Seven illegally poached geese carcasses were reported Sept. 15 by several members of the public, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Brandon Cotter and Adam Doerhoff, two local conservation agents, are looking for any relevant information on who poached the geese and left them along Rock Quarry Road in Columbia.
No portion of the bird was used. Because early hunting season for Canadian geese does not begin until Oct. 5, this is considered a poaching case.
“(At) this time of the year, that case is pretty uncommon to have geese shot and thrown (on) the side of the road,” Cotter said.
Early hunting season for teal, which is a species of ducks, is from Sept. 7 through Sept. 22, Cotter said. Hunting seasons are in place so the Conservation Department can ensure the protection of the fish, forest and wildlife in Missouri.
Colter has a suspicion that whoever poached the geese may have originally started by hunting teal legally and then saw and shot the geese, but there are no current leads at this time.
“We want to protect the species and wildlife so that we have them for generations to come,” Cotter said.
The department has education outreach programs to promote wildlife conservation.
The Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation is a statewide volunteer based organization. The federation does similar events to the Conservation Department to educate youth throughout the state on hunting safety and regulations.
The organization hosts Youth Hunter Education Clinics and Mentored Hunts for ages 11 to 19 across Missouri throughout the year. Each event occurs on a weekend during the respective hunting season for the animal in question. During this time, instructors who are part of the federation serve to educate youth on firearm safety, wildlife conservation and hunter education certification, the latter of which is done through the Conservation Department.
“With (the Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation), we want everyone to feel comfortable in the outdoors,” said Colton Zirkle, executive director of the federation. “We introduce them to the outdoors in the best and safest way possible.”
Anyone with information that could help the Conservation Department’s investigation of geese poaching is encouraged to call Cotter at (573) 777-2072 or Doerhoff at (573) 239-6541. People can also contact the Operation Game Thief hotline at 800-392-1111, managed 24 hours a day, to remain anonymous.
