Whatever Happened To The People's Game Warden? - And Response (3)

  • Saturday, April 29, 2017

Earlier this year a Chattanoogan.com article published a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency  (TWRA) Wildlife Officer encouraging readers to turn in anyone keeping or caring for an orphaned raccoon, squirrel, bunny or deer, because it may have rabies or pose a danger to some fictitious person.   In another  article, the TWRA Officer invaded a girl's home, seized her pet turtles bought from Petco, charged her with some crime for keeping them, took her to jail, then dumped the pet turtles in the local creek.  

Say that again?    Someone posing as the government came into a house, and took the owner to jail for having a pet turtle?  Whaat?  No way. Yes, this really happened.    

Just imagine how you would feel, if an armed commando without permission entered your home and took away your turtle, dog  or cat, then likely killed it, and publicly blamed you for its death. 

I had to read the articles twice, because I thought the TWRA was supposed to be encouraging people to have hands on contact with animals , not punishing folks wanting to do the right thing and help the creature out.  There's enough critters to go around to be cared for by humans. The experience keeping an animal is so important to protect because it helps develop conservation-minded, compassionate people.

And, since when did the TWRA get away with dictating who can care for an orphaned chipmunk or rabbit by requiring a TWRA permit first?  Or usurp the role of the Department of Health and even the Sheriff's Department? 

I remember in the 1980s when the Chattanooga Nature Center/Reflection Riding commonly received box turtles with cracked shells from being hit by cars. The Nature Center gave the injured turtles to visiting kids to keep and try nursing back to health.    Today, many of these kids are doctors and veterinarians because of hands on contact with animals.

Now the TWRA requires a yearly permit from the Chattanooga Nature Center, if they want to display live animals, or will try running it out of business. The Nature Center no longer receives or gives kids turtles because of the  TWRA, which every year arrives armed and unannounced seeking arbitrary permit infractions under the guise of public safety. Center leaders smile, back the propaganda, and accept the illegal intrusions  in fear of losing their permit.  What a waste of government resources.

Most of the TWRA we know is favorably presented through television and social media, making you believe a tactical wildlife officer is needed in our community.  But it's all a public relations sham. Realistically, this chilling over-regulation is making citizens fearful of spending time outdoors and question government integrity.

 I saw it for myself two years ago, when I went to Hamilton County General Sessions Court after being called as a witness for a car burglary.    All these poor people were pleading guilty to "fishing without a license" because they could not afford a lawyer, or didn't want to go to jail. Three wildlife officers were there in court in full force, donning military attack jumpsuits. One proudly toted his cased assault rifle.  Most who pled guilty to "fishing without a license" had no idea the TWRA would forever consider them a poacher and hold it against them, if encountered again trying to enjoy the Tennessee River.

I remember a man with  two kids exiting the courtroom angrily exclaiming he would never take them fishing again.

So whatever happened to the People's Game Warden?  Well, those days are long gone unless our officials stand up and do something now. Today's TWRA Law Enforcement has morphed into something dangerously paramilitary, with all sorts of sensational animal media to make you think we need them.  

In reality today, deer are overpopulated and annually run into vehicles killing scores of drivers.  You can get salmonella from touching an egg at the grocery store.  Fox and raccoons can be inoculated for rabies just like dogs and cats, which are the most invasive animals on the planet.  But they don't want you to know any of this, because it gives this vague archaic agency something to do to justify their existence in a modern world, a marvelous example of government waste and abuse.    How can our officials let the TWRA get away with this? 

To the wildlife commandos reading this article, we don't need your machine guns terrorizing our citizens and animal friends anymore. 

Wake Up America.

Charlotte McCraine

* * *

Charlotte, I was most intrigued by your post. I, too, am curious about the ever expanding reach of government, in particular the TWRA, and the Georgia equivalent.

I live on the Tennessee-Georgia line and recently our neighborhood has been infested with coyotes. I have read, but I'm not sure how true it is that the Georgia TWRA released coyotes to "control the deer population." I have heard that the same is true in Tennessee but don't know how accurate this is.

Whatever the reason, I find this ridiculous to believe  government servants would think this is a sound and safe practice for all the citizenry. Coyotes kill small pets. They killed our neighbor's cat. We know this as half the carcass was left. Our cat disappeared and I can only imagine the same fate happened to her.

