Malcolm Thompson III Outdoors: Be safe and help the fight against poachers Posted On: Sunday, Oct. 26 2008 05:52 AM More often than not, if you talk to a rural property owner about deer hunting, eventually the "P" word will be mentioned.

I'm talking about poaching.

Most folks would argue that the wild deer herds in our state belong to all Texans. Hunting laws attempt to ensure that there will be a healthy, sustainable population for the future.

Sometimes poaching is a crime of opportunity. A hunter may not have set out with intent to do anything illegal. Frustration or temptation causes an otherwise law-abiding person to commit an illegal act. In other cases, poaching is part of a premeditated campaign by individuals operating alone or in groups to take trophy bucks, regardless of the law.

Hunting at night from a vehicle on a roadway is one method of poaching in particular that poses significant dangers to others. In order to stay undetected, poachers who night hunt from roadways typically will operate without lights. Add in the element of firearms and the situation is potentially even more dangerous for other people who might happen to be in the area.

There are other threats to the general deer population in Texas. If you hunt deer, you probably already know that many landowners go to great lengths to improve the quality of their deer herds. They often invest lots of money and energy toward habitat improvement and employ the latest techniques in resource management. The vast majority are ethical, law-abiding folks. Many of them offer deer hunting leases as another revenue source to supplement their farming and ranching operations.

Unfortunately, the pressure and desire to have the biggest bucks also sometimes has a dark side. Sometimes bucks are purchased illegally from unpermitted facilities. I had the chance recently to visit with Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, Capt. Kevin Davis, about a case that occurred just last week when game wardens arrested three men near Goldthwaite in Mills County for illegally transporting white-tailed deer.

In most cases of this type, the deer involved are often superior specimens because they are intensively managed at special facilities. Large amounts of money can change hands. Obviously, this is the real driving force behind this activity. In this particular instance, deer were transported across state lines into Texas. Criminal charges are currently pending in this case.

TPWD hopes to stop any potential disease threat from being introduced into our resident deer population from out of state sources by making it illegal to transport these deer across state lines into Texas. There are legal breeding facilities within Texas that are permitted by TPWD. Landowners can acquire bucks to add new genetic material into their herds from these operations.

I also spoke to Davis about some common mistakes the typical hunter sometimes makes with regard to hunting regulations. One item he specifically mentioned was hunters failing to fill out the harvest log on the back of their hunting license. This should be done when the deer is harvested along with all other appropriate tags.

We also discussed the Texas Hunter Safety Course. An approved course is mandatory for all hunters born after Sept. 2, 1971. He also recommended the course for all hunters, even if you are exempt from the legal requirement. Just about everyone I have talked to that has taken the course tells me that they enjoyed it, and they learned something new, even if they have been around hunting for a while. You can find out more information about the course by visiting the hunting and wildlife section of the TPWD Web site at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/

I asked Davis what we all could do to help in the fight against poaching and other wildlife crimes. He told me about Operation Game Thief. This is a privately funded version of the familiar Crime Stoppers Program that is designed to offer potential cash rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of individuals committing wildlife crime. Callers can remain anonymous. The phone number to report a wildlife crime is 1-800-792-GAME (4263).

It's a beautiful time of the year to enjoy the great outdoors. Please be safe and enjoy!