Conservation agents work to stop wildlife trafficking

MDC asks for help to report poaching and wildlife trafficking.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are working together to stop wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking consists of poaching or taking of a protected or managed species to sell for profit. This includes buying or selling living or dead animal parts such as bones, skins, meat, and other products in violation of state or federal laws.

From the United States and Canada to Eastern Europe, China, and Africa, wildlife trafficking is a worldwide problem with some cases having roots in Missouri. It has been noted that wildlife trafficking once was predominately a crime of opportunity committed by individuals or small groups.  Currently that has changed to international criminal cartels that are well structured, highly organized, and capable of illegally moving large commercial volumes of wildlife and products.

Thousands of wildlife species are threatened every year by illegal wildlife trafficking globally. From killing elephants in Africa for their tusks to poaching rhinos for their horns, these represent just a few of the targeted species for international wildlife traffickers.

In response to this crisis, Presidential Executive Order 13648 was created to establish a task force and implement a plan to combat wildlife trafficking. The plan centers on three objectives: strengthening enforcement, reducing demand, and expanding international cooperation.  This cooperation includes several wildlife trafficking investigations taking place in Missouri.

What MDC is doing

Conservation agents have had a big role in working to stop wildlife trafficking both locally and globally. Missouri conservation agents have been fighting illegal caviar trafficking from paddlefish poachers on Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake for years.

Caviar is a delicacy created by preserving fish roe in special salts. According to MDC, about 20 pounds of eggs or more can be harvested from a large, pregnant paddlefish.

“Caviar prices in illegal or black markets vary,” MDC Protection Division Chief Larry Yamnitz said. “A common black-market price is about $13 an ounce. Therefore a single large female paddlefish with about 20 pounds of eggs is carrying about $4,000 worth of potential caviar for black market sales.”

MDC agents, USFWS, and other state wildlife agencies have successfully stopped more than 100 people from Missouri and eight other states, from trafficking paddlefish eggs from Warsaw (Missouri) in order to sell them as caviar. Currently, 240 out of 256 state charges have been completed through the court system with more than $61,000 in fines and court costs collected. Some federal cases are still on going.

“It’s important that our conservation agents were a part of this because this is just one example of Missouri’s wildlife being exploited for commercial gain,” Yamnitz said. “If MDC didn’t put a stop to this, it could have wiped out Missouri’s paddlefish.”

Missouri also played a role in another large, nationwide criminal investigation. The investigation continues, but so far it has led to 41 arrests, 30 convictions and the seizure of smuggled elephant tusks and rhino horns with street value of more than $75 million.  Some of the rhino horns seized in the investigation were trafficked through a Macon (Missouri) resident.

“Wildlife trafficking also includes the illegal transportation of captive cervids, such as whitetail deer, across the U.S. This illegal movement of animals significantly increases the risk of spreading wildlife diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease,” Yamnitz said. “Our agents are actively involved in several investigations involving this around the state.”

The Show-Me-State also has a healthy ginseng, turtle, and snake populations. The international demand for such species makes Missouri a prime location for illegal wildlife trafficking for those also.

Yamnitz added that illegal wildlife trafficking investigations are complicated and often take months to even years to complete. From conservation agents going undercover and dealing with intense situations to filling out paper work and using hi-tech video surveillance, agents have to be prepared for anything when dealing with illegal wildlife trafficking.

How the public can help

MDC encourages the public to report any wildlife violation or concerns of wildlife trafficking to a local conservation agent or by calling MDC’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-392-1111. If an individual provides information to MDC and it results in an arrest, that individual may receive a reward. The Conservation Federation of Missouri assigns the reward based on the severity of the violation involved. Rewards range from $50 to $1,000 or more.

If an individual would like to help more, MDC encourages them apply to become a conservation agent. MDC is accepting online applications through Aug. 29 for its next class of conservation agent trainees. Selected candidates will undergo 26 weeks of intense training in all facets of law enforcement and resource management. Learn more about becoming an agent on MDC’s website at http://on.mo.gov/2aKSu7d. 

