those of you who don't know, Mourning and White-winged Dove are illegal to shoot in AZ until September)
We could tell because Dove were flushing from that hillside AND the shooting was very sporadic, typical if your bird hunting. (For those of you who hunt, you know what I mean...) So we called Arizona Operation Game Thief and within a half an hour we were met by an officer. I told him what we saw and he said he would go check it out. (While I was speaking to the officer, my father was setting up launchers and it didn't occur to him...BUT the individuals on the hill began talking very excitably.)
So the G&F officer went up to check them out and he was up there for a good 45 minutes and he drove back down. He told us that they had been rabbit hunting and they produced a couple .22s and only one individual had a hunting license.
We responded by, "NO, THEY HAVE SHOTGUNS." We know the difference between a shotgun and a .22, we're training a bird dog for crying out load! -She knows the sound of shotguns and she tuned in when they shot. GIVE ME A BREAK! (Venting a little there...LOL)
So he went back up there and what do you know, THEY DID PRODUCE ONLY ONE SHOTGUN. They said they didn't think it was imperative to tell the G&F officer they had one! They also told him that they were only shooting a couple cans.

Alright, so if they were ONLY shooting cans WHY were they walking around the hillside shooting up in the air? And since they only produced 3 cans and 5 rabbits that were shot, what were they shooting at non-stop from 5-7:30? (Until the officer arrived?) And neither the rabbits or cans were shot up.

The officer believed us but he said unfortunately he couldn't find another shotgun or bird feathers around their vehicle. But at that time, it was dark and he had to search with a flashlight. BUT...he said IF WE WANT TOO, go out there today and do a search for dead dove. What he and my father believed what happened was the individuals saw the G&F officer talking to me. That's why the were talking excitably and they ditched the shotguns and the birds on the hillside. He told us that if we find the dove, call the AZ Game & Fish immediately and they have enough info on the individuals (no hunting licenses, hiding evidence) to bust them.
So...we are taking Danni out today and hopefully she'll turn up some dead dove.

You know, it's people like this that will ruin it for the responsible hunters. I REALLY HOPE WE BUST THEM ON THIS.
Wish us luck.

anne · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:20 pm Post subject:

Good luck. That pisses me of....

LunaBrown · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:31 pm Post subject:

It only takes a couple dumb bastards to ruin it for the rest of us Evil or Very Mad

NenaGunther · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:19 pm Post subject:

Find any doves?

That is terrible. There is always a few that can't play by the rules. Evil or Very Mad

amazonstarlight · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject:

What ____bags. I don't understand why people just don't follow the rules, like they are just so special or something. What the G&F Officer should have done is run them off. They would never leave behind shotguns to hunt down later. Well, I hope you found some traces of something to pin those idiots on.

WeiMe · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:33 pm Post subject:

Hope Danni finds some birds and you bust those guys!

AmyB · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject:

Good for you for calling the G&F officer. I hope Danni was able to find something today. Let us know!

DanniGirl · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:49 am Post subject:

Thanks everybody for the support!
I could care less what people do, but I get pissed when they take advantage of wildlife.

We did find dove. Twisted Evil

We had Danni out there (stupid me forgot the check cord) and she came running back to us with a dove in her mouth. So...I went home to grab the CC so in case we find more, she won't pick up the bird. She did find a second one so we called the G&F. While we were waiting for the officer we continued to work the hill and turned up 2 more birds. The officer thanked us for our help and said they'd take it from there. Pink whoohoo

I really hope they have enough evidence to bust those people...they deserve it.

amazonstarlight · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:33 pm Post subject:

AmyB · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject:

WTG Danni!!!!

I'm so not in the loop here so forgive me if this is a dumb question...

Why couldn't you call about the first bird after Danni had it in her mouth?