How To Report Texas Poachers: Operation Game Thief Video Lecture | Hunter Education: Becoming an Expert Hunter - Hobbies

Narrator: Missouri game laws, seasons,
and bag limits
govern the harvesting of game animals
to assure equal harvest opportunity today
and continued abundance tomorrow.
The vast majority of Missouri hunters, anglers,
and trappers abide
by and support these laws.
Mike: Most of the contacts out in the field are very cordial.
People are glad to see us out here.
You sit and visit with them.
It’s a way for them to get their questions answered
on different regulations.
Narrator: For those who poach, law abiding citizens
and
conservation agents come together to stop them.
Operation Game Thief, also known as OGT,
is Missouri's anti-poaching program.
Dennis: The Operation Game Thief program
was started in the early eighties.
It was a joint program between the Department of Conservation
and the Conservation Federation of Missouri,
which is a private organization.
A very good partnership over the years.
Lots of arrests made.
Narrator: OGT works by providing a state-wide,
toll-free hotline, reward incentives,
and a better public understanding of poaching
and how to recognize and report violators.
Jones: Operation Game Thief is a way for
civilians
to give us a call and remain anonymous.
Our main goal is to protect the fish and wildlife,
the
forests and resources in the State of Missouri.
It’s cheating, no doubt about it.
I mean, putting a spotlight on a deer and shooting it
while
it’s just standing there at night is not fair.
And it takes away from everybody else
that wants
to do the right thing.
Heisler: Operation Game Thief is a valuable tool
not
only to agents, but as citizens as well.
We have several calls, they want to know
- from the
public - what can they do to help.
Narrator: Should you see anyone you think
might be poaching, try to remember:
the number of individuals, sex, age, and race, clothing,
make and
color of vehicle, and license number if possible.
Tips received through OGT that lead to arrest
qualify for a cash reward.
Heisler: A lot of people don’t even want their reward.
It makes us like a team and it’s a team effort
not
only amongst the people, but the agents as well.
And if we’re all team players,
we’re going to
put some of the bad guys away.