Game Warden Authority

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djw2112

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Just FYI if you are in California or Texas, Game Wardens have same authority as Police and can write you a ticket or arrest you the same as a Police Officer can if if it has nothing to do with wildlife.  As far as i know these are the only two states that do this,  maybe Alaska but not sure.
 
I used to do a lot of scuba diving in southern California and there was a saying that if local police had the same powers as Fish and Game then crime would cease to exist.
 
    Florida is that way also, we were surprised to find them coming on construction sites and writing citations for vehicle lettering, weight and registration. At one time they were even checking occupational licenses...
 
In Louisiana game wardens can search anywhere they want to without a warrant if they suspect their may be illegal game meat on the premises.  My family owned a wholesale food business in Louisiana for many years and every few years the game wardens would show up for a random inspection to make sure we were not storing or processing game meat.  It would be like a police raid they would come in the door demand access to the freezers and coolers, spend half an hour or so looking around, then leave when they did not find anything.  Out of all the inspectors we dealt with, USDA, state department of agriculture, health and hospitals, DOT, etc. the game wardens were the only ones that would show up unannounced and demand immediate access.
 
In Delaware, they have the same authority as the State Police. I believe it's the same in Maryland also.
 
So i guess that it is that way in most states then.  Interesting!  I have seen game wardens that have state police on the back of their vests and wondered why, i guess one cop shopping lol
 
I think game wardens have the authority of State Police in most states.  I am an avid viewer of all the game warden shows on TV and I have not seen one where that was not true.
 
Bill N said:
I think game wardens have the authority of State Police in most states.  I am an avid viewer of all the game warden shows on TV and I have not seen one where that was not true.
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I just started watching lone star law, nothing in my area yet, but i guess they move around. 
 
Game wardens do not mess around. When I was in college I spent a summer as a COE summer ranger. I worked with the local police and highway patrol on a regular basis. However I didn?t work with the Fish and Game folks because it was considered too dangerous. I was told their death rate was higher than other LEOs, and if I ever saw anything I thought was a Wildlife-related violation get the hell out of there and call them. Whenever I have been around them, they have universally been pleasant, but I still get the ?we do not fool around? vibe.
 
If you like mysteries, try reading C. J. Box's Joe Pickett series about a Wyoming Game Warden.  George Akers always called them "Fish Cops".  Pickett gets himself involved in all kinds off illegal pursuits.
 
Tom and Margi said:
If you like mysteries, try reading C. J. Box's Joe Pickett series about a Wyoming Game Warden.  George Akers always called them "Fish Cops".  Pickett gets himself involved in all kinds off illegal pursuits.
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His first books were really good. The last one I read in the series showed cartoonish villains (all US Government folks) and cartoonish ?good guys? who murdered the ?villains? with impunity. It was dreadful. The one with the main character of his Native friend who raised raptors was also dreadful - just a never ending series of sadistic murders. In other words, read the first 7 or 8 with pleasure then stop!
 
Interesting. In MN it is extremely difficult to become a Conservation officer. They have way more authority than state police regarding probable cause, search and seizure, and confiscation of property. I would not want to mess with them.
Incidentally... I'm a big fan of CJ Box.
 
As a wildlife photographer I applaud all the fish cops. Keep up the good work. In California lobster season begins the first Wednesday in October. Because they are just done spawning and molting at that time. One August I was out on a day dive and ran into a perfect lobster molt so I carefully put it into my goodie bag and brought it back to the boat. We kept all the game we caught in a five gallon plastic bucket right by out dive gear. So I get on the boat and very gingerly put the molt into my bucket. We get back to the dock and get boarded by a fish cop. He looks in my bucket and the look on his face was priceless. He grabs the molt and pulls it out of the bucket and it disintegrates in his hand. He was all embarrassed. I had taken a taxidermy class and was going to preserve it but it was now useless. Lobsters molt once a year. They step out of their shell and a new one forms on their body about a 1/4 inch larger than the one they just stepped out of. It is rare to see a complete molt since they are so fragile.
 
UTTransplant said:
His first books were really good. The last one I read in the series showed cartoonish villains (all US Government folks) and cartoonish ?good guys? who murdered the ?villains? with impunity. It was dreadful. The one with the main character of his Native friend who raised raptors was also dreadful - just a never ending series of sadistic murders. In other words, read the first 7 or 8 with pleasure then stop!
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Last one felt like an amalgamation of lost ideas. There is another on the horizon, Lone Wolf. I will get it but if it is also bad then I wont buy any others....
 
UTTransplant said:
In other words, read the first 7 or 8 with pleasure then stop!
Click to expand...
There are 18 books in the Pickett series and I've read them all.  Wolf Pack will be the 19th.  When it comes to books, to each his own.
 
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