DEER HUNT BEGINS; 400,000 HUNTERS TAKE TO WOODS

Most of the nearly 400,000 deer hunters in Missouri will take to the woods today, the first day of the state's 11-day firearms deer season.

Enforcing the laws that govern hunters will be the 170 conservation agents in the protection division of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Firearms deer season is the busiest time of year for conservation agents. Because there are so many hunters and so few agents -- generally only one agent per county -- the department has to rely on the cooperation of hunters to abide by the law and hunters and others to be the eyes and ears of the department when a violation does occur.

"Most hunters are ethical and follow the law to the letter," said Cape Girardeau County conservation agent Gene Myers. "The majority try to do things legally."

But there are a small percentage of hunters who break the law when they hunt deer, he said. Even then, the infractions are generally minor, such as owning a permit but not having it while hunting or not wearing the required orange clothing.

Yet, more serious violations do occur that require action by agents. Such violations are often referred to as "poaching," which can mean any illegal taking of wildlife.

The taking or attempt to take deer with the aid of artificial light, commonly called "spotlighting," is one of the more serious poaching infractions, said Dave Beffa, protective administrative supervisor for the department.

The person who spotlights deer has a total disregard for sportsmanship and safety, said Beffa.

"They shoot from roads. They shoot toward houses. Nothing good can come from it. There is no defense, no excuse for it," he said.

Department of Conservation figures show 181 arrests for spotlighting in Missouri during the 1996 firearms deer season. Of those arrests, 166, or 92 percent, resulted in convictions.

Myers said that spotlighting is not a common violation in Cape Girardeau County compared to neighboring counties because Cape Girardeau County is more heavily populated.

Another serious violation is overlimiting or taking more than the legal share. The typical deer hunter who has a single permit is entitled to one deer during the season.

"Any time someone is poaching, he is stealing illegally from legal hunters and from non-hunters alike," said Myers. "He's taking from them the opportunity to enjoy the deer."

Enforcing Missouri wildlife laws is not without a degree of danger, just like any law enforcement job. One contributing factor to the danger encountered by agents is the relatively low number of agents. Because there is usually only one agent per county, most agents work alone, knowing that they may be hours away from back-up help.

"It's just one of us confronting armed folks," said Beffa.

For Myers, there is a potential danger that the conservation agent might become complacent because he is around firearms.

"When the highway patrol sees a gun, they react immediately, but a conservation agent can't pull his gun every time he sees a firearm," Myers said.

"The hardest part is maintaining mental alertness."

In the firearms deer season of 1994, two brothers in Ripley County attacked agent James T. Kuenzle after Kuenzle made a routine check of the brothers after hearing them discuss their dogs on a CB radio.

Using dogs to hunt deer is illegal.

Kuenzle suffered a cut over the eye in the attack.

Such assaults are rare, said Beffa, perhaps only 12 to 15 each year. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, is quite frequent, Beffa stated. To date, no Missouri conservation agent has died in the line of duty.

Firearms deer season runs through Nov. 25.