Thread: Name that poacher

When farming in northland we had a ongoing poaching problem where shooters (couldn't classify them as hunters) would come across the river at the back of the farm and shoot up mobs of goats standing in the paddocks. Now we were farming the goats for cleaning up the pasture, bringing them into the paddocks behind the ewes on rotational grazing. We had several mobs of 300 or so goats. Was noting to go to the back of the farm and find 60 goats laying dead in the paddock. Cowards used to shoot and run.

Neighbours would call whenever they heard shooting but we never managed to get to the back of the farm in time to catch them, until one day .....

Alarm call came in that poachers where shooting. The old man grabbed his 308 and we hightailed it to the back boundary. Poachers were just heading for the river when we got there. Old man yelled out for the three of them to stop where they were, which the didn't, until, a 180gr .308 round thumped into the ground behind them. They very sheepishly stopped and came back for a chat. I don't think I have ever seen my old man dress down anyone the way he did with those three. They were left with no misunderstanding of the errors of their ways and what would happen if they were ever seen in the area again.
One of the poachers had a lab with him, with no collar on it.. the old man asked were its collar and hydatis tags were. He claimed they were at home. The old man told the owner that since it was illegal to bring the dog onto the property without its tags he would have to shoot it. He made the guy bring the dog over and cranked another round into the 308 and sighted up the dog. Owner was in tears, begging for mercy (it was his wife's pet). Old man told them to all leave, take the dog and never come back.

End of the story was that the poachers took off and ended up at the pub. Just so happened that a contract shearer that worked at ours was there when they came in. They were vocal about this mad farmer who will shoot you if he caught you on his property.
Never had another poacher on the place from that day forward.

This was a good 40 years ago so the outcome would be different today and not recommending this as the course if action to take, but in the day, it solved the problem.