Nilgai Poaching Operation Busted

[M16]

https://myrgv.com/featured/2025/02/04/texas-game-wardens-charge-3-for-leading-illegal-hunts-in-willacy-county/

[slayr]

Ouch!

[Southbound 85]

Hunting Nilgai on the intercoastal “public” lands has been a hot topic around Port Mansfield for awhile. Wouldn’t surprise me if the guys were trying to run a legit operation & got sideways with the wrong person & it all came down.

Could be dirtbag trespassers and deserving of all punishment, but when it comes to law enforcement today, especially with TPWD, I gotta hear both sides.

[M16]

Could be dirtbag trespassers and deserving of all punishment, but when it comes to law enforcement today, especially with TPWD, I gotta hear both sides.

Agreed. Honesty and integrity obviously isn’t taught in fish cop school.

[Wolfpack0311]

Wooowww!!

[Quackerbox]

Saw this story last week. Then details weren't posted but I said then, fan boat and trespassing. According to FB Pinches he ran into an older lady and got cross with her. She called and the rest is history.

Funny thing is his "guide" page had several pics of dead nalgai. Some cows and some young bulls. ALL of the pics are at night and thermal guns in the photos

[Muddy Bud]

Sure they’ll make hunting the spoils illegal for sure now. Just like they did with Los Olmos creek. Last morsels of True Public land left in S. Texas.

[JayB]

I thought exotics at night would be legal. Is that only hogs?

[bugleboy]

I thought exotics at night would be legal. Is that only hogs?

My understanding is that it is not illegal to take exotics at night by thermal, spotlight, etc. Just have permission to be hunting on the land you are on.

[GarGuy]

I'm thinking there is a big disagreement on what is public and what's private down there. The state Court says if you can float it, you can boat it. Now an airboat kinda makes that a grey area. I know when we bowfish down there, there are places that land owners claim are private that are clearly public.

I bet There is a great Paul Harvey coming on this one.

[PondPopper]

Saw this story last week. Then details weren't posted but I said then, fan boat and trespassing. According to FB Pinches he ran into an older lady and got cross with her. She called and the rest is history.

Funny thing is his "guide" page had several pics of dead nalgai. Some cows and some young bulls. ALL of the pics are at night and thermal guns in the photos

Getting your news from FaceBook now are you? Lol

Got an X link?😂

Exotics are legal at night, with thermal.

[Quackerbox]

Getting your news from FaceBook now are you? Lol

Got an X link?😂

Exotics are legal at night, with thermal.

if you know the page, you know how they roll

And Not when you're shooting them on land without permission. Big ranches down south means big old money. Can't mess with that

[dbaio1]

I'm thinking there is a big disagreement on what is public and what's private down there. The state Court says if you can float it, you can boat it. Now an airboat kinda makes that a grey area. I know when we bowfish down there, there are places that land owners claim are private that are clearly public.

I bet There is a great Paul Harvey coming on this one.

Curious and I have never read the regulations for Texas but does it not use the term navigable water way ? Seems like that would clear up the gray area pending if the fan boat was within the navigable waterway. In Louisiana even if the waterway has open access the bank is still private.

[Artos]

“Warrants were served on multiple properties simultaneously and were executed with the support of multiple game wardens, including the Texas Game Warden Rural Operations Groups, as well as Homeland Security Investigations, due to the organized criminal activity aspect of the case,” the release said.


HSI for poachers...gonna have to ask around on this.


Using air boats with 4 wheelers to sneak into big name ranches is nothing new for port rats in mansfield.

[GA Bowhunter]

They brought in the HS jackboots for a three-man poaching case? How about send all the HS people to work the border instead.

“Warrants were served on multiple properties simultaneously and were executed with the support of multiple game wardens, including the Texas Game Warden Rural Operations Groups, as well as Homeland Security Investigations, due to the organized criminal activity aspect of the case,” the release said.