OPERATION GAME THIEF OFFERS REWARDS FOR TIPS
Using your eyes and ears at the right time could be profitable. What's the right time? Anytime you see acts of poaching, baiting, illegal dumping, and catching of over-sized game fish committed. Cash awards of up to $500 provide the right reward, and Operation Game Thief provides the right program to oversee it all.
With information and donations provided by South Carolinians concerned about protecting natural resources, Operation Game Thief assists the state DNR in apprehending natural-resource law violators. Rewards are paid to persons providing information leading to the arrest of such violators, and a toll-free round-the-clock telephone reporting system makes it easy for citizens to give necessary information. The caller is not required to reveal his or her name.
Operation Coast Watch is a program under Operation Game Thief (OGT) designed to address coastal fisheries and resource violations such as trawling for shrimp in restricted areas and selling saltwater game fish.
Property Watch, another program under the OGT umbrella, is intended to provide property-protection assistance to landowners and lessees and to deter property-rights violations such as trespassing to hunt or fish. The DNR sponsors "NO TRESPASSING" signs and permission cards for participants in this program.
Current corporate sponsors of Operation Game Thief are the Harry Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund, Palmetto Pride, SunCom and Verizon Wireless. For interested individual and corporate citizens, the program encourages individual sponsorship at $25, landowner sponsorship at $100, group sponsorship at $250 (clubs only) and corporate sponsorship at various levels. Sponsors receive items such as Operation Game Thief caps, member decals, bumper and window stickers, newsletters and signs, as well as DNR recognition. Donations are tax deductible.
Want to help? If you see a violation, dial 1-800-922-5431 toll-free anytime. Provide the following information to the DNR Communications Center:
 | Type of violation |
| Exact location of the violation |
| Names and/or description of the violators |
| Description of any vehicles or boats involved |
| Any other information that may assist in the apprehension of the violator. |
Each year, concerned citizens contact Operation Game Thief, providing DNR officers with valuable information that accounts for hundreds of arrests for violations of natural-resource laws. Many DNR officers must patrol areas of more than 100 square miles and cannot be everywhere at once. Be the eyes and ears of the DNR and help protect South Carolina's wildlife, fish, coastal and other natural resources. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you were responsible for stopping crimes that harm all of us.
- Written by Rosanne McDowell -
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