Interview

I interviewed Lieutenant Eugene Hagy, a conservation officer for Michigan's Department of Natural Resources.  He has been a conservation officer for Michigan over the past 20 years.  He is in charge of keeping poachers at bay in one half of the Upper Peninsula.  His answers to my questions were useful because poaching in Michigan mainly occurs in the area that he watches.

What effect does illegal hunting in Michigan have on the wildlife population?

A.      Hard to put a number or percentage on it but it does effect the populations and available number of game for legal hunters to harvest.

Which animals are being hunted illegally the most?

A.       Deer would most likely be at the top both for the value in the meat that is sold and also for the antlers. Very large antler can bring a high dollar for collectors. Other animals that are targeted include bear for the meat and hide but also for their claws teeth and skulls and also their gall bladders which are illegally sold to buyers usually in the orient as it is considered an aphrodisiac. Bear paws are also illegally sold and considered very valuable for the same reason. There is also a very large commercial trade for fish within the state with walleye being probably the most targeted species. The personal trophy is a very large part of this,

What is the definition of illegal hunting in Michigan?

A.      This could be taking game outside of the open season for a species which is legal to hunt or by an illegal method during the open season. IE hunting deer with a spotlight at night, using bait to take waterfowl or turkey.

How big of a problem is illegal hunting in Michigan?

A.      The problem exists in all of our 83 Counties in Michigan and varies by location IE bear poaching occurs mostly in the Upper Peninsula and Northern part of the lower Peninsula. Commercial take of walleye frequently occurs in the Bays De Noc area of Delta County and in the Southern part of the State in the Lake St Clair area.  

What kinds of laws does Michigan have regarding illegal hunting?

A.      Wildlife Conservation Act. You can view this at the Michigan .Gov /DNR website along with a current hunting guide which would be useful.

Do you think the penalties are stiff enough?

A.      There is a mandatory restitution on fish and game taken illegally IE an out of season walleye would cost $10 per pound plus fines and costs, an illegal deer has a $1000 restitution plus fines and costs and a minimum 5 day jail sentence and their hunting privileges are lost for the year of conviction and the following 3 years. There is also a conservation fee of $10 for any fish and game violation that goes towards the fish and game protection fund. The biggest issue is often times Courts will not follow the mandatory guidelines and the penalties will be much less either due to a plea deal or the Courts discretion. Local oversight and participation by sportsman’s groups helps lessen this

What are the motives for illegal hunting?

A.      Often just too successfully take the game when they are not successful using legal methods. IE Hunting after hours because the buck is not coming in during the daylight to legally be taken.  Other for the thrill of getting away with it, many it’s a way of life they were brought up violating and they carry on the family tradition.  Other do it as a lively hood they make their living illegally selling fish and game.

What can be done to decrease/stop illegal hunting?

A.      People becoming more involved when they see a violation or hear of one by calling a local Conservation officer or the Report All Poaching (RAP) Hotline 800-292-7800 24hrs/7days. Also Conservation Officers are at a recent history all-time low there are currently 3 counties in Michigan that do not have even a single CO assigned too.

Why is it so hard to catch them?

A.      Vast areas to do the crime, usually in remote locations, people’s reluctance to report the violations often justifying it as they are using it to feed their families. Low numbers of Conservation officers

 How do you report illegal hunting to the authorities?

A.      Call the Report All Poaching Hotline 800-292-7800 call a local Conservation officer or DNR office. Call 911

What time of the year does illegal hunting occur most frequently?

A.      Fall is the most frequent but occurs all year long

Wildlife poaching must be stopped

This article talks about the sudden increase in wildlife poaching in recent decades.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) brought up this problem at a United Nations meeting.  The researchers wanted the countries of the world to pay more attention on wildlife poaching because a lot of the countries were too lenient on poaching which caused an increase in poaching.  The WWF researchers interviewed various heads of governments and found that there is a lack of strong emotions and support for anti-poaching which caused wildlife poaching to be put off because there are bigger issues to deal with like wars and military conflicts.  If the countries do not realize that this is a high-priority issue, there will be a lot of consequences on the economy, environment, national security, and international security.
 I think this is a good article to use for my research paper because it shows that wildlife poaching is low-priority issue for the United Nations and it needs to taken more seriously to avoid even more problems.

