Tasmanians arrested for poaching elk in Idaho! (Updated)

Trio of alleged poachers will have to make a high bail-

Tasmanians? !! They are thought to have been doing this kind of thing for some time. It’s just that the elk incident got them arrested. More charges might follow.

Down under poaching suspects arrested, jailed.” By Evin Oneale. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game

– – – – – Update

Andrew Darby in Hobart, Tasmania has done some investigating of his own and has an expanded story on the 3 men. Rocky mountain low: hunters confined to Idaho on poaching charges


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  1. JEFF E Avatar
    JEFF E

    I think this happens far more than is realized. For example I have read that as many as 30,000 black bears a year nationwide are killed just for their gall-bladders to be sold for traditional oriental medicine.

  2. Smiley R Avatar
    Smiley R

    For those of you who think “they have been doing this for sometime” – this is first trip for 2 of them! Get your facts straight before spreading bulls–t!

    1. Ralph Maughan Avatar
      Ralph Maughan

      Smiley R,

      Read the Idaho Fish and Game news release. I have inserted it into the story to replace the story as written in the Idaho Statesman. Perhaps I should have written “very busy while in Idaho.” And, of course, they are formally innocent until they plead guilty or are proven guilty.

      “Eleven charges have been filed against the men, with a combined bond set at $165,000.” That is one of the biggest bonds and largest number of charges I have seen for some time.

    2. JEFF E Avatar
      JEFF E

      and hopefully, after due process, several years in prison and hefty fines it will be there last time here…..scumbags.

      1. Ralph Maughan Avatar
        Ralph Maughan

        I see one of the accused had been in Idaho long enough to learn to make a fake claim of a wolf attack on his person and pretend he was being charged with elk violations because he said he had killed a wolf without a tag in self defense.

        I have to wonder if there were some American partners in on this ill bound hunting trip?

        1. Paul Avatar
          Paul

          Well the “scared wolf killin’ granny” was hailed as a hero for doing the same thing, so I am sure that these guys caught on real fast what excuse to use if caught. I saw nothing about the wolf poaching in the IDFG press release. Of course this is Idaho we are talking about so I doubt if they would even charge a wolf poacher. They will probably give them a medal and have a front page story proclaiming them as “heroes” for killing a big bad Canadian Wolf.

          1. william huard Avatar
            william huard

            Don’t you get the impression these poachers feel as if they didn’t do anything wrong? This 18 year old punk is a liar. The wolf was going to kill him……

          2. Immer Treue Avatar
            Immer Treue

            “scared wolf killin granny”

            Dressed in cammo, using a cow call, probably wreaking of cow scent, got a wolf by itself. Case of curiosity killed the wolf. Probably by the time the wolf realized it’s mistake, too late.

            She did nothing wrong, had her tag, and bagged her wolf. This garbage that the wolf was coming to eat her is pure BS.

      2. JEFF E Avatar
        JEFF E

        Funny none of the listed charges say anything about a wolf being killed.

        Methinks this person is full of bovine feces

  3. IDhiker Avatar
    IDhiker

    Frankly, I don’t believe any of these, “The wolf was going to kill me,” stories. Last month I spent 11 days in the Frank Church doing an archaeological survey with my two dogs. I saw my 18th Idaho wolf of the last several years, had a pack howling near camp at 1:30 am, and heard howling two more times in mid-day. Never did any wolves bother me or the dogs, which left their scent all over the place. Perhaps if people panic when a wolf is close, they might imagine it is attacking, but, in this case I doubt that’s what happened.

    1. Ralph Maughan Avatar
      Ralph Maughan

      I’ve said it before, but will again. In Idaho, MT, or Wyoming I believe there are no cases of people who are neutral or like wolves who claim to have been nearly attacked by a wolf.

      All the the so-called near attacks come from those already against wolves. Maybe wolves menace people they feel don’t like them, but we all can think of a much more likely explanation.

      1. Immer Treue Avatar
        Immer Treue

        Ralph,

        I whole heartedly agree with your statement. It is beyond imagination that those of us who have actively searched for wolves, those who’s job it is to track/trap/collar wolves, or those with an open mind to wild areas never have a “bad” experience with wolves. My dog and I shared a frozen lake with a pack of 8 wolves for the greater part of three days. The wolves most cetainly knew of our presence as they looked directly at me from as short as 50 meters away.

        I’ve also said before, that with the many times we have all been in wilderness areas and not observed wolves/ bears and other predators, it would be utterly clueless to think that that aforementioned animals do not observe us; and they leave us alone.

        That said, wolves require respect as wild animals. Too many people lose their dogs to wolves because they have their dogs in situations where they have no control over their pets/working animals.

  4. nicolsonjack1 Avatar
    nicolsonjack1

    i am from tasmania and i hope they throw the book at them. giving the rest of us a bad name. a bit of jail time might give them enough time to think what they have done.

    1. Jay Avatar
      Jay

      I don’t think anybody will hold Tasmania in a negative light for what a handful of dirtbag losers do…scumbags come from all walks of life and all countries (we have our fair share too).

      1. JEFF E Avatar
        JEFF E

        I agree with Jay, this is about what they did (allegedly) not where they are from. One news account I read said they often traveled internationally to “pursue their sport”

        Might want to start looking into that a little bit.

      2. JB Avatar
        JB

        “I don’t think anybody will hold [HUNTERS] in a negative light for what a handful of dirtbag losers do…”

        I agree. No one in their right mind would be so bold as to take the negative actions of a few individuals and ascribe them to an entire group of people! 😉

        Sorry, Jay. After all of the recent banter I simply couldn’t resist! 🙂

        1. Jay Avatar
          Jay

          Damn hunters!

  5. C Avatar
    C

    Having lived in Tasmania now for over 20 years all I can say is that Idaho authorities are quite welcome to keep these guys for a while. Tasmania is a beautiful place, but full of retards just like this. Shoot anything that moves, brag to your mates about it, and show zero respect to authorities. Looks like hunting laws are taken just a bit more seriously in America hey? I agree, throw the book at them.

  6. Paul Toohey Avatar
    Paul Toohey

    I am the US Correspondent for Australia’s News Ltd newspapers (based in NYC) and am going to Idaho to look at this. Anyone with expertise on hunting/wilderness in that area, please feel free to contact me. Paul Toohey [+1] 917 5485280 ptoohey63@gmail.com

Author

Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.

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