TWO men have been ordered to front court for a raft of illegal hunting offences after a secret after-dark blitz by police.
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The three-day operation targeted illegal hunting across the New England and Oxley areas earlier this week, and wrapped up late on Thursday.
The blitz involved rural crime officers, who were backed by the NSW DPI's Game Licensing Unit, and was triggered by a string of recent reports of illegal hunting in the Bundarra and Barraba areas.
Police and hunting compliance officers made several patrols of state forests and national parks in the area, along with known hot spots, and stopped hunters in their tracks to ensure they were complying with the rules.
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Just minutes before midnight on February 2, rural crime officers intercepted a white utility on Copeton Dam Road, near Bundarra.
Officers said the they found four dogs on the tray of the slow moving vehicle, containing to men, which caught their attention.
On closure inspection, police said two dogs were unsecured, and one of the animals was fitted with a hunting tracking collar.
Officers also searched the ute and seized two knives, before checks revealed the male driver was allegedly disqualified from driving until April 2024.
Investigators then spoke with nearby property owners, and scoured the area, and found a dead pig on a property.
Police allege the men trespassed on the property, travelling 800m into the farm to a creek where the pig was killed.
It's the police case that the men used the dogs to hunt on Crown land, and also within the Gwydir River State Conversation Area, which police said is a designated national park.
The 22-year-old man behind the wheel will front court on charges of driving while disqualified; carrying an unrestrained dog on the back of a moving vehicle; hunting game animal on public land without a licence; entering inclosed land with a hunting dog; hunting an animal in a park; and having control of a dog with a hunting collar in a park.
The 31-year-old passenger will face five other similar hunting-related charges. Both men have been ordered to appear in Inverell Local Court in April.
Strike Force Venari has seen rural crime police and the game licensing unit working hand-in-hand, sharing hunting reports and intelligence to stop offenders breaking the rules.
New England Detective Sergeant Bennett Nolan, who leads the team of rural crime police locally, said operations could only continue if landholders reported suspicious activity.
"Both agencies work closely to detect those hunting illegally, which can result in action including placing people before the courts and seizing equipment," he said.
"We ask all landholders to report illegal hunting, so that we can focus our resources and efforts on those areas that are affected most.
"Operations will continue to be run both mid-week and on weekends, targeted towards specific intelligence, which relies heavily on people telling us where they are experiencing the most problems."
