Back in 2012, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a proclamation making October 20th — the opening day of firearms deer season — “Turn in Poachers Day.”
The proclamation stated “the ownership of all wildlife is by the state of Georgia. It is held in trust for all Georgians to enjoy. A poacher is one who takes wildlife illegally thereby depriving other citizens of our state’s natural resources.”
What is poaching? Common violations include:
- hunting during illegal hours
- hunting from a public road
- taking over the bag limit
- hunting or fishing in unauthorized areas
- killing deer illegally
- buying or selling wildlife
- killing or being in possession of nongame or endangered species and
- stocking wildlife.
How to Turn In Poachers
- Call the TIP hotline at 800-241-4113.
- Dial *DNR on a cell phone.
Try to obtain the following information:
- type of violation
- description of the violator
- description of the violator’s vehicle
- date, time and location of the violation.
All information acquired through the TIP hotline is forwarded to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources conservation ranger for further investigation. If information leads to an arrest, TIP pays a reward to the caller. Callers also may choose to remain anonymous.