Wildlife Decoys Used to Catch Poachers

Is that a deer lurking in the shadows, or is it a stuffed animal set up to catch unethical hunters in the act of poaching? As the general deer season opens, Idaho Fish and Game enforcement officers will be setting up decoy deer - known as an Artificially Simulated Animal - to catch would-be poachers. Wildlife decoys were first used by game wardens in Wisconsin in the 1940s, and they have been used by other wildlife agencies across North America ever since. They have been readily accepted by the courts as a legitimate tool for wildlife law enforcement officers. Across Idaho decoys are used throughout the year, in a variety of situations. Just recently, two Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers caught a night-hunter with a decoy-deer. Officers Brandon Chamberlin and Blake Phillips had set up their decoy in the Southeast Region when a vehicle pulled up at around 10 p.m. The driver aimed his headlights at what he thought was a deer and shot an arrow at it. The two officers found that he did not have a valid deer tag, and he was using illegal barbed broadheads on his arrows. The shooter had a controlled hunt deer tag for a unit that doesn't open until December 1. He was cited for hunting with artificial light and for hunting without a tag. The use of decoys has many benefits, but most important is that they reduce the number of live animals lost to poachers. The aim of decoys is to discourage shooting game animals before a season opens or after it is closed, after legal shooting hours, or on private property or other land closed to hunting, hunting with an artificial light, or shooting from or across a public road.