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1200 charges against 22 for black market deer operations

2,224 Views | 30 Replies | Last: 1 hr ago by schmellba99
SanAntoneAg
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AG
Ruh-ro!

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20250227b
danieljustin06
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Good!
Sims
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Jail, jail, jail, jail.
Gunny456
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Jail times and fines are too little imho.
HtownAg92
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Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.
CorpsTerd04
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Wow that makes me feel all warm inside. Thank you TPWD and our game wardens.
O.G.
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The State Jail felonies land you in legit TDCJ. The "state jail" title is a bit confusing. Its TDCJ but for felonies that carry a 2 year or less sentence. They are typically for non-violent offenses such as the ones in this charge.

I think given the breadth and depth of this, and needing to set an example, the sentences need to be in the 5-10yr range.
HTownAg98
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HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.

This is the result of a previous case where deer were being illegally transported to Brazoria and Duval Counties. It appears the two people that pleaded guilty ratted out the bigger smuggling ring.
Htownag11
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They should make all of these operations illegal, period.

"Owning", transporting, selling of native wildlife should be banned.
agneck
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Montgomery county. Seems like lots of news about lawbreakers there.
cupofjoe04
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cupofjoe04
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Htownag11 said:

They should make all of these operations illegal, period.

"Owning", transporting, selling of native wildlife should be banned.


Serious question- what about fish in a private pond? Should someone only be allowed to only have non-native species? Any native species must be exclusively in public waters, or in water not entirely bound by private land (i.e. low fence, able to leave your poetry)?
Chetos
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Feelings about breeders aside, I'm curious how many violations they would have, had they got their permits? Seems like a permit/control issue with Tpwd.
CS78
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The big one for me is trapping wild deer. Should carry the same penalties and restitution as if they were poached with a gun. Or worse.

The rest of it reads like a "look at us, we're actually doing something about CWD" event.
CS78
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The fish in a private pond dont belong to the state. And don't have the ability to walk to the neighbors pond.

I do think it should be illegal to have exotics in a private pond since the eggs can travel. It's sad what's happened to the ecosystems in south Florida, from all the idiots and their exotics.
Gunny456
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Interesting observation cupo. Fish used to stock private lakes and ponds come from privately owned hatcheries that use native game fish for proliferation….. and there have been examples of diseases manifesting in hatchery fish.
Private hatcheries also were involved in the breeding of native fish to develop some of the hybrids we enjoy fishing for today.
You can take it further to private game bird farms that raise birds for food sources, live birds for hunts, live birds for dog training, etc.
There is also a large avian business in the U.S. at pet stores of parrots, parakeets, canaries, doves, cockatiels, cockatoos, songbirds etc…. that all came from wildlife populations.
And… you could even stretch it to include examples to our domestic turkeys and chickens, hogs…..just about every private owned domesticated livestock…..that all were at one time derived from wild populations.
Interestingly all of those above have seen diseases proliferate within their groups that could have had dire results to the various species as well.
Heck I knew of a couple of places in Texas and Oklahoma that captured and raised coyotes and have very detailed electric high fences to contain them to have dog trailing hunting for them. One was within 30 minutes of CS. The other was west of McAllister Ok.
It's all a very emotional and contested topic for sure.
Gunny456
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Agree with your thoughts above….But the fish in that pond was either from original wild populations that hatcheries used or that birds have brought in naturally.
And if that pond fills up and goes over the spillway the fish can end up in a public stream or river or neighbor's pond.
And if you have followed some events this past four years our federal gov. (EPA) feels that water in those private ponds belongs to the gov. as well.
HTownAg98
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agneck said:

Montgomery county. Seems like lots of news about lawbreakers there.

They were stopped in Montgomery County. Based on the scant news available about this, it appears they were coming from somewhere in eastern Texas and got pulled over in Montgomery County.
Gunny456
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Some shady things from East Texas? Fake news.
Martin Cash
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HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.
You mean a little extra doe? Pun intended.
schmellba99
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HTownAg98 said:

HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.

