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Poaching hotline experiences?

PickettSFHunter

PickettSFHunter

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I recognize TWRA is no longer here, just using this forum as a way to gauge experiences from others. This weekend, the TWRA held a hog hunt with dogs on public land near some of my property. Yes I know dogs can't read signs but their owners can and their owners can tone dogs back. Anyway, it's always a pain, I can't take juveniles deer hunting to my own property on that weekend because I know dogs and people will be running everywhere. This year with the snow, I could tell that some guys dropped dogs at my gate and the humans went up into an area that is all private land, no WMA even on that side of the road, no WMA bordering the other side of the road either. I began tracking them across my property and called the poaching hotline when I got service. I left a message but as of tonight- zero call back. Obviously it would have been preferred for a call back quickly so it could have been addressed but a call back at some point would at least be nice. I stopped tracking when they got on more private land that I didn't have access to. The other bad thing is that I had a sounder conditioning to trap but that whole sounder got busted and spread across creation. Anyway, I just think it would be nice for TWRA to call back and see what can be done. It would be nice if they could move that hunt off of juvenile weekend and patrol the road to keep the hunters they invite to the WMA off of private land. It's every year like this. Has anyone actually had any luck calling the hotline? I need the wardens number but he's new.
 
Not the hotline, but my first attempt to "catch" someone in a similar act was met with similar results. In Clarksville on a farm we used to hunt we pulled down in the bottoms and saw some guys spotlighting in their truck. We called TWRA and got someone on the phone that said an officer would be on the way. We parked at the only exit to try and deter them from leaving. Once they saw us they proceeded to drive across a huge row crop and then across a fence to escape. We hung out for two hours waiting on the officer who never showed. I called back and the lady told me that it likely wouldn't be that day. No one ever called me back.
 
You are better off calling your state representative and talking to them about that. I've had the hog dogs on my property once and they were on everyone's property in the area. They mauled my neighbor's sheep. I don't do all that trapping work so they can come mess it up on my land. I'm not a fan of them at all. No rights for landowners is the rule that needs to be fixed. I've talked to them about trespassers and the various shenanigans hunters pull before and they listen. We need hog trappers much more than the ones that scatter them to the wind. They get on alot of different landowners from my limited experience with it. Much more ground is covered than a typical coon hound. If they don't have permission they should have to call their dogs back but they get away with doing it so they don't bother or in alot cases it is intentional.

Tell the state rep that they need to make the rule that they have to do that or cut it out one cause it does need to be fixed. We don't need any trappers having dogs turned loose on them messing it up and making the problem worse. They are connected with individuals at manner and means at TWRA. That's who i would call every time i had a problem. That's exactly what i'm doing.
 
That's actually pretty bad planning to have a hog hunt on the juvy weekend as I see it. Why couldn't it be held the following weekend? Anyway, if you had your signage and purple paint on, I wonder if you could have taken down license plate numbers and took them to the local sheriff for trespassing charges?
 
MUP said:
if you had your signage and purple paint on, I wonder if you could have taken down license plate numbers and took them to the local sheriff for trespassing charges?
Click to expand...
He probably could but getting any kind of DA or Judge to fine anyone for trespassing in this area would be a stretch. I have purple paint, No trespassing signs and clear photographs of a guy i took to court last year that was literally a career criminal that makes his living stealing ginseng for drug money and his fine was $0. All he got was a restraining order for 12 months and then he can return to stealing our ginseng.
It's a waste of time to prosecute people for trespassing which is exaclty how judges and DA's want it to be so they can spend their time on what they view as serious crime. They acted like it was my responsibility to fix it. I told them if i fix it you will press charges on me just like you did last time i fixed it, which they of course had no response.
 
Planking said:
He probably could but getting any kind of DA or Judge to fine anyone for trespassing in this area would be a stretch. I have purple paint, No trespassing signs and clear photographs of a guy i took to court last year that was literally a career criminal that makes his living stealing ginseng for drug money and his fine was $0. All he got was a restraining order for 12 months and then he can return to stealing our ginseng.
It's a waste of time to prosecute people for trespassing which is exaclty how judges and DA's want it to be so they can spend their time on what they view as serious crime. They acted like it was my responsibility to fix it. I told them if i fix it you will press charges on me just like you did last time i fixed it, which they of course had no response.
Click to expand...
Who is the judge and da
 
PickettSFHunter said:
I recognize TWRA is no longer here, just using this forum as a way to gauge experiences from others. This weekend, the TWRA held a hog hunt with dogs on public land near some of my property. Yes I know dogs can't read signs but their owners can and their owners can tone dogs back. Anyway, it's always a pain, I can't take juveniles deer hunting to my own property on that weekend because I know dogs and people will be running everywhere. This year with the snow, I could tell that some guys dropped dogs at my gate and the humans went up into an area that is all private land, no WMA even on that side of the road, no WMA bordering the other side of the road either. I began tracking them across my property and called the poaching hotline when I got service. I left a message but as of tonight- zero call back. Obviously it would have been preferred for a call back quickly so it could have been addressed but a call back at some point would at least be nice. I stopped tracking when they got on more private land that I didn't have access to. The other bad thing is that I had a sounder conditioning to trap but that whole sounder got busted and spread across creation. Anyway, I just think it would be nice for TWRA to call back and see what can be done. It would be nice if they could move that hunt off of juvenile weekend and patrol the road to keep the hunters they invite to the WMA off of private land. It's every year like this. Has anyone actually had any luck calling the hotline? I need the wardens number but he's new.
Click to expand...
Hound hunters like that give all hound hunters a bad name. I'll tone my dogs before they get to private property. It's not worth the head ache for me or the landowner. I rarely hunt small properties because of that. It's way easier just to hunt the national forest.
 
Jcalder said:
Who is the judge and da
Click to expand...
I don't really want to name people. The DA was a lady that handled the trespassing case, the ladies i talked to at the DA's office in Livingston were pretty vocal about me being the one that went to talk to this zombie look alike on my own and ask him not to come on our property to steal ginseng (Which of course he's been busted of in the past by TWRA). He tried to break in my aunt's house with her in it years ago. I still to this day have no idea where he even lives.

The deputy that came out when i first got the cell pic said that it was very difficult to get a trespassing conviction in this county. He said even if they throw the book at them it maxes out $150. More great news for the dirt bags.
 
Urban_Hunter said:
Not the hotline, but my first attempt to "catch" someone in a similar act was met with similar results. In Clarksville on a farm we used to hunt we pulled down in the bottoms and saw some guys spotlighting in their truck. We called TWRA and got someone on the phone that said an officer would be on the way. We parked at the only exit to try and deter them from leaving. Once they saw us they proceeded to drive across a huge row crop and then across a fence to escape. We hung out for two hours waiting on the officer who never showed. I called back and the lady told me that it likely wouldn't be that day. No one ever called me back.
Click to expand...
If you absolutely positively need a game warder, call the sheriff😆
 

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