Poachers

[Coxy383]

So I get that you walk onto others property to hunt the fringes because you can't do it any other way. But why the FXXK would you cut the head off and throw it into a dam where cattle and dogs and alot of wild life get their water. Makes me so mad.

[bigrich]

My opinion of poachers is unprintable. They ruin farmers opinions of hunting, have absolutely no respect for anyone . The waste of meat as well as polluting the water in your pics proves what utter f@ckwitts these clowns are

[Die Judicii]

To the OP,
I hate poachers with a passion and I don't think ANYBODY can understand nor condone some of the weird things they do.
However,,,,,,,,,,,,
Praps you could expand on what you say ?, "So I get that you walk onto others property to hunt the fringes because you can't do it any other way."

Or would that come under a seperate heading like "Tresspassers"

[Coxy383]

To the OP,
I hate poachers with a passion and I don't think ANYBODY can understand nor condone some of the weird things they do.
However,,,,,,,,,,,,
Praps you could expand on what you say ?, "So I get that you walk onto others property to hunt the fringes because you can't do it any other way."

Or would that come under a seperate heading like "Tresspassers"

It just means they don't have the skill to stalk an animal in the bush so they just poach deer of the fringes of paddocks that they can walk to from 4WD tracks . When I shoot them it's not hunting it's harvesting. Very easy to fill the freezer around here.

[deye243]

Strange this came up now as one of my my mates gates was left open last Friday night and a heap of cows got out and 3 were hit and now he is facing 10s of thousands of dollars in damages I swear people drive with their eyes shut bloody morons.
All boundary gates have chain and locks now but that won't stop a battery angle grinder.

[Coxy383]

Strange this came up now as one of my my mates gates was left open last Friday night and a heap of cows got out and 3 were hit and now he is facing 10s of thousands of dollars in damages I swear people drive with their eyes shut bloody morons.
All boundary gates have chain and locks now but that won't stop a battery angle grinder.

I'm in the upper Murry right up the Murray River with unlimited forests around. Poachers every weekend.

[Oldbloke]

Poaching & trespassing is out of control in Vic. Illegal use of spotlight and NV gear is now becoming the norm.

The cop isn't on the beat. Gov just takes the game license $ and tosses it into a big bucket.

[deye243]

Poaching & trespassing is out of control in Vic. Illegal use of spotlight and NV gear is now becoming the norm.

The cop isn't on the beat. Gov just takes the game license $ and tosses it into a big bucket.

Absolutely talk to the farmers around here and they can see a direct correlation with all this thermal and night vision gear (which incidentally I've just got into for the first time ) and poaching rising to unprecedented levels

[Oldbloke]

And to add insult, game licences are about to rise.

[bladeracer]

A mate gave me some trailcam pics of three people trespassing through his property with rifles earlier this year. No public land in the area, his house is on the property, and as he's been putting in hundreds of seedlings his planting equipment is in the paddocks under tarps, from which they helped themselves to his tools. They very clearly know they should not be in there. He is not aware of any actual shooting on his or his neighbours' properties but he reported them to Police, who said they can't do anything unless he can identify them. I took the pics to some dealers in the area and said that if they know them I don't expect them to dob them in to me, but to let them know that they are on film, have been reported to Police, and need to stop it. I haven't heard of any further issues so hopefully the message trickled down to them and they're now trespassing on somebody else's property.

[Wapiti]

And to add insult, game licences are about to rise.

Not sure what you mean there.