People in our neighborhood have seen coyotes and many of us have heard them. Others have reported missing cats. So I believe coyotes are to blame.

It appears to me a political agenda has more to do with all of this than what was done in the past to control the deer population.
Therefore, we should question this practice.

Releasing wild predators is not a sound practice to control other animals. What will the Wildlife Departments do when coyotes are judged to be overpopulated? Will this same kind of thinking cause a mass release of cougars and mountain lions?

Ralph Miller 

* * * 

Ms. McCraine, 

First, game wardens are law enforcement, not law makers. If you don't like the laws, contact, criticize and/or berate your law makers and work to have those laws changed. Just like regular law enforcement, game wardens should not be picking and choosing which laws they will or will not enforce.  

Second, unlike regular law enforcement, just about everyone a game warden has to deal with is armed. So for a game warden to not also be armed at all times would be a grave mistake. I personally know most of this areas TWRA agents and I haven't seen an "armed commando" game warden yet. So stop with dramatics. We ain't buyin'.  

John Masters
Chattanooga  

* * * 

Ms. McCraine, after reading your opinion piece on TWRA and its game wardens, I have spent the last few days trying to determine if your letter was a politically motivated hit piece, a piece of fiction designed to incense the general public or simply just the ramblings of someone with an unknown agenda.  After reading your letter for the sixth or seventh time, I’m still at a loss. 

For the record, I spend much of my time interacting with TWRA and the officers on a weekly basis.  I have ridden with them on patrol, taught hunter education classes with all of the local officers and talked with them as a friend after they pulled a body out of the Tennessee River.  I have also spent hours in the field with them while they carried a veteran in a wheel chair so they could enjoy the experience of hunting once again, and I have laughed over a meal with many of them at some of our local restaurants.  However, not once in the 30-plus years of interacting with TWRA officers, have I met someone like you described in your article. 

 

As Mr. Masters stated, TWRA is law enforcement agency. If you don’t like the laws, you need to contact the people who actually pass the laws in our state.  TWRA officers only enforce the laws put in place to protect our wildlife within the borders of the state of Tennessee, including the city where the turtle was seized.  Yes, it is illegal to possess any wild animal in the state of Tennessee unless you have a special permit.  That is pretty simple to understand, and if someone has a wild animal without a permit, they are in violation of state law.  As far as taking the “turtle girl” to jail, she was not taken to jail because she possessed a turtle.  I checked with a TWRA officer and was told they do not take someone to jail for keeping a wild animal.  They will give them a citation to appear in court, but they will not arrest the person unless there is another violation that would justify taking them to jail. 

As far as fishing without a license, it is pretty simple to me. If you have a license to fish (unless you are exempt), you have the right to fish in our state. Fishing without a license is a clear violation of the law. I’m not sure what you call a kid, but anyone under 13 is not required by law to have a license to fish, so maybe your “courtroom friends” are not so young after all.   

Now, for the most incendiary comments regarding TWRA officers.  I work near the courthouse and see, on many occasions, TWRA officers arriving at and leaving the courthouse. Not once in the past 10 years have I ever seen a TWRA officer dressed in “military attack jumpsuits.”  I have also been in the courthouse several times when the officers were present, and I have never seen a TWRA officer dress in anything but their official TWRA uniforms.

Secondly, as somewhat of a gun person, if the TRWA officer was carrying a cased firearm into the courthouse (which I have never seen happen), how did you know it was an “assault” rifle?  There are many different law enforcement and security officers in the courthouse so I do not believe a rifle is really necessary for them to carry without a reason. If they have a reason to carry it, I do not believe it would be cased. 

So let me answer your question, Ms. McCraine.  Whatever happened to the people’s game warden? They are in the field enforcing the laws of the state of Tennessee. They are in the class rooms teaching young people how to be safe while hunting or fishing. They are on the water looking for people not being safe or operating a boat under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  They are teaching boating safety classes so, hopefully, we can prevent someone from drowning.  They are hiding in the bushes at 3 a.m. because some idiot is trying to illegally take an animal.  Last, they are working for the citizens of the state of Tennessee serving on the front lines to protect one of the most precious resources in our state, and they are right in front of me.  Why?  Well, Ms. McCraine, because I have their back. 

Tony Sanders
Tony Sanders Outdoors



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