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One man, three counties, 19 wildlife violations

Farmington man’s catfish wasn’t taken by a legal method.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) says fifteen seconds of fame garnered from “reeling in” an 83-pound catfish wasn’t earned by the man who made many news outlets last summer with an 83-pound catfish. After a lengthy investigation, a Missouri conservation agent proved the story wasn’t completely true. Anthony Stacy of Farmington pleaded guilty last week in Reynolds County to two counts of illegally shooting flathead catfish with bow fishing equipment. One was the 83-pound catfish spread across the news and the other was a 50-pound catfish. Stacy has 13 additional wildlife violation cases pending in the courts of St. Francois and Jefferson counties, according to MDC.

“Based on research on other fish taken in our state, I would guess that 83-pound catfish was somewhere around 25 years old,” said Dave Knuth, a MDC fisheries management biologist. “Unfortunately, due to the way the fish was taken and that we don’t have access to it, we’ll never know exactly how old it was.”

In June of 2015, news sources across southeast Missouri reported the story of how the 83-pound flathead catfish was caught by limb lining on Clearwater Lake.  However, St. Francois County Conservation Agent Tyler Harding learned Stacy took both catfish by shooting them with a bow. Throughout Harding’s investigation, the other wildlife violations surfaced as well.

Stacy received five citations total in Reynolds County for assisting to take three bass and two flathead catfish during two separate trips to Clearwater Lake.  All five of the fish were taken by bow fishing, which is not a legal method to take game fish.  On May 18, in Reynolds County Court, Stacy entered a guilty plea to a plea bargain of two counts of taking game fish by illegal methods.  Three counts of the same charge were dropped due the plea bargain.  Stacy was fined $500. He has also had three prior conservation violations in Missouri.

Game fish, as defined in the Wildlife Code of Missouri, may not be taken by bow fishing methods. Bow fishing is a legal method in Missouri for the harvest of non-game fish only.

“This man’s actions took away the potential for a fishermen to legally catch a once in a life-time fish,” Harding said. “However, most hunters and anglers are law-abiding citizens who want their catches to be ethical. That’s what makes a good outdoorsman and that’s the kind of legacy we need in order to keep Missouri as a great place to hunt and fish.”

For more information on fishing regulations in Missouri, go online to www.mdc.mo.gov/fish

MDC searches for vehicle in elk poaching case

A reward of nearly $4,500 is offered for information in elk poaching case.

SHANNON COUNTY, Mo. – Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) agents would like to speak to the driver of a 2007-12 dark gray four-door GM pickup, reported by an anonymous tip to have been at Log Yard Access along the Current River between 8:30 and 9 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2015.  Anyone who was at the Log Yard Access area any time that evening may have seen the vehicle and know the driver or perhaps saw or heard something that could be helpful to the investigation. Conservation agents would also like to hear from the driver of the vehicle, for the same reasons.

In the late winter of 2012, a yearling bull elk was captured in eastern Kentucky.  In late spring of that same year, that young bull was relocated some six hundred miles to Peck Ranch in Missouri and given Elk Identification Number 260 in Missouri’s elk restoration program.  Over the next three years the young bull grew into a magnificent example of what all people envision when they think of a mature bull elk.  In the evening of Dec. 28, 2015 near Log Yard Access on the Current River, this bull’s life was taken by a poacher’s gun, his fully‑developed antlers were taken by the poacher’s chainsaw, and his carcass was left to rot by the poacher.

That same night, the Current River was flooding to near historic levels.  River gauge levels show that between 6 p.m. and midnight it rose from about 24 feet to 28 feet and then crested around 3 a.m. on Dec. 29 at about 29 feet.  Shannon County Highway HH, which leads to the Log Yard area, was closed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) from 8 a.m. on Dec. 28 until late in the day Dec. 29, due to flooding of Carr Creek. Still, many people who wanted to see the river during this flood event took another route in to Log Yard. Any one of these people may have information that could help in the investigation of the poaching of Elk 260.

Elk 260 made a long and difficult journey from eastern Kentucky to Missouri, then flourished for three years and became a mature bull elk. It likely contributed a few calves to Missouri’s growing elk population. It also may have given many people their first opportunity and pleasure to see an elk in the wild.  A poacher’s actions, for nothing more than Elk 260’s antlers, stopped both contributions. 

Anyone with information about the 2007-12 dark gray four-door GM pickup, or anything else regarding the poaching of Elk 260, please call Conservation Agent Brad Hadley at (573)230-3706 or call the Operation Game Thief (OGT) hotline at (800)392-1111. The OGT hotline is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A reward from Operation Game Thief and the Conservation Federation of Missouri currently stands at $4,445.00.

