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Is This Georgia Canine Part Wolf?

Marty and Glad Simmons, of Clarkesville, were just hoping for a few nice shots of some deer on their trail camera, which is located several hundred yards from their Habersham County home. However, when they had a photo of a large dog standing on a log, which appeared not to be a coyote, residents began…

Poachers Sentenced in Dodge County Case

In a case that has raised the ire of area hunters, five people accused of numerous wildlife violations involving spotlighting deer and poaching turkeys in Dodge County were sentenced Feb. 28 after pleading guilty to all charges against them. Two remaining defendants in the case, who entered not-guilty pleas, are scheduled for a June trial.…

Proposed Regulations Changes for 2011-2013

Included in WRD’s proposed regulations changes, and open for public comment during meetings in April, are WMA user fees for non-sportsmen as well as significant changes to bear regulations, doe days in some northern counties, Northern Zone raccoon regulations and expanded hog hunting on public lands. Also, there are some new state park and WMA…

House Passes Amended Baiting Bill

The Georgia House of Representatives voted 122 to 48 to pass HB 277, the “Baiting Bill,” which would make it legal in the Southern Zone to hunt deer and hogs with no distance requirement from feeders or food like corn spread on the ground. From its original version that would have legalized baiting for deer…

Deer Baiting Now For Southern Zone Only; Shooting Exotic Animals in Fenced Areas Proposed

Sportsmen interested in potential big changes to the face of Georgia hunting should turn their attention to Georgia lawmakers currently in session at the Gold Dome in Atlanta. The “Baiting Bill” will likely be voted on Wednesday. For deer hunters it now only legalizes baiting in the Southern Zone. “Speak now, or forever hold your…

WMAs, Wardens On Cut List

The Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) is again being asked by the Governor’s office to reduce its budget. Fewer personnel — law-enforcement officers, game and fish biologists and technicians — would have to do their jobs with less funding. Budget cuts could also mean fewer acres of leased Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). Budget cuts for state…

Bill To Legalize Deer Baiting Active In Legislature

It’s usually good news when fewer proposed laws and law changes are introduced during a Georgia legislative session. So far this year it’s been a quiet session as budget concerns have dominated the scene. However, for hunters, a significant piece of legislation has dropped. HB 277 would legalize hunting deer and hogs near food or…

No Charges Filed For Remote Operated Shotguns

No charges have been filed against Jay Williams, a Lee County landowner, interviewed by DNR law enforcement in connection with two batteries of remotely operated shotguns found in the Lee County woods on a Georgia Power right-of-way in November. According to Capt. Jeff Swift, with Region 5 law enforcement, he has no evidence to suggest…

New Bear Limit Rolled Out at Regs Meetings

A doubling of the bear limit, banning dog training on Chattahoochee National Forest and the plan to charge fees for WMA users not hunting or fishing were all presented to the public at eight WRD regulations meetings Jan. 3-6. However, public comment was geared toward perennial concerns like baiting and deer populations. The meetings opened…

Bucks Lock Antlers, Drown In Pond

It wasn’t the news Jay Crouch, of Eatonton, wanted to hear on a December afternoon. His wife’s grandmother called to say there appeared to be a deer floating in her 3-acre pond, which sits on property where Jay and his son, Ethan, 10, hunt. In fact, they’d been hunting a big one all year. “I…

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