Years ago, I traveled to a location where someone had illegally killed a buffalo, cut off its head with a chainsaw and left the rest of the animal behind.
It was one of the most disturbing wildlife crimes I have encountered, but unfortunately it was far from the only one.
As a hunter and lifelong wildlife conservationist, I believe an important distinction needs to be made whenever stories like this are told: Poaching is not hunting.
Legal, ethical hunting operates within seasons, regulations and conservation systems designed to manage wildlife populations. Poaching is the illegal taking of wildlife. The two should never be confused.
Hear the Full Story on Dark Outdoors®
I recently explored the buffalo case and several other disturbing wildlife crimes I’ve encountered or investigated in an episode of Dark Outdoors®.
Listen: “He Beheaded the Buffalo With a Chainsaw”
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/he-beheaded-the-buffalo-with-a-chainsaw/id1630809603
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4SG6LVStcRBMSyRKn54uMQ?si=39034865b8234bbf
The episode examines not only the buffalo case but also other examples of poaching and wildlife trafficking, including crimes that demonstrate just how serious—and sometimes dangerous—wildlife crime can become.
Wildlife Belongs to More Than One Generation
Wildlife conservation depends on limits.
Seasons, bag limits and other regulations aren’t simply obstacles placed in front of hunters. They are part of a larger wildlife-management system intended to ensure that wildlife populations remain viable for future generations.
Ethical hunters operate within that system.
Poachers deliberately operate outside it.
That difference matters because wildlife isn’t an unlimited resource. An animal illegally killed for its antlers, horns, hide, head or simply for someone’s amusement has been stolen from everyone who values that resource.
This is why I reject the tendency to describe serious poaching simply as “illegal hunting.” Hunting and poaching aren’t interchangeable terms.
The People Who Stand Between Wildlife and Criminals
Wildlife officers and game wardens work a side of conservation that most people rarely see.
Their jobs can involve far more than checking licenses or making sure hunters follow bag limits. They investigate illegal killing, trafficking and commercialization of wildlife, sometimes dealing with people who are willing to threaten or use violence to avoid being caught.
Federal wildlife law enforcement also deals with a global trade in illegally obtained animals and wildlife products. That world can involve smuggling networks moving wildlife and wildlife parts across international borders.
Wildlife crime can become big business, and protecting wildlife sometimes requires serious law-enforcement work.
Hunters Have a Stake in Fighting Poaching
Hunters should be among the loudest voices opposing wildlife crime.
The overwhelming majority of hunters aren’t the people cutting heads off illegally killed animals, slaughtering wildlife outside established regulations or trafficking protected species. They’re people who buy licenses, support conservation programs, follow seasons and care deeply about the future of wildlife.
Calling a poacher a hunter gives the criminal a connection to legitimate hunting that he or she hasn’t earned.
A person who deliberately steals wildlife isn’t representing hunting.
They’re stealing from wildlife.
They’re stealing from hunters.
And they’re stealing from everyone else who believes wild animals should still be here for the next generation.
That’s why poaching isn’t hunting.
It’s wildlife crime.
Chester Moore
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Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.