Fortin, J. (2012, December 12). Why wildlife poaching is a big problem, even if you don't care                   about rhinos.  International Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/

Deer Poaching Solutions

This article talks about Noble Foundation Agricultural Research team conducting a study to investigate the effects of the number of hunters in one area on male white tail deer movements in southern Oklahoma.  The researchers who conducted this study concluded that one of the problems to avoid in order have success in deer management is poaching.  They also said that the poachers will kill any animal by any means necessary.  They have found ways to avoid the authorities by hunting at night, shoot animals on the streets, and even hunt out of season.  The results of this study showed the poachers killed 8 of the 57 male white tail deer that had radio collars around their neck in order to track where they went.  The Noble Foundation were tracking the 57 deer by the radio collars around their neck so they track the deer's movement.  Unfortunately, if the poachers killed the deer, collared or without a collar, they would have killed 14% of the antlered deer population of Oklahoma every year. Even though there are a lot of game wardens in Oklahoma, the possibility of catching a poacher during the act is slim. The researchers said that the best way to combat poaching is through landowner and hunter vigilance.
I think this is a good article to use for my research paper because it shows what happens to the population of deer when there are poachers in the area.  The article also identifies possible solutions for stopping poaching.

Gee, K. (2010, March). Deer poaching - is there a solution?. The Samuel                        Roberts Noble Foundation.  Retrieved from                                                 http://www.noble.org/

Reports on Poachers skyrocket in Minnesota

This newspaper article talks about the recent increase in phone calls to the Turn In a Poacher (TIP) Hotline being referred to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.  This lead to a huge increase in poaching arrests in 2012.  The number of calls being referred to the DNR increased by 54% from 2011 to 2012.  In 2012, there were 2,051 phone calls reporting poachers which led to 359 arrests.  There was a 29% increase in arrests in 2012 because of the high number of phone calls  This was a significant increase from 1,328 phone calls in 2011 .  Because of this rise in the number of phone calls, it set the new record for the number of the phone calls reporting on poaching.  The previous record was set in 1981 with 1,866 phone calls.   The Minnesota DNR said that there was a big increase in phone calls and arrests in 2012 because TIP referred a record number of phone calls to them.
I think this is a good article to use for my research paper because it has up-to-date stats on reporting on poaching and the arrests.

2012 was a bad year for poachers. (2013, February 5). Echo Press. Retrieved from     jhjhjhjhjhttp://www.echopress.com/

Rhinoceros Horn Poaching and Illegal Trade at its Highest level

This article talks about the the results of a report about Rhinoceros conservation.  It shows that even though the rhinoceros population has increased, there has been a huge increase in poaching and illegal trade of their horns.  In the year 2007, only 13 rhinoceros were poached in South Africa.  In the year 2009, 122 rhinoceros were poached.  In the year 2012, 455 rhinoceros were poached.  In those 5 years, rhinoceros poaching incidents in South Africa and Zimbabwe account for 94% of the rhinoceros deaths in Africa.  Meanwhile, it shows that since 1991, the white rhinoceros and black rhinoceros populations in Africa have increased 6% each year.
I think this is a good article to use because it has a lot of information that I can use from my research paper.

Rhinos in crisis - Poaching and illegal trade reach highest levels in 20 years. (2013, January 13). TRAFFIC. Retrieved from http://www.traffic.org/

The Trade of Rhinoceros Horns between South Africa and Vietnam

This TRAFFIC report examined the poaching of rhinoceros for their horn.  The rhinoceros in South Africa were being poached for horn to sell them on the black market.  The rhinoceros's horn is widely believed to have healing properties.  There is a surge in illegal trade of rhinoceros horn that are from South Africa.  Vietnam has been smuggling in these horns because they believe that the horns can cure cancer.  Even though South Africa has strict poaching laws, the poachers are finding ways to avoid the law.  The Javan Rhinoceros which lived in Vietnam went extinct in 2010 because of poaching for the horns.  Because of this, they shifted their attention towards poaching rhinoceros in South Africa.  The recent surge of poaching in South Africa for rhinoceros horns will cause a huge problem for the population of rhinoceros in South Africa.  40% of black rhinos live in South Africa.
I think this is a good article to use for my research paper because it has a lot of statistics about poaching.  Plus, it is up-to-date for most of the stuff.

Milliken, T., & Shaw, J. (2012). The South Africa -Viet Nam Rhino horn trade nexus: A deadly combination of institutional lapses, corrupt wildlife industry professionals and Asian crime syndicates. TRAFFIC. Retrieved from http://www.traffic.org/

Ecosystems will collapse if poaching does not stop

This article gives us a deeper look on what poaching does to the environment.  It gives the 3 reasons why people are poaching around the world.  For example, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report stating that there is an increase in demand for rhinoceros horn because people believe that their horn can used to cure cancer.  There are many different types of ecosystems that are about to collapse because of poaching.  One of these ecosystems is the marine ecosystem.  This process started when some species of fish that are on top of the food chain like sharks were overfished.  This has caused an overpopulation of rays and skates where the sharks were overfished.  Because there is a big decrease in the population sharks and a big increase in the population of rays and skates, their ecosystem is out of balance.  Eventually, this will cause the collapse of the ecosystem.
I think this is a good article for me to use for my research paper because facts, examples, and studies about poaching.

Pedersen, S. (2012, June 4). Continued poaching will result in the degradation of fragile ecosystems.  The International. Retrieved from http://www.theinternational.org/