Conservation Law Enforcement Corner – May 2023

The Conservation LE Corner is designed to highlight the efforts of Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division (LED) officers who, among their many duties, protect Georgia’s wildlife, sportsmen and natural resources from game-law violators. The following account is provided from DNR LED.

Lee County: On Sunday, Jan. 8, 2022, at approximately 5:30 p.m. hours, a DNR Law Enforcement officer was patrolling Lee County for dove hunting activity. He entered a peanut field behind a residence and observed a man standing underneath an irrigation pivot put a Miller Lite beer can inside of a bag. The man then placed the bag inside of a tan bucket and placed a camouflage seat cushion on top of the opening of the bucket.

The man was identified, and he had the required licenses to hunt doves.

“I asked how many doves he had killed, and he said seven or eight,” the officer wrote in his report. “As I was talking with him, I could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person. As I was walking to check another hunter on the field, I saw the tan bucket with the camouflage seat cushion against the irrigation pivot tire, and asked what he had in the bucket. He said, ‘Beer.’

“I observed several empty alcoholic beverage cans inside of the bucket. I asked how much he had to drink, and he replied, ‘two or three.’

“I asked if he would mind performing field sobriety exercises, and he agreed. I began conducting the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Standardized Field Sobriety Test Form. I asked, ‘Will you perform a series of tests to assist me in determining if it is safe for you to hunt?’ He replied, ‘alright, alright, alright.’

The results of the tests showed he was not safe to hunt, and he was turned over to the Lee County Jail for further processing. The hunter later pleaded guilty and paid a $365 fine.

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