Louisiana Operation Game Thief Issues $8,500 In Rewards To Tipsters
OutdoorHub 06.17.12
Louisiana Operation Game Thief, Inc. (LOGT), a Louisiana wildlife crime-stoppers program, awarded $8,500 to diligent citizens statewide at their quarterly meeting on May 19 in Woodworth.
The group approved and dispensed cash reward amounts for tipsters who reported wildlife violations that led to 25 subjects being apprehended in wildlife cases. There were a total of 17 cases presented and 65 offenses associated with those cases.
Louisiana Department Wildlife Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement LOGT Coordinator Lt. Will Roberts provided LOGT members with information on each case and a recommendation for reward amounts.
“We depend on Operation Game Thief and these public tips to help break a lot of cases that might have otherwise gone unsolved,” Roberts said. “These tips led to a few turkey baiting cases, closed season and over limit waterfowl cases and a night hunting case.”
Anyone wishing to report wildlife or fisheries violations should anonymously call LDWF’s 24-hour toll free Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-442-2511 or utilize LDWF’s new tip411 program. To use the tip411 program, citizens can anonymously text LADWF and their tip to 847411 or download the “LADWF Tips” iPhone app from the Apple iTunes store free of charge. CitizenObserver, the tip411 provider, uses technology that removes all identifying information before LDWF receives the text so that LDWF cannot identify the sender.
LOGT was instituted in 1984 and provides cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of violators of fish and wildlife regulations. Funds are raised through private donations, court directed contributions and through contributions from cooperative endeavor agreements with organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation and Quality Deer Management Association.