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MDC seeks info about poached bull elk found at Current River

MDC is investigating the death of a bull elk that appears to have been shot and had its skull plate and antlers removed.

SHANNON COUNTY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is investigating a dead bull elk recently found along the Current River in Shannon County and asks the public to report any related information to the Department’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-392-1111.

According to MDC preliminary information, the elk appears to have been shot and the skull plate and antlers were removed with a chainsaw. The rest of the carcass was left intact.

Conservation agents were informed of the dead elk on Tuesday, Dec. 29, by a hiker on an area along the Current River. MDC agents went to the location and confirmed the report.

MDC staff have transported the carcass to the Department’s Conservation Research Center in Columbia for further investigation, including a necropsy, which is an autopsy of an animal.

Any and all information that could assist in this investigation is welcomed by MDC. Calls can be made to local MDC agents or to the Operation Game Thief hotline. Information can be given anonymously or a name maybe be given for a possible reward of up to $1,000 in the case of criminal activity.

The dead bull elk was one of approximately 130 animals that are part of the Department’s elk restoration and management efforts. The remaining elk can be seen at the Department’s Current River Conservation Area and Peck Ranch Conservation Area in the Missouri Ozarks. Learn more about Missouri’s elk at mdc.mo.gov/node/10141.

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MISSOURI MAN FOUND GUILTY OF NUMEROUS HUNTING VIOLATIONS IN TAYLOR COUNTY IOWA

A Missouri man was found guilty by a jury of illegal deer hunting in Taylor County, Iowa.

Michael K. Kahnert, 61, of Branson West, Mo., was found guilty of six counts of fraudulently obtaining resident hunting, deer and turkey licenses, three counts of not having valid non-resident hunting and deer licenses, one count of taking/hunting deer out of season, one count of illegal taking of an antlered whitetail deer, and two counts of illegal taking of antlerless whitetail deer. 

He was sentenced on June 18.

Kahnert was ordered to forfeit the antlers and pay more than $11,400 in fines, court costs and liquidated damages.  Kahnert has been suspended from hunting or obtaining any licenses for three years. 

The state of Iowa is a member of the Wildlife Violator Compact, which is an agreement between participating states that prohibits a person whose hunting or fishing privileges are suspended in one state from participating in those activities in another state, including Missouri.   

Conservation Officer Andrea Bevington has been actively investigating residency fraud cases like this since 2009.  Unfortunately, this type of case is not unique in her territory.

“Iowa is known for trophy whitetail deer attracting people from across the United States and other countries.  Unfortunately, these trophies sometimes draw individuals who fraudulently obtain resident licenses and rob the opportunity for a deer of a lifetime from a lawful hunter,” she said. 

 Residency laws were changed in 2009 to identify a growing problem in Iowa of non-residents falsifying records to illegally obtain resident licenses. 

Three People Plead Guilty to Paddlefish Trafficking

American paddlefish. Photo by USFWS.

Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that three Colorado men pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to illegally trafficking in paddlefish caviar after being caught in an undercover operation in the Warsaw, Missouri area.

In support of Missouri’s paddlefish conservation efforts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation conducted a covert investigation, “Operation Roadhouse,” centered on an area known as the Roadhouse in Warsaw. As part of the covert operation, state and federal officers operated a paddlefish snagging business. Covert officers also sold paddlefish to people who were interested in buying them.

“Federal law protects our natural resources, such as Missouri’s paddlefish, which have been over-fished until their population has suffered a steep decline,” Dickinson said. “We take seriously the environmental protections provided by federal and state laws, and will investigate and prosecute those who violate them.”

“The American paddlefish is an important cultural and sport-fishing resource to the people of Missouri. This investigation reaffirms our commitment to work with our state wildlife law enforcement partners to protect our nation's wildlife resources and hold violators accountable for their actions,” said Edward Grace, Deputy Chief for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement.

“We appreciated the support and partnership of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in helping to protect Missouri’s natural resources,” said Missouri Department of Conservation Protection Chief Larry Yamnitz.

Arkadiy Lvovskiy, 54, of Aurora, Colorado., and Dmitri Elitchev, 49, of Centennial, Colorado., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to participating in a conspiracy to illegally traffic in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act. Artour Magdessian, 48, of Lone Tree, Colorado., pleaded guilty to trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.

