Poachers Beware

Some meat hunters who spotlight deer and elk at night and those who shoot turkeys, grouse and other birds from their vehicles will get what they deserve this fall in North Idaho.

Phil Cooper of the Coeur d’Alene office of the Idaho Fish and Game Department said that conservation officers will use replicas of several animals and game birds to catch persons who violate laws.

The replicas, called “artificially simulated animals” by the department, will be placed in areas where violations have been a problem. The officers then will hide nearby and arrest poachers who shoot at the dummies.

Laws in Idaho and Washington prohibit shooting from a vehicle or from a roadway.

This style of opportunistic poaching is extremely dangerous to people and livestock, Cooper said.

“Such behavior is harmful to the relationship between landowners and true sportsmen,” he said.

, DataTimes