Behind the Badge - Does Poaching Really Matter?
Does Poaching Really Matter?
District Game Warden Gavin Herbert
The reason I got into this profession was to protect the natural resources that we enjoy so much. It never crossed my mind as a game warden that I would have the opportunity to inspire others by writing directly to them. But there has never been a better time to inspire others and protect our way of life.
In a recent study published by the Boone and Crocket Club as part of their Poach and Pay program, it unveiled that only 3-5% of poachers get caught nationwide, meaning around 95% of poaching incidents go undetected. These poaching incidents that go unnoticed cost the American public billions of dollars that could be better spent on conservation.
Billion is not a small number and it is a huge loss to the public for the replacement cost of illegally taken wildlife. Not to mention that hunting is on a decline across the U.S., which is where much of the funding is generated for conservation.
This is a very thought-provoking dilemma for how the North American Model of Conservation is being undermined by those who discredit our system by poaching.
Never has it been clearer to me the harm that poachers cause. Hunting is often looked through a negative lens by portions of the public, and these negatives are often confirmed by examples of poaching. Now we all know hunters and poachers are not the same but how will someone that is not a part of our hunting community see it? In a world where support for hunting is declining, do we need poachers making our way of life look bad? How do we recruit people when their examples of hunting come from bad places or at least how do we gain support?
How poaching affects public perception, along with the impact it has on conservation, has never been clearer, so why do we as the public tolerate it?
This new information has brought more meaning to my career and the importance of what I do, but I believe that the changes will start with you. Wardens make many cases off of public reports. My best case ever came from a phone call. I could never have caught the man responsible without that call. We often cannot do it alone and it is important that you see why your role is so important.
It is easy to say that an individual warden is Behind the Badge, but what is truly Behind the Badge is a community of enthusiastic conservationists, hunters and anglers who support us. We cannot do it without you.