DEER PROGRAM REPORT DEER ROGRAM REPORT

Ci tat i o n sEnforcement of Deer Hunter-Related Citations2006-2007The Law Enforcement Division began monitoring all statewide citationsat the district and county levels during the 1996 – 1997 deerseason. The eight most common deer hunting citations from October1 – January 31 were extracted from the database and summarized.Citation totals by county are shown in Table 22 on page 61. Yearlytrends in various citations show some variability.A total of 2,567 citations were written during the 2006 – 2007 deerhunting season. This is an increase of 311 citations from the previousseason. The total number of citations was at an all time high in2003 – 2004. Over the past 3 hunting seasons, citations have beensignificantly lower (Table 21 and Figure 27). The decline in citationscan be attributed to a number of things: violations actually decreased,fewer hunters in the woods, and new or no officers in an area.It is logical to assume that if fewer citations were written for a specificviolation, then a decreased incidence of that violation occurred.The only notable decreases in recorded violations from the 2006– 2007 were No License-Resident and Trespassing.Some violations are still occurringat dangerously high levels. Failure to wearhunter orange is a good example. Many huntersstill refuse to wear their hunter orange.This law is in place to protect the hunters.Trespassing also still occurs at a high rate,indicating that anyone could be on the landwithout a hunter’s knowledge. Headlightingis another citation that occurs at a high rate.Last year, headlighting citations were thethird highest on record.The number of licensed hunters continuesto decline. This could be another reason forthe general decrease in citations. With fewerhunters taking to the field, the number ofviolations should decrease. However, manyhunters are ignoring license requirementsand taking their chances. This is evident bythe increase in citations for no hunting licenseby non-residents which increased fromlast year.The number of baiting citations for the 2006 – 2007 season increased151% from last year. However, hunter acceptance of baitingcontinues to increase. Bait is readily available and a big seller. Whena citation is written and a conviction obtained, the minimal fine assessedthe violator is hardly a deterrent to prevent future baiting.With more hunters managing their land for bigger deer, manypoachers are trying to take advantage of the results that managershave created. More large-antlered bucks on roadsides equal moretemptations. Many would-be hunters are giving in and turning topoaching. This is evidenced by the number of trespassing and headlightingcitations written each year.Our officers are doing a good job across the state, but they needthe help of sportsmen. Hunters can assist our officers by reportingwildlife violations by calling 1-800-BE-SMART. Most counties haveonly 2 officers, but with concerned sportsmen, they have eyes andears all over the county.Figure 27: Total CitationsTable 21. Statewide Citations Summary by Most FrequentViolations During Deer SeasonSeason Totals2006-20072005-20062004-20052003-20042002-20032001-20022000-20011999-20001998-19991997-19981996-1997MotorVehicleHunt FromNo HunterOrangeNo LicenseBaitingTrespassingHeadlightingTotalCitationsPublicNon-ResidentRoadResident59 609 363 341 115 554 223 303 256757 528 271 445 68 365 343 179 2256104 725 652 391 125 689 283 261 3230136 914 700 482 159 724 330 363 380899 867 658 491 184 569 240 282 3390120 840 702 491 179 781 275 227 3615236 1137 612 505 118 519 297 332 3756238 938 415 422 87 449 318 299 3166433 1037 409 378 152 356 290 260 3315476 1063 403 335 112 313 278 282 3262282 920 312 348 150 208 281 172 2673602006-2007 Mississippi Deer Program Report