Turkey Trespassing Task Force Formed
Turkey season is in full swing in The Valley and Mississippi. Hundreds of avid turkey hunters are hitting the woods each day trying to bag a big gobbler. Turkey hunters are very passionate, and they put in a lot of time and effort to chase turkeys all across The Valley. However, some turkey hunters take it too far and ignore private property lines. This issue has come to the forefront this season as more hunters than ever are trespassing on private property.
In an effort to combat this issue, multiple law enforcement agencies including the MS Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have formed the Turkey Trespassing Task Force (TTTF). Tirk Longbeard is heading up this joint law enforcement task force. Longbeard is a veteran of over 30 years in law enforcement, and he’s excited to head up this task force. He said, “We know turkey hunters tend to trespass, but it’s really bad this year in the state and especially in The Valley. We’re going to have officers all across the state, but our main focus is The Valley. We’ve gotten a ton of reports early in the season about Valleyans trespassing on private property. I’m not gonna tell you all the tactics and assets we’re going to use to catch the perpetrators, but they better watch out. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
I was able to talk with Jake Shortspur who is a deputy on the task force, and he gave me some information on the tools the task force may use. He said, “We may use drones to monitor some areas, and we may have officers in the woods early in the morning with night vision goggles and heat sensor cameras. The task force is serious about this issue, and we’re going to do all we can to stop trespassers.”
A couple Valleyan turkey hunters I talked with are not happy about the TTTF. One said, “I’m pretty ticked off about this stupid task force. I’m afraid these idiots are gonna scare off the birds. This is all overkill in my book. It’s hard enough to kill a dern turkey, and these sapsuckers are gonna make it even tougher. Also, don’t these people know the Lord’s prayer? Forgive our trespassers…”
Another hunter said, “I have been guilty of trespassing trying to kill a turkey. It just happens you know. You hear one gobble, and you go after the dern thing. I don’t start out on someone else’s land, the dang turkey just might lead you onto somebody’s else’s property. These jack wagons have taken this too far. I guess we’ll just have to sit on the ground and call them up; there ain’t gonna be no chasing after em. We’re gonna be like lazy deer hunters now, and just sit there waiting for a dern deer to walk out. I’m not happy.”
The TTTF plans to make an example of trespassers. In addition to possible arrest and certain fines, TTTF will post the pictures of trespassers on social media and digital billboards around The Valley. So, you turkey trespassers better be careful the remainder of the season.