This is the result of a previous case where deer were being illegally transported to Brazoria and Duval Counties. It appears the two people that pleaded guilty ratted out the bigger smuggling ring.
Now you have my attention. Any information on this case?
schmellba99
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Htownag11 said:

They should make all of these operations illegal, period.

"Owning", transporting, selling of native wildlife should be banned.
This one I'm not against, so long as it's in a pretty specific set of circumstances.

Example - a neighborhood has a sht ton of deer. They are wild, but not really. But the population has gotten to the point that there is a legit danger driving through the neighborhood because of the sheer number of deer and their lack of fear of humans or cars.

I have no issue with a trapping program set up to trap X number or percentage of that population and transport them to a place that has native habitat for them.
O.G.
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schmellba99 said:

Htownag11 said:

They should make all of these operations illegal, period.

"Owning", transporting, selling of native wildlife should be banned.
This one I'm not against, so long as it's in a pretty specific set of circumstances.

Example - a neighborhood has a sht ton of deer. They are wild, but not really. But the population has gotten to the point that there is a legit danger driving through the neighborhood because of the sheer number of deer and their lack of fear of humans or cars.

I have no issue with a trapping program set up to trap X number or percentage of that population and transport them to a place that has native habitat for them.
They do this in Sun City, near Georgetown, quite a bit. The deer there are almost pets.
HtownAg92
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Martin Cash said:

HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.
You mean a little extra doe? Pun intended.
I would fawn over your comment, but I'm in a bit of a rut.
maroon barchetta
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schmellba99 said:

HTownAg98 said:

HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.

This is the result of a previous case where deer were being illegally transported to Brazoria and Duval Counties. It appears the two people that pleaded guilty ratted out the bigger smuggling ring.
Now you have my attention. Any information on this case?


Yeah, I'm interested too.

Got a couple of high school classmates that advertise canned hunts on their Facebook pages. Hope it's not either of them.
1990Hullaballoo
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HtownAg92 said:

Martin Cash said:

HtownAg92 said:

Interested to see what counties and ranches were involved. I come from a county with several trophy hunting ranches. I know some of the guys that run them and wouldn't think they would be involved in the ring, but I can see some of the hands doing things off the books for extra bucks. No pun intended.
You mean a little extra doe? Pun intended.
I would fawn over your comment, but I'm in a bit of a rut.
I hate to horn in on y'all's puns, but too many bucks rub me the wrong way.
schmellba99
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O.G. said:

schmellba99 said:

Htownag11 said:

They should make all of these operations illegal, period.

"Owning", transporting, selling of native wildlife should be banned.
This one I'm not against, so long as it's in a pretty specific set of circumstances.

Example - a neighborhood has a sht ton of deer. They are wild, but not really. But the population has gotten to the point that there is a legit danger driving through the neighborhood because of the sheer number of deer and their lack of fear of humans or cars.

I have no issue with a trapping program set up to trap X number or percentage of that population and transport them to a place that has native habitat for them.
They do this in Sun City, near Georgetown, quite a bit. The deer there are almost pets.
We need it in my neighborhood right now. But TPWD has pretty much made it impossible anymore to get transportation permits for native deer.
SteveBott
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They have had trapping vs kill in Lakeway for 30 years. I lived there in the early 90s and you have to drive 10-15 MPH to avoid herds of deer. They were like rabbits out there.
maroon barchetta
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SteveBott said:

They have had trapping vs kill in Lakeway for 30 years. I lived there in the early 90s and you have to drive 10-15 MPH to avoid herds of deer. They were like rabbits out there.


My aunt and uncle lived on Fort Clark in Bracketville for 30 years. It's a good thing a lot of people drive golf carts on the fort because they don't go very fast compared to a car or truck.

The deer are thick down there.
SanAntoneAg
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The issue with trapping deer is finding a suitable place to relocate them. Specifically, a relocation site that is not already at or above carrying capacity for WTD.
schmellba99
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SanAntoneAg said:

The issue with trapping deer is finding a suitable place to relocate them. Specifically, a relocation site that is not already at or above carrying capacity for WTD.
The good news is that I have such a place
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