I seen on the news a couple of days ago that the MO Department of Conservation set up a Taxidermy shop in the very small town of Birch Tree MO in the Missouri Ozarks. The area is very rural but Birch Tree was a central location for several counties. I hunt near there.

The sting went on for about 2 years with a conservation agent running the taxidermy shop.

One of the things that shocked me was that there where 432 violations of which 299 where major! That over 1 violation every 2 days on average.

The real shocker was of the game submitted to the shop 62% where either taken illegal, or sold illegally.

I am glad the Conservation is taking this approach along with more traditional methods to get poachers. If they didn't get the idea from another state I am sure others will follow given the success of this sting.

Don't get me wrong some Conservation agents are too gung ho like the ones we get where I live. No one wants this area because there is not as much game as there is in any part of the state so we always get someone that is green right out of school trying to make a name for him or her self. Which is good and bad. I hate getting check several times a year when they are new and once they get to know me they usually don't even bother checking me out.

I say great job MDC and keep it up!!!!

WOW!! thats pretty cool that they did that, and sneaky. Nice job MO!!

It's good to hear about that in Missouri. From what I've seen it's sorely needed, but it's probably needed somewhere in every state.

Year before last I hunted with a friend of mine on his family property near some small town in the middle of no-where in the Ozarks. One night at a little after 10:00 pm a pickup truck with a spotlight on top, two guys and a girl in the cab and another guy standing in the bed of the truck with a rifle drove right by our camper on MY FRIENDS land, pulled into a clearing no more than 75 yards away overlooking a valley and started spotlighting the valley.

My friend and I walked up to them, guns in arm and he asked them what they thought they were doing and I'll never forget the reply that came out of the mouth of the poacher who was driving the truck: "Aw, we'us jus' drivin' 'roun seein' ifn' we couldn't pop us one."

My friend told them to leave and I can only guess that since the score was three guns to one (the third guy in our party was watching from the camper), they left. Then my friend called the MDC and gave them a good description including the license plate of the truck.

It's no wonder we didn't see a single deer on a four day hunt.

WOW chief.. thats ballsy of them!!!!

I don't think it was that really, My personal belief is that they were missing a few chromosomes.

Interesting...

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_15554494

Looked at land there and was turned of by the locals, guess I'm glad I didn't. No way I could police the property and apparently the game wouldn't be there when I wanted it to be unless I went to the local taxidermist to find it.

I hope they set up a few more of those shops. Unfortunately, they would probably be swamped with illegals (hunters) and wouldn't be able to give them the 'service' they really deserve. Nice Job MO Conservation Dept.
BTW, I wonder what "Craig's Taxidermy" charged for their mounts?