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Every year, about this time the poaching convictions from the 2016 season start to roll in. In the past we have seen 200 inch mule deer, big bulls and other trophies poached in regions that many of us have been building points for. It’s robbery from the public.
Not long ago we reached out to the Wyoming Game and Fish to see if poaching was that much higher now or if it was simply the technology driven era we live it. Truth be told poaching, like everything ebbs and flows but what might be up is the scale of poaching that we are seeing.
Case in point is the massive investigation in Oregon and Washington that served 20 warrants and recovered 25 deer and elk heads. People in cooperation, working together to illegally kill animals. Not good!
So what say you? What tools do we have that will bring things like this to an end?
Perhaps New Mexico’s decision to make poaching a felony is something that could be a better deterrent than the typical slaps on the wrist we hand out. I get it, poaching is not a crime on the scales of morality that we usually associate with that level of punishment. However we need to see these types of poaching crimes curbed.
The bigger picture here is that in the mind of people who don’t hunt, these 10 people who went on this poaching spree are “hunters.” We know that they are not that, they are people who have stepped out of bounds intentionally and thrown mud on the real hunters who understand that hunting is actually conservation.
I think we can all agree that poaching continues to flourish because the penalties the poachers receive for even the most egregious violations are a joke. Judges just don’t think killing game animals out of season is a big deal – and sentence the violators accordingly.
I would support not only stiffer monetary fines and jail sentences for poachers, but I think we should hit poachers where it REALLY hurts and slap them with LIFETIME hunting bans. Not the worthless “two year license suspensions” that most convicted poachers receive.
Ken,
With all due respect, license suspensions are a joke and part of the sentencing problem. If a license/tag were purchased and laws adhered to, this conversation wouldn’t exist….. There is a reason these people are called “Poachers”………
I agree with Troy. Not only stiff, meaningful fines, but also confiscation of any weapons and vehicles used in the poaching, and some quiet time in prison/jail to reflect on their poor decisions.
The penalties should put the violators into financial ruin. Fines to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars MIGHT sway some to think twice before they pull the trigger. Confiscate their weapons and vehicles. Make the fines so high that they have to sell their home to pay them. Make them a felon, so that they may never legally possess a firearm again. A suspended sentence and a $10,000 fine is a joke. Judges need to start hitting poachers until it hurts and send a clear message that the public will no longer tolerate their actions.