Governor Sonny Perdue recently signed a proclamation designating Saturday, October 22, 2005, the opening day of modern firearms season for deer hunting, as Turn In Poachers (TIP) Day in Georgia. The mission of TIP, Inc., a non-profit organization, is to protect wildlife from poachers by increasing public support for wildlife law enforcement, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

“The ownership of all wildlife is by the State of Georgia. It is held in trust for all Georgians to enjoy,” says Governor Perdue. “A poacher is one who takes wildlife illegally thereby depriving other citizens of our state’s natural resources.”

TIP creates a framework to promote ethical hunting and to promote the conservation of natural resources. Georgians are encouraged to contact the TIP hotline when they witness a poaching violation. This information is forwarded to WRD for further investigation. If a tip leads to an arrest, TIP pays a reward to the individual who reported the violation. Callers to TIP can remain anonymous if desired.

Poaching violations include hunting during illegal hours, taking over the limit of wildlife and/or fish, hunting or fishing in unauthorized areas, killing deer illegally, hunting over bait, buying or selling wildlife or game fish, killing or being in possession of nongame/endangered species, stocking wildlife, hunting or fishing without proper licenses and more.

Georgia citizens can help fight poaching by calling the TIP hotline. This line can be reached by dialing 1-800-241-4113 outside metro-Atlanta or (404) 656-4863 inside metro-Atlanta or by calling *DNR for Cingular callers or by sending an email to TurnInPoachers@dnr.state.ga.us 

Callers should try to obtain the following information:

·  A description of the violator
·  A description of their vehicle
·  The location of the violation
·  Date and time of the violation
·  The type of violation

For more information, contact your local WRD Law Enforcement Office or call (770) 918-6414. To make a tax-deductible donation to support anti-poaching efforts, send a check made payable to TIP to: Turn In Poachers, Inc. 3423 Piedmont Road, NE, Suite 540, Atlanta, Ga., 30305.