Open Season In The City

"Poachers usually practice their barbaric craft off the beaten track, but lately brazen killers like Teddy's are notching up their bloody game, moving closer to residential areas and placing critters of all kinds squarely in their sights. A few months ago, a mammoth white-tailed deer was found slaughtered--its antler rack carved out of its head--in the Pinery, a cushy bedroom community a few miles southeast of Denver. In Des Moines, Iowa, two men from Arkansas were convicted of illegally hunting trophy-size deer at the local airport. And poachers with crossbows built a tree stand in a public park in Redwood City, Calif., scattered bait and waited for black-tailed deer to mosey by."

"As development spreads--79% of the U.S. population now lives in urban areas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau--more animals are losing their natural habitat, and so are forced to trade open land for golf courses and the backyards of greenbelt communities like the 1,850-home Pinery. That not only leads to more human-animal confrontations but also opens up opportunities for poachers to track elk, mountain lion, antelope, black bear and deer."

"Wildlife officials estimate that the number of poached animals matches the amount of game legally taken each year."