HANALEI — North Shore rancher Bill Mowry said Friday that somebody is shooting his buffalo. His herd has allegedly dwindled from almost 70 to some 50 heads in recent months and the incessant sound of shots firing at night have
HANALEI — North Shore rancher Bill Mowry said Friday that somebody is shooting his buffalo.
His herd has allegedly dwindled from almost 70 to some 50 heads in recent months and the incessant sound of shots firing at night have been keeping him up, he said.
It’s been happening for at least six months, said Mowry, who owns some 250 acres in Hanalei Valley.
The prime time for hunting activity has been from around 9 p.m. to about 3 a.m., said Randy Keller, a friend of Mowry’s who helps out on the ranch.
“It’s crazy,” he said.
They must have some “good-sized weapons” because it would take a “high powered riffle” to take down a buffalo, said Sharon Pait, who has also witnessed the declining population of the herd, especially the bulls.
“No respect for people or their property,” she said of the poachers who have not only reportedly been trespassing on property to shoot buffalo, but have been hunting wild pig without permission as well. “Have some respect to ask.”
“A lot of poaching has been going on the past year,” Keller said.
Part of the reason people might be targeting the buffalo could be “tough times,” but another reason is buffalo meat is a “novelty,” Pait said.
“Times are hard,” she said, but to do something this “blatantly is not good.”
It might be linked to the economy, but sometimes it’s related to drugs because people can take the meat and sell it, said cattle and sheep rancher Daryl Kaneshiro, who owns 300 acres of land in Koloa. “It’s unusual for them to be doing this in Hanalei.”
Because he was having similar problems with poachers a few years ago, Kaneshiro said members of the Kaua‘i Cattlemen’s Association proactively printed “no trespassing” and “no hunting” signs and placed them around their properties to help curtail the situation.
“Kaua‘i Cattlemen’s Association will pay $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction and felony sentence of any person stealing cattle or horses owned by a member,” the sign says.
Mowry is also offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who may have information which would lead to the arrest and conviction of those allegedly involved in shooting his buffalo.
When asked if any trespassers have been cited in the act, Pait said, “If they shoot on the river side, there is no way you can tell.”
Apparently poachers are waiting for the buffalo to “come toward the edge” and after making the kill are careful “never leave anything behind.”
Nothing was left behind Friday when Mowry heard shots fired late that afternoon and immediately phoned the police.
“They didn’t detect anything,” said county spokesperson Mary Daubert Saturday. “They checked the herd and all the buffalo were accounted for.”
There is no follow-up scheduled at this time but if there is another complaint, the police will respond, she said.
If anyone has more information they can contact Mowry at 826-9208.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
