48 



Mr. Oliveros. Yes, there were people in possession overlimits. 

 There were non-game birds taken. There were birds that were in 

 closed season that were taken. Many doves were discarded in the 

 field. We found many of them thrown in the field and discarded 

 when the hunters ran. We found other doves stuffed into logs, into 

 brush piles that were abandoned and left there by hunters. So, I 

 personally witnessed — I was on the other side of a barbed wire 

 fence that you could see through, and I was in the edge of the 

 woods. Over that almost 2 hours that I was watching the field, I 

 would estimate that 15 to 20 birds fell within 15 yards of my posi- 

 tion, and the people who shot them on the other side of the fence 

 were standing on the fence, and none of them bothered to cross the 

 fence to come look for the birds. 



I do not know how to describe it, but to show the effectiveness 

 of baiting, this would be a prime example. Birds were pouring into 

 this field with 150 guns being shot. I assumed it was 150. All we 

 knew was that there were 80-some hunters. We know that others 

 left. But you had this large amount of shooting going on, and you 

 had large groups of doves that were landing in the middle of that 

 field in spite of all the shooting — and I am not talking about one 

 group of doves; I am talking about constant flights of doves coming 

 into this field. 



The Chairman. One thing — and I hunt dove a lot, and doves will 

 land in a field regardless of whether people are shooting or not. 

 But I have got to ask you a question. It goes back to the question 

 by the lady from Idaho. Why did you not stop it sooner? 



Mr. Oliveros. I did not feel I could safely walk on that field by 

 myself and stop the hunt. 



The Chairman. After the first shot, you could not say this is, in 

 fact, shooting over a baited field? How many birds did you con- 

 fiscate? 



Mr. Oliveros. I do not know how many personally I confiscated, 

 but I was in charge of holding all of the birds. We had 448 of them. 



The Chairman. And there were how many hunters? 



Mr. Oliveros. That was from 88 hunters. 



The Chairman. Eighty-eight hunters? That is about five birds 

 apiece. 



Mr. Oliveros. That is what we recovered. Some of the hunters 

 left the field with their birds. 



The Chairman. OK; now, what I am stressing here was your 

 main goal to apprehend people shooting over bait or to save the 

 dove? 



Mr. Oliveros. My job in the enforcement division is to enforce 

 the regulations. 



The Chairman. OK; why was it not enforced sooner? 



Mr. Oliveros. I did not feel I could safely go in there by myself. 

 I had other agents to 



The Chairman. Now, you were closer to that field than any other 

 agent. 



Mr. Oliveros. That is correct. 



The Chairman. That is correct; is that right? 



Mr. Oliveros. That is correct. 



The Chairman. OK; when did you notify those agents? 