[Wapiti]

Happens here all the time.
We have two kinds, the worst are the invitees coming out to a place bordering our joint, that's owned by a attention-seeking construction worker as his weekender, when everyone's out on R&R (the blokes he shares his room key with for the wet mess... some will know what I mean) the place has up to 10+ SxS's and quads everywhere, even up and down the roads. All shooting, all with no respect for others properties. We've had a red stag shot from over the fence, and I've recently found two spots where the new exclusion fence has numerous wires shot through from bullets coming into our place. Spotlighting off the roads... other neighbours have been tailgated with spotlights in their back windows by these tough guys intimidating them when they come back from a meal in town. And more.
This is disrespect, that is the word I was taught the meaning of when I was in my teens and 20's in another life, and I will wait for the opportunity to show what this means.
The other problem shooters are the pro's, they just shoot off the roads in between the properties they have the permission to take roos and deer off by spotlight, and will road-run wherever they feel like it. They will threaten the older property owners if caught, "say anything to the cops and we'll drop a few matches upwind",and will just do whatever they want.
The local police do nothing, they are just as bad, and I will not write here what they get up to. Boy, I thought the movies about corrupt cops was BS back when I was naive.
If you call them, we've all been told " They're just having fun, have they shot anything of yours? Well then, there's no problem" "If they do, call us then and we'll see" But even if you have your farmhouse lit up by a spotlighter from the road and shots fired around your sheds, nothing is ever done. So we've taken to calling one another and going out ourselves to see if we can discourage the activity.

So needless to say, most places around here have completely stopped letting anyone on anymore. No, it's not right, but this, and the liability issue of being sued if anyone is hurt undertaking leisure activities, particularly shooting, is not doing genuine hunters any favours. But when it's happening to you, the dark thoughts that go through your mind are completely understandable.

[bladeracer]

We have public land here in Vic for hunting, and if you want to hunt game species - deer, duck, quail - you need a game licence, the cost of this licence is slated to rise. If you only want to hunt pest species - rabbit, fox, pig, goat, etc - there is no licence, permit or fee.

And to add insult, game licences are about to rise.

Not sure what you mean there.

[Oldbloke]

And to add insult, game licences are about to rise.

Not sure what you mean there.

The licence fees were meant to go towards management of game and policing the regulations.

Clearly it isn't being spent to do that.

[mickb]

get used to it all fellas. Price of living goes up, so does poaching and crime. History 101. Also most the population on pills prescription or otherwise, too many folks have lost their ability to reason.

[deye243]

And to add insult, game licences are about to rise.

Not sure what you mean there.

The licence fees were meant to go towards management of game and policing the regulations.

Clearly it isn't being spent to do that.

Consolidated revenue .
NOT US

[Oldbloke]

Yep

[Jorlcrin]

We get 2 types of poachers:-
1). The roo-shooters in transit(as others mentioned) on the main road to their registered property, and cant resist shooting their way to their property.
2). The 'Piggin' lads, who are out for a weekend thrill.

The Poachers tend to come in waves/phases in this area(Outback QLD).
I remember periods when they were doing it; 45 years ago.

The Roo-Shooters tend to be the easiest to do something about; a quiet word to our own Roo-Shooter to get the message out that the poachers' actions have attracted our attention.
Most Roo-Shooters get a bit more respectful, when the supplementary income is threatened by the possibility of their harvesting license being torn up.
I sometime also ring the properties the poachers shoot on, to advise them.
[This only really works when you know most of the people involved..]
One persistent soul, we contacted the Game-Meat Harvesting Crew, who explained the facts of life and licensing to this young gent, and he pulled his head in.
When the gent tries to explain there's no harm in shooting from a main road(illegal) through country he's not authorized to shoot on(illegal), it's hard to stay calm, but they get wide-eyed when you start taking their rego details down, and take photos..

The Piggers tend to be a bit less caring, and often run all the back roads during a weekend, as well as drink a lot of beers..

Road-Running 'Piggers' have been an issue in past years; usually hunting pigs with dogs(no firearms, which makes the police even MORE reluctant).
One problem/repeat Pigger had 'sanction' because the gent responsible was a beer-drinking buddy of his towns Senior Policeman.
Came to a screaming halt when the videos of the 'Piggin' sessions surfaced on Facebook(massive animal-welfare breaches), and around the same time, the Copper was fronting court on handling stolen firearms.
And then a drug charge for the gent as well, so it all died a natural death.

Been quiet for a few years, but have a suspicion that it's ramping up again.

