“I had my back to the fence. I was looking out over the parking lot of my daddy's church, past the parking lot, and you could see standing Indian Mountain. The leaves were changing in fall. I was like, man I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm gonna work in the mountains, someway somehow,” said Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Sergeant Game Warden Casey Jones.
Jones sat in a black and camo fold up camping chair on the front porch of Uncle Russ’s newly built wood shop in Crandall, Georgia. As he looked over a 2-acre garden rich in green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and okra, Jones began to describe his childhood leading up to his career starting with the Murray County Fish and Wildlife. It was of no surprise when Jones said he played college football at Carson Newman before he became a game warden; he stood six feet and seven inches tall. He sat with a smile showing through his scruffy beard and his left lower lip packed with Copenhagen long cut wintergreen.
The stories the old worn DNR game warden's faded camo button up jacket could have told me if it could have spoken would have been worth the drive alone. His jacket was perfectly paired with the dark green standard issue game warden pants that every experienced or seasoned hunter knows well. But it's not just hunting that claims the lives of wildlife. That's the only legal way. The alternative choice is illegal and unethical poaching.
Jones defined a poacher as "anyone that is going to take wildlife contrary to state law, going against the regulations.” Jones had a strong belief in this definition: that there is no other way to define it. Poaching is commonly thought to be a pastime for the greedy and prideful hunter, but this statistic explains that there are other motives such as money that can be made from this illegal activity as well. Jones continued to give details on the poacher himself, starting with how many poachers are thought to be active in Georgia. Jones stated that “close to 10 percent of hunters are poachers.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, 769,105 paid hunt licenses were issued in 2021 (Stebbins). If the math is done correctly, that means that there are an estimated 76,000 poachers in Georgia alone. And poaching is an issue that stretches beyond the states of Georgia and Tennessee. An article published in The Moab Times in January 2023 clarified that “a total of 1,153 wild animals were illegally killed in Utah in 2021, and they were valued at more than $610,000” ("Nearly 1300").
When asked what the different types of poachers are, Jones responded with, “We never really classify them. It's just who all breaks a law of game and fish." After thinking for a few seconds, Jones said there are four types of poachers. First is the person who doesn't realize they have broken game and fish laws. Perhaps they have not been notified of recent changes in the law or they haven't taken the time to read the game and fish laws in their area. Jones added a comment that gives context to this kind of poacher: “Intention is not required to charge someone with a game and fish violation.” Second is the true poacher; Jones stated, “Its pride and ego without a doubt. That's a driving factor for the true poacher.” These people poach for the “trophy buck,” the biggest wild game possible, and the glorification of their name. The third type of poacher is the opportunist. Jones described this type of poacher as “if the opportunity is there." "I know the temptations are too much for them," he added. "I don't know that they intended to go out that morning to break the law, but the opportunity presented itself and they gave in." This poacher will shoot a wildlife animal before or after legal shooting light, shoot from a vehicle if they spot an animal on the side of the road, and they will cross into other peoples land to harvest an animal. The fourth and final type of poacher is the serial poacher. This is perhaps the worst poacher and most sought after by wildlife officers like Jones. This poacher has intent behind his poaching. Jones, enraged at just the thought, states, “Its serial poachers you know just can't stop. It's an addiction to them. It's the rush of killing an animal no matter how big or how small; it doesn't matter to them.” These poachers are detrimental to the wildlife population all across the country.
The Concord Veterinary Hospital states that “poaching leads to the depletion of natural resources. Animals are a source of natural beauty and are vital natural resources” ("Why is"). After his last statement, Jones continued to say, “We are allowed to hunt. We have rights to hunt. But it can be taken away.” That's why poaching is an issue to the American who enjoys the wildlife that surrounds us--from hunting, fishing, bird watching, or just the observation of the beautiful wildlife that inhabits the earth. “Each animal that is illegally killed in our state is one less animal for legal hunters, and regular folk to enjoy," Jones said in closing. "Poachers steal that ability to enjoy America's wildlife.” It's our job as stewards of God's creation to protect what the Lord has created. Poaching takes the resource God has given us to respect and diminishes its value from an animal's meat and life, to just a set of antlers that have been taken unethically and illegally. The game and fish laws are designed to sustain the animal population, breaking those rules results in reducing population size and if taken far enough, to extinction. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15
Works Cited
“Nearly 1,300 wild animals killed illegally in 2022; 66 lose hunting, fishing privileges.” The Times Independent, the times independent, 1 December 2023, https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/nearly-1300-wild-animals-killed-illegally-in-2022-66-lose-hunting-fishing-privileges/. Accessed 12 11 2024.
Stebbins, Samuel. “How Many Hunters Georgia Has, and How It Compares to Other States.” The Georgia Virtue, 3 9 2023. Accessed 18 11 2024.
“Why is poaching bad?” ConcordVets, 12 November 2022, https://www.concordvets.com.au/why-poaching-is-bad/. Accessed 20 11 2024.
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