The North Country has the dubious honor of being the region where more deer poaching violations occur than elsewhere in the state.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said today that, during seven weeks of their “Operation Dark Night” anti-poaching initiative, 137 individuals have been charged with more than 250 offenses across the state.

In the Adirondack Park and the rest of the North Country, DEC says, 124 misdemeanors and violations were filed; 48 were filed in the Capital Region and Catskills, 47 in Central New York, 24 in Western New York and 9 on Long Island.

Fifteen guns were confiscated, along with seven spotlights and eight deer taken illegally.

The sweep focused on the illegal taking of deer by use of artificial light, a practice commonly known as “deer jacking.” This involves nighttime wildlife crimes where poachers shine a spotlight on a deer feeding in fields to “freeze” the animal long enough to shoot it, killing deer when they are most vulnerable.

DEC says that, typically, deer jacking occurs in remote rural areas, late at night. Due to these late hours and secluded areas, there are few, if any, witnesses to this crime.

Environmental Conservation Officers were assigned to saturation patrols in targeted rural locations, with stakeouts taking place at all hours of the night. While ECOs are vigilant for wildlife poaching crimes throughout the year, these targeted patrols largely covered the weeks before the start of the southern zone deer season, when, historically, DEC fields numerous complaints about deer jacking.

“Most hunters play by the rules – but deer jackers don’t,” Acting Commissioner Peter Iwanowicz said. “This illegal practice not only gives them an unfair advantage but also puts many unsuspecting people who may be nearby at risk. DEC takes this crime seriously for many reasons – safety, foremost.”

The arrests included 10 instances of killing a deer at night with the use of a light and 79 instances where a hunter was caught using a light but had not yet killed a deer.

Related charges were filed in these instances, such as carrying a loaded gun in a vehicle, discharging a firearm over a public highway or within 500 feet of a dwelling, and using a spotlight within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Many Environmental Conservation Law offenses relating to deer jacking are misdemeanors which may result in significant fines and jail time. Hunting license privileges of convicted deer poachers may be revoked in New York State as well as simultaneously in other states that are members of the Wildlife Violator Compact and honor reciprocal revocations.