Reprinted from my Future of Hunting Sept 2009 column on Bowhunting.net
Nothing scalds me more than poachers who kill wildlife then get off with barely a fine and almost always a suspended sentence. It happens time and time again, and ethical hunters get cast in with these criminals who have literally gotten their fingers slapped for poaching our wildlife.
Maybe it’s because some states have a magistrate system where the poachers are taken. A lot of times magistrates just do not consider the illegal killing of wildlife to be much of a crime. It’s only an animal. Or maybe in that particular state, the legislature hasn’t taken poaching very seriously either and the laws are weak. Rarely, if ever, is a poaching arrest treated as a felony by state law. On occasion it is under federal law, but at the state level, it rarely occurs. Truth is that many states have laws that do not punish poachers. Not really.
The Field and Stream web site recently cited a pending Pennsylvania case where a guy poached 23 known deer over a 16-year period and won’t go to jail because there is not a law calling for jail time in such cases. Then there is the Connecticut incident where on May 22, 2009 a man was convicted of poaching a deer and given 9 months in jail. Even though he was a convicted felon, had formerly been arrested for poaching, had been arrested for violating his probation, and also had an arrest for illegally possessing a weapon, some citizens complained that the punishment did not fit the crime (he poached a 13-point buck). They felt the punishment was too severe. So, part of the problem here is that the public doesn’t understand the seriousness of poaching, even when done by a felon. .
Recently some states have upped the punishment for fish poachers. And a few are attempting to make life tougher for poachers. I don’t know if the laws passed, but Pennsylvania, Minnesota and California had 2009 bills introduced to increase the punishment for wildlife poachers. Now there’s a pleasant thought.
It is obvious that if the states would pass such laws and the courts would enforce them, there are two things that would help this situation. First, we need bigger, much bigger, fines. Second, poachers, first time offenders, need to lose their hunting privileges, in their home state and in other states. Sometimes this happens, but not often for first time offenses. Do it. There is something called the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact where states that have signed on recognize suspensions in hunting, fishing and trapping licenses in member states. You get arrested for a wildlife violation in one state, and the penalty holds in cooperating states. Those states presently signed on to this list are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
I don’t know why all states are not on this list. There must be a reason. But it better be a good one, because violators are violators. Right now, for example, a guy can be a convicted poacher in Ohio, but he can hunt in West Virginia or Pennsylvania. Why is that? Why aren’t those states in the Compact?
Not only is Ohio in this compact, they also are one of a few states that have a restitution law. Its called the Ohio's Wildlife Restitution Law. Here is an example of how that works. In a recent case where a guy poached a big buck, he pled guilty to taking a deer during a closed season, possessing an untagged deer and hunting without a valid hunting license.
To determine the restitution needed to be paid on the buck he killed, in the Ohio Code (1531.201, Civil action to recover possession or value of wild animal) there is a formula for buck values. Any buck that has a gross score over 125 inches makes the offender a violator and he must pay restitution on top of his fines based on the score of the antlers and the value derived from the formula. But first the regulation states that "The chief of the division of wildlife or the chief’s authorized representative may bring a civil action to recover possession of or the restitution value of any wild animal held, taken, bought, sold, or possessed in violation of this chapter or Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code or any division rule against any person who held, took, bought, sold, or possessed the wild animal."
Then after this civil action penalty (which wasn’t applied in this case), the state can take an additional restitution penalty based on the formula, gross score - 100 x 1.65. So this poacher had to pay his fines, the restitution value, and court costs for a total of $3891.43. The restitution law also states that they lose their hunting license and in this case the guy lost his license for two years, the loss of his hunting rifle, and he was also put on probation for two years. All this for a buck shot in the summer that gross scored around 148 inches.
I love this Ohio restitution penalty. Pay bigger fine, lose your license, even if a first timer. No options. Local magistrates are out of this. Maybe there is more paper work for law enforcement, but I am sure that law enforcement officers are happy to do it knowing that the court system won’t let the guy off with a slap of his fingers. I know Montana has such a law, and the following states all have some form of a restitution wildlife law; Minnesota, New Mexico, Iowa, Utah and Louisiana. If you want to see the best laws for restitution on big bucks, google "wildlife restitution laws in Ohio, Iowa, and Utah." Our wildlife is worth a lot of money to the states. So maybe you can get your state to adopt such laws as found in Ohio and Iowa that use gross antler score to get money from poachers and cause them to have their hunting licence revoked. Do it and non hunters will join you in support of such laws.