Law enforcement goes through phases of doing something about it.
At present, local Law Enforcement seems to be keen on only working 9-5, so highly unlikely they are going to be out and about whenever the poachers are operating.
But I DO know that some of our (old-school) local coppers are doing behind-the-scenes work at reducing this sort of behavior.
One local copper had a quiet word with a local lad a few months back, and explained the logical progression if this lad continued his Phukwittery.
But coppers like this are becoming more and more rare; most 'police' these days are simply 'Bureaucrats with guns'..

About the only thing in our favor, is that the flat, open country means spotlights are seen a LONG way away, and people take note of them operating.
A legitimate shooter becomes obvious pretty quick; as does someone who's trying to stay stealthy.
Also, the limited number of places where the shire roads return to a town, has meant the odd Pigger has encountered the local copper waiting their return, which tends to require quite a LOT of explaining.

Apparently, I accidentally spooked the local shooters a few months back, when I had a trail-cam mounted on a 'Give-Way' sign, near a Tee-intersection on a shire road.
The local council crew(many of the younger ones shoot roos on weekends) were doing some road-works, and had their stockpile up that road, so plenty of pics of the council crew in transit each day.
Around a week into the job, one of the council crew saw the camera, and rumours ran high that we were monitoring their work...
Yeah....Like I have THAT MUCH time on my hands!
[I was looking for dogs, as we'd found tracks a day after rain, but the rumour didnt hurt to tell everyone that they were being watched.]

[mickb]

law enforcement has had their objectives re arranged the last couple of years. Family in the cops said more funding/time allocation to mental health and DVO callouts and other certain areas, buggar all manning being allocated to burglary, violent crime, trespass, and malefactors like the above. The current situation with all the youth crime in the suburbs is also part of that result.

[Wapiti]

Whatever the reasons, there is no excuse.
Extra hunting fees or restrictions to available public land, whatever, might cause poaching, but only in disrespectful, low IQ self-entitled grubs.
Lack of access is also used as an excuse, but it's the illegal activity that's usually caused this anyway. So the poachers just prove the restrictions right in the eyes of those copping stock losses, fences cut and gear stolen. Very often, these things are connected and done by the same scum.
We will NOT get used to it, and every incident brings the results closer to someone getting a BIG lesson.
They are just lucky that the ineffective, town-centric law enforcement are there to protect them from the decent people sick of rural crime and disrespect.

In the past I've had calls from neighbours and gone out with mates to confront these scumbags, and even got into physical altercations when it's been started by someone else, which sometimes is the unwanted inevitable result and I'm not doing that anymore for anyone else. One even ended in a case where people came back to our farm with firearms and threatened us with them, well this came very close to a very bad decision on their part if they'd come through the gate. Other vehicles have been shot by frustrated landowners sick of legal inaction, and shooters have been chased with the intended result being to run them into trees at speed, as the only way to solve their continued illegal activities. Oh, the police come out fast then, because people are being driven to do things that are about to get out of hand due to their inaction.
It's all because of repeated, ongoing illegal activity and nothing being done about it, whatever the excuse.

Talking to our local political representative about the ever-increasing firearms laws and coming restrictions and how I want more done about this and fight back more, got me some eye-opening info that I'm not happy with... that the overwhelming local opinions is that the more restrictions put on city and town gun-owners is the only way to pull this up, so who cares about firearm owners who aren't farmers.
Talking to my local neighbours, no matter how far and wide, is that when they see a vehicle that's obviously weekenders coming out to a property near them for a weekend of leisure, they only see potential criminals and unwanted interlopers.
This is a big shame, and one that unless addressed ensures that rural people will quickly distance themselves from outsiders, particularly ones that want to use firearms outside of a rifle range. Is this what everyone wants?
This is the inevitable result, completely against what I think is reasonable, and requires a combined push from everybody including organisations like SSAA, Shooters Union and our farming orgs, but I hear nothing other than denial from the gun orgs, head in the sand.

People say, there's always bad apples.

