And those are the reported cases. Many others are never called in. In the first of , KLCC looks at poaching鈥檚 prevalence and impacts across Oregon.
Murder, not hunting
Morri Hudson lives just off of the Lorraine Highway south of Eugene. She enjoys the relative solitude and natural beauty of this rural area, and often takes walks with her dogs on some of the trails.
But one morning Hudson came across a disturbing sight: a deer she watched since it was a fawn, and nicknamed 鈥淭he Little Prince,鈥� was lying dead on her property.
Hudson figured someone shot it from a car.
鈥淎nd decapitated it,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hich is, I鈥 wouldn鈥檛 call it hunting. I鈥檇 call that animal murder.鈥�
Hudson said she鈥檚 not anti-hunting, but is against trespassing and reckless endangerment in this area where she and her neighbors live.
Plus, she said, The Little Prince wasn鈥檛 even a yearling.
鈥淛ust, just鈥ittle, little velvety nubs,鈥� Hudson recollected. 鈥淪o taking his head as a trophy is a very odd and disturbing act. It wasn鈥檛 somebody desperate, needing food. Or they鈥檇 taken the whole body.
鈥淚t was a criminal act.鈥�
Tyler Dungannon, the conservation coordinator for the , told KLCC that poaching is truly a disgrace. He said hunters are tired of the practice, as it鈥檚 unethical and anti-conservation.
And most poachers are reckless, especially those who shoot game animals near populated areas, including city limits.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just no excuse for that," said Dungannon. Sometimes you see deer or elk running around town with a horrible shot by a poacher, or there鈥檚 an arrow sticking out of it. It gets ugly and it鈥檚 not safe.鈥�
Lots of territory to cover
One person who鈥檚 monitoring the issue is Yvonne Shaw, the anti-poaching coordinator for the . She said these are crimes with 鈥渧oiceless victims,鈥� and last year there were at least 5,000 animals illegally killed in the state.
鈥淎nother thing to note about that,鈥� continued Shaw. 鈥淥SP Fish & Wildlife troopers only find a fraction of these crimes that occurred.鈥�
Shaw said there are 128 troopers with her agency, trying to cover Oregon鈥檚 forests, high desert, and coastline. But because poachers often know what they鈥檙e doing is wrong, they commit their acts in remote areas or under cover of darkness.
And while these crimes are often committed for a twisted sense of accomplishment, they鈥檙e also often done for black market profit.
鈥淔or instance, a bear gall bladder can sell for $500,鈥� said Shaw. 鈥淲e also have sturgeon poaching that happens for profit. People who poach sturgeon are often after the eggs, for caviar. So they鈥檙e targeting the really big, older females that are 80, 90, 100 years old.鈥�
Shaw added poaching can also include the overharvesting of marine life.
鈥淟ast year, troopers discovered more than 1,000 salmon that had been taken illegally, and more than 1,800 clams,鈥� she said.
Shaw said with the limit on razor clams being 15, there has to be a lot of people hoarding over limit to get to nearly 2,000.
For Native communities like the who鈥檝e seen numbers of Chinook salmon decline to near extinction over the past decade, poachers who take more than the legal limit can hurt efforts to restore populations of these fish.
鈥淪almon are challenged in many ways in the world today," said Shaw. "We don鈥檛 need to add poaching to be one of that ways."
Poaching can even be the illegal sale of exotic pets online, which has created problems with critters like snapping turtles. In a June 2022 interview with KLCC, Susan Barnes of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife said many were appearing in state waterways, threatening native species.
鈥淪napping turtles are omnivores. They will eat anything they can fit into their mouths,鈥� said Barnes. 鈥淭hey will directly prey upon amphibians, snakes, waterfowl, little turtles, potentially.鈥�
Poaching at its worst is the killing of wildlife for sheer "thrill kills," and it seems hardly a week goes by in Oregon without several counties reporting incidents of animals - - shot for little reason but to take down something out in the wild.
Back at her rural home outside Eugene, Morri Hudson finished her stroll and brought her dogs back inside. She told KLCC that she wears red whenever she goes outdoors to avoid getting shot in this area, as gunfire has been routine enough to keep her cautious. Hudson would like poaching to be reined in, for her peace of mind and safety.
鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 part of rural life, but does it need to be?" she said. "You know, we need to do better.鈥�
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If you witness a poaching incident, authorities encourage you to use the Turn In Poachers (TIP) Line. The most expedient way to share a tip is to call (800)452-7888 or *OSP (*677) from a mobile phone.
Tips can also be emailed to: TIP@osp.oregon.gov between 8am 鈥� 5pm, Monday 鈥� Friday.
Finally, there is also an online form that people can fill out and submit, or print out and submit via email, FAX, or mail delivery.
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