By pleading guilty yesterday, Lvovskiy and Elitchev admitted that in April 2011 they traveled to Warsaw, where they illegally purchased five female paddlefish and a container of paddlefish eggs. They processed the eggs from all of those paddlefish into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado.  Lvovskiy and Elitchev further admitted that they returned to Warsaw, in March 2012 and purchased eight more female paddlefish. As they had in 2011, they processed the eggs into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado.

Lvovskiy, Elitchev, and Magdessian  further admitted that they traveled to Warsaw in April 2012 with co-defendant Felix Baravik, 50, of Aurora, Colorado. While in Warsaw, the men befriended covert Fish and Wildlife Service agents who were posing as fishermen staying in the same area. The defendants purchased two female paddlefish from the covert agents. The defendants also purchased three more female paddlefish from other sources and harvested paddlefish in excess of the Missouri take and possession limits. The defendants processed the eggs from all of those paddlefish into caviar and transported them from Missouri to Colorado.

The retail value of the paddlefish caviar at issue in this case is estimated to be between $30,000 and $50,000.

Baravik pleaded guilty on August 19, 2014, to illegally trafficking in paddlefish in violation of the Lacey Act.

Under federal statutes, Lvovskiy, Elitchev and Magdessian are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

The Lacey Act

The Lacey Act is a federal statute which makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase fish that were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any state, or to attempt to do so. Such conduct constitutes a felony crime if the defendant knowingly engaged in conduct involving the purchase or sale, offer to purchase or sell, or intent to purchase or sell, fish with a market value in excess of $350, knowing that the fish were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, a law or regulation of any state.

Paddlefish Trafficking

The American paddlefish (Polydon spathula), also called the Mississippi paddlefish or the “spoonbill,” is a freshwater fish that is primarily found in the Mississippi River drainage system.  Paddlefish eggs are marketed as caviar. Paddlefish were once common in waters throughout the Midwest. However, the global decline in other caviar sources, such as sturgeon, has led to an increased demand for paddlefish caviar. This increased demand has led to over-fishing of paddlefish, and consequent decline of the paddlefish population.

Missouri law prohibits the transportation of paddlefish eggs which have been removed or extracted from a paddlefish carcass. Missouri law also prohibits the sale or purchase, or offer of sale or purchase, of paddlefish eggs. There are also several restrictions on the purchase and possession of whole paddlefish in Missouri.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. It was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation, with assistance by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Conservation Agents Conduct Large Wildlife Violation Investigation in the Ozarks

News from the Ozark region

Published on: Jul. 18, 2010

WEST PLAINS Mo – A large investigation involving illegal commercialization of wildlife and wildlife parts was brought to a close this weekend where the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) documented a total of 299 serious violations in seven counties across southern Missouri.
“Investigators were able to document that 62 percent of the wildlife brought in for mounting at a local taxidermy shop was taken illegally in some manner,” said MDC Protection Regional Supervisor Gary Cravens.
The violations include those related to deer, turkey, furbearers, both game and non-game fish, and migratory birds. This documentation occurred over the past two years in Crawford, Dent, Miller, Howell, Iron, Oregon and Shannon counties.
Beginning July 17, Conservation agents contacted individuals believed to have been involved in violations.
“Teams of agents met with 68 individuals and were able to document another 126 violations, bringing the total number of violations to 425,” said Cravens. “Of these, 289 were related to deer and 23 were related to turkey.”
Conservation agents seized a total of 240 items including 90 deer mounts or sets of antlers, approximately 20 various small game, fish, or furbearer mounts, 70 frog legs, one rattlesnake, and 16 firearms. Some of the wildlife was sold illegally. Additionally, three individuals were arrested on a total of 11 outstanding warrants including two for out-of-state felonies.
“This investigation was important to the state,” Cravens remarked. “These violators are in effect stealing wildlife that belongs to all of us here in Missouri who obey the laws. And it’s our job to make sure that wildlife resources are protected.”
The MDC’s mission is, “To protect and manage the fish, forest and wildlife resources of the state; to serve the public and facilitate their participation in resource management activities; and to provide opportunity for all citizens to use, enjoy and learn about fish, forest and wildlife resources.”
“A lot of hard work went in to investigating these wildlife violations but it is worth our time and effort if we change the attitudes and behavior of those who commit such acts,” Cravens said.

Conservation agents seized 240 items including deer and other mounts, antlers and firearms as part of a large investigation in the Ozarks.