[Coxy383]

get used to it all fellas. Price of living goes up, so does poaching and crime. History 101. Also most the population on pills prescription or otherwise, too many folks have lost their ability to reason.

These idiots aren't out trying to feed their families

[Oldbloke]

Said it a million times.

It's the 10% that fuk it for everyone.

[Beno]

An effective but probably unpopular option is to attempt to heavily reduce pest populations in your area. When the pests dry up so do most of the poacher/sh!tbag types. I’ve seen and contributed to something just like it. The word quickly spreads around town and the buggers go elsewhere. Although it’s easier said than done in many areas.

[deye243]

An effective but probably unpopular option is to attempt to heavily reduce pest populations in your area. When the pests dry up so do most of the poacher/sh!tbag types. I’ve seen and contributed to something just like it. The word quickly spreads around town and the buggers go elsewhere. Although it’s easier said than done in many areas.

Seen that around here in the 90s drought it went for 14 years and the c*** started shooting stock and road signs

[Oldbloke]

An effective but probably unpopular option is to attempt to heavily reduce pest populations in your area. When the pests dry up so do most of the poacher/sh!tbag types. I’ve seen and contributed to something just like it. The word quickly spreads around town and the buggers go elsewhere. Although it’s easier said than done in many areas.

Seen that around here in the 90s drought it went for 14 years and the c*** started shooting stock and road signs

FMD

[Wapiti]

An effective but probably unpopular option is to attempt to heavily reduce pest populations in your area. When the pests dry up so do most of the poacher/sh!tbag types. I’ve seen and contributed to something just like it. The word quickly spreads around town and the buggers go elsewhere. Although it’s easier said than done in many areas.

Mate, they shoot anything, but that's no excuse whatsoever.
Most graziers don't mind native animals getting around the place if numbers are managed, but these freaks would shoot the last Tasmanian Tiger in existence to please their own micro-appendage failures somewhat. It's f'ing illegal, immoral, disrespectful and is completely ruining the potential hunter/landowner relationships for the future.
I breed some exotic animals for my wife and my own pleasure, and breeding excellent animals costs $1000's x many times in feed, genetics and years of anguish, worry and care, just like our stud cattle. I shouldn't have to be concerned about some moronic trash that dream up some fantasy justification for them killing my animals.
Mentally ill low-IQ retards think that they are entitled to do whatever they want and just take shots wherever they want, we even have had warnings that scum are commenting on our animals in the town pubs and are planning trips out to shoot them. It has happened before, and I am waiting.

A mate down south that has commercial Reds and has been trying to breed a viable Elk herd has had almost all of his super expensive breeding stock shot inside his place and holes dug under his 2m fences to drag them out. He and his neighbour has dug a trench with the excavator near where they sneak in and it isn't deer they're planning to put in it and have made it known too, for potential applicants to stump up and test if they're kidding. Unfortunately the law says that's not cricket.

I will bow out of this discussion now I'm sure I've put my point across.

[Oldbloke]

And here lies part of the problem.

"From 1 July until 30 September, GMA received 70 “information reports” and conducted 33 investigations into matters relating to illegal hunting in Victoria."

https://sportingshooter.com.au/news/gma ... ead%20More

[Billo]

Around where I thermal it's the Friday nite when the local boys fire up, they do the run around the border of the state forest that they are legally allowed to do but more often than not they end up on the land I have access too. Has been that way since dogging took off 20 years ago

[Coxy383]

Around where I thermal it's the Friday nite when the local boys fire up, they do the run around the border of the state forest that they are legally allowed to do but more often than not they end up on the land I have access too. Has been that way since dogging took off 20 years ago

I've started doing late afternoon target practice on Friday afternoons lol. Putting 40 though the 308 seems to keep the deer hidden for a few days lol

[mickb]

get used to it all fellas. Price of living goes up, so does poaching and crime. History 101. Also most the population on pills prescription or otherwise, too many folks have lost their ability to reason.

These idiots aren't out trying to feed their families

Thats why I said Poachers 'and' crime. Poachers are usually smarter than the above louts certainly