[comrade1234]

Hate to say it but poaching deer is a long tradition in Wisconsin. I had a relative on the u of mn Duluth football team and they'd get protein from poached deer. But yes, in the last decades the dnr has been nore and more effective.

[fryz]

FWIW, not saying it's right (as a hunter I wouldn't ever do this myself), but most of the biologists that build the population models, inc. the ones that they use to set the amount of hunting licenses or tags sold, build a certain amount of poaching into their models.

It's a particularly hard problem to solve - the hobby is usually spread through traditional means (you do it if your parents did it), and going all the way back in certain communities this was the main way to get meat, even before it became regulated. It's difficult to stop something that not only puts food on the table for your family, but has been done that way for generations.

This was one of the main contributors to the decline of the turkey population in the lower 48. In the early 1900's, a lot of folks thought turkey's were extinct because of over hunting and poaching, and the National Wild Turkey Foundation took efforts to restore the population for hunting.

[comrade1234]

> In the early 1900's, a lot of folks thought turkey's were extinct because of over hunting and poaching, and the National Wild Turkey Foundation took efforts to restore the population for hunting.

Well they've definitely recovered in NW Wisconsin. Theyre everywhere and the males won't even move out of the way of cars.

[fryz]

yeah - it's one of the best success stories of wildlife conservation in the modern era.

[0cf8612b2e1e]

If you live in the right area, hunters will give you as much venison as you can freeze. No poaching required.

[comrade1234]

I have property in NW Wisconsin and this is true. Also bear, which are hunted with dogs in this area. It's hard to understand - it seems a lot of middle-class and higher income people that hunt don't particularly like venison/bear/goose/etc and so they give it away. They just like to kill. (But I like to eat all of those and I have hunted but no longer do because everyone gives me their meat)

But the lower-income people I talk to do hunt for food and get enough meat to last the year.

[lawlessone]

tried both, (not bear of course) thought they tasted nice. Not sure why people wouldn't eat it if its there.

[qualeed]

>the dnr has been nore and more effective

What is "dnr"? I tried googling, but I just get "do not resuscitate".

[yostrovs]

It's also important to note that in the US, agencies like DNR (some states have different names for them) have extraordinary police powers that allow them to enter property if they suspect a violation. In similar situations, police officers would be required to get a warrant from a judge, but the DNR can just go in.

[comrade1234]

Department of natural resources. They monitor hunters, fishing, etc. They've been using deer mannequins for decades to catch poachers and they're getting more sophisticated now with internal heat sources in order to handle poachers with night vision.

[throwaway81523]

Interesting. I am under the impression that regular hunting with night vision is banned. I can understand that it's no longer a sport if yo do enough stuff like that. Next would be armed drones.

[qualeed]

Thanks! I figured it was something along those lines, but couldn't find the actual words to go with the acronym.

[rescripting]

Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/

[qualeed]

Ah, makes sense, thanks!

[comrade1234]

In this case Wisconsin.