Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) law enforcement has compiled the following reports.

It’s a rescue

Texas Game Wardens and US Fish and Wildlife Agents have inspected some antique resale stores with alligator skulls, black bear mounts, waterfowl mounts, raptor mounts, and migratory bird mounts. While inspecting a store, an individual entered with a pet possum. To own, sell or buy a furbearing animal, a person must have a valid furbearing animal propagation license. The opossum was confiscated and transferred to an approved rehabilitation center. Citations have been issued and cases are pending.

Dude where is my car?

A Bexar County game warden was patrolling Calaveras Creek by boat because the shores were closed to the public when they saw a person creep in and then hide in the mesquite undergrowth. The director called for reinforcements, and two other directors and a K-9 officer arrived to help. After an exhaustive search, they were still trying to locate the subject. One of the keepers continued to navigate his ship further north into the creek when he saw someone walking on the other side. The person was arrested and told that he was breaking in. He said he had no fish or fishing gear and returned to the roadway where he had parked his van. His friend reportedly brought him to the property but had already left and was waiting at the truck. The warden got out of the ship and walked along the subject’s path, where they found a cooler with six tilapia trees, a black bass, and a landing net. The man said he left the cooler on the trail because he was scared. The manager of K-9 called the director by radio to let him know that the other suspect and the van were gone. The man said, “How am I supposed to get home?” He told the manager that his phone, wallet and money were in the van and his friend was supposed to be waiting for him. The warden arrested the man for criminal trespassing, boarded him on the ship, and transported him to the Bexar County Jail. Case pending with the public prosecutor’s office.

Gig ‘Em

A Uvalde County game ranger found an unaccompanied vehicle at a crossing of the Nueces River. Believing the occupants got into another car and drove down the river, the manager drove to a hill overlooking the river a few miles away. There, they saw four individuals going down the river, three with goons and spears and one with a fishing rod. The manager saw two of the individuals with snorkeling gear diving into the river along with the concerts. Another person waved to the divers, who dove in and came out with a catfish at the end of a concert. The warden drove up to the group and discovered a fishing rod but no other fishing, concert or snorkeling equipment. After searching, the warden found the convertibles and spears, which had been thrown into the water and concealed. The gigged catfish was nowhere around. The manager interviewed the four individually and found that none of them had a fishing license. After chatting with each subject, one of them finally admitted to catching a catfish and leaving it at his last fishing spot some distance away. The catfish was recovered and seized with three gigs and spears. The director issued several citations with civil restitution.

Not so Happy Hour

A Coryell County game ranger and a Falls County game ranger were patrolling the Waco Lake area of ​​McLennan County when they noticed a vehicle had pulled up to the side of the road. When the guards tried to pass, a truck cut them off, driving on the wrong side of the road. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road and waved the guards past them. During the traffic check, the guards noticed that the driver could not turn down the music on his radio. When asked what he was doing, the driver replied, “I was just trying to…” The driver then picked up his beer and handed it to the guards. They noticed the driver’s speech problems and he could not keep his balance when exiting the vehicle. After the standard field sobriety test, the driver was transported to McLennan County Jail and jailed for a DWI offense. They got a blood sample. The case is pending.

And this is the boat-tom line

Three Bell County game wardens were patrolling Lake Belton to check for crappie, white bass and tournament men fishing when they came across a ship’s hull identification number that was not Meets US Coast Guard standards. The wardens used the TX number and were given a flag on the ship for a mandatory inspection of the boat. The man who operated the boat had bought it several days ago from another person who had not put the boat in his name and had not provided a title. Caretakers contacted the current registered owner, who said someone stole the boat from Belton in 2009, and they never made a police report. The guards seized the vessel and issued citations to the subject who sold the boat.

His name is Mudd (Bugs)

A Jefferson County game ranger followed up on information from a social media post where a subject was selling live crayfish. When the manager contacted the seller, he claimed to own a catering business that sold live crayfish to local restaurants and individuals. Selling live crayfish for business and personal use would require a Texas wholesale fish dealer license. The man claimed over the phone that he had the appropriate license in Texas and Louisiana. After requesting a face-to-face meeting with the subject, the manager discovered that the person did not have a business license. His vehicle was not properly marked to transport aquatic products.

Don’t be crustaceans

Two Jefferson County game wardens were patrolling the sea channel near Port Arthur when they saw a commercial truck about to be loaded with a pallet of shrimp at one of the local shrimp processing facilities in large. They stopped to inspect the vehicle and found it already had a shipment of 15 cases of fresh blue crab on board. The driver acted very suspiciously and claimed to have bought the crabs legally in Louisiana and transported them to Texas, which requires a Texas wholesale fish dealer license. The driver could not produce a wholesale license or bill for the transportation of aquatic products, or any other document indicating the origin of the crabs. They contacted custodians from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to help them with the investigation. They interviewed the dealership in Louisiana where the driver claimed the crabs originated and found the driver to be deceptive. Texas game wardens seized the 15 crates of crabs and sold them to the highest bidder, as required by law. The driver received citations and warnings.

Oh-Fish-ially in trouble

Galveston County Game Wardens received a call about two people catching sheep heads with a net and going over their bag limit. The guards saw two coolers overflowing with fish. When the keepers asked how they caught all of the fish, they said “with the net”. While inspecting the coolers, the guards found two hidden bags also containing fish. The two individuals were in possession of 47 sheep heads (27 undersized), three speckled sea trout and a 28 inch red drum. The guards issued several citations to each individual. Cases are pending.



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