Undercover Taxidermy Shop Busts Dozens of Rogue Hunters

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-07-21 20:17:00 UTC
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Wildlife officials and animal activists are often suspicious that sketchy hunting practices have become the norm.  After receiving a slew of complaints, the Missouri Conservation Department set up an undercover taxidermy shop in the rural town of Birch Tree. As it turns out, those suspicions were well-founded.

Craig's Taxidermy secretly recorded its customers as they brought in deer, turkey, migratory birds, fish and other animals to be stuffed and mounted.  They would brag about hunting out of people's yards and other illegal activities, some of which, like firing weapons in neighborhoods and from streets, posed a danger for the human community, too.

All in all, Craig's documented 425 wildlife violations committed by 68 different hunters.

Just in case you were thinking this must represent a minority, illegal hunting was responsible for 62 percent of the dead animals brought to Craig's Taxidermy, killed across a seven county area. Those stats don't do much for the claim that hunters, on the whole, are a respectful, law-abiding bunch of conservationists.

And that was just at one shop, in one town, in one state. Laws were broken when it came to what was hunted, where they were hunted and how they were hunted. Multiply those 425 violations across the entire country's hunting population and we have a serious problem. No wonder it's so difficult for your average poorly-funded state wildlife departments to keep up with enforcement.

In conjunction with the Missouri investigation, conservation agents seized 240 items, mostly mounted "trophies," including nearly 100 deer parts and various animals who had been hunted for their fur. The cases are being turned over to the county prosecutors, depending on where the hunting occurred.

I'd like to see Craig's set up shop in towns across the country. What better place to start looking for people with little regard for life, law or their community than a place where dead animals are preserved for show?

Photo credit: Orin Zebest

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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