Getting off easy?

[Nameless Range]

No tags + Illegal method of take + Trespassing = $425

Two wolves poached by helicopter in the Big Hole Valley; citations issued

Two men each illegally shot a gray wolf on private property from a helicopter in the Big Hole Valley near Wisdom in March.

helenair.com

It’s tempting to say it’s just because it’s wolves, but I suppose we’ve seen similar with elk. All in all it seems pretty lame.

 

[mtmuley]

Sounds to me like the only additional penalty would have been the $1000 restitution, Apparently it looks like most judges don't enforce that anyway. I seriously doubt they mistook them for coyotes, but it sounded like they cooperated. mtmuley

 

[Nameless Range]

Sounds to me like the only additional penalty would have been the $1000 restitution, Apparently it looks like most judges don't enforce that anyway. I seriously doubt they mistook them for coyotes, but it sounded like they cooperated. mtmuley

Yep. Just seems like that’s the standard for wolf poachers. Wonder what the helicopter flight cost em.

 

[mtmuley]

Yep. Just seems like that’s the standard for wolf poachers. Wonder what the helicopter flight cost em.

The method of take aside, I don't understand why anyone in Montana needs to poach a wolf. Lots of tags and liberal seasons. Doesn't make much sense. mtmuley

 

[Panda Bear]

Govt pays people to shoot them from helicopters just across the border, in an effort to save the caribou

 

[D4570]

Crime of opportunity

 

[noharleyyet]

What, no fly fishing?

 

[Schaaf]

Legitimately surprised poaching penalties were not decreased in the 2021 Legislature due to over objective populations. That was the reason in Iowa.

Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, said he introduced Senate File 464 because his southeast Iowa district has too many deer, as do some other parts of the state.

Lawmakers advance bill that would reduce fines for poaching deer • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Deer poachers would face much smaller fines under legislation that advanced in the Iowa Legislature Wednesday.

iowacapitaldispatch.com

 

[BigHornRam]

Helicopter stuff is getting out of hand!

 

[Nick87]

Legitimately surprised poaching penalties were not decreased in the 2021 Legislature due to over objective populations. That was the reason in Iowa.

Lawmakers advance bill that would reduce fines for poaching deer • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Deer poachers would face much smaller fines under legislation that advanced in the Iowa Legislature Wednesday.

iowacapitaldispatch.com

Unbelievable

 

[Nick87]

Legitimately surprised poaching penalties were not decreased in the 2021 Legislature due to over objective populations. That was the reason in Iowa.

Lawmakers advance bill that would reduce fines for poaching deer • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Deer poachers would face much smaller fines under legislation that advanced in the Iowa Legislature Wednesday.

iowacapitaldispatch.com

Too many people these days too

 

[Sytes]

Following a hand slap warning for trapping and cracking - A little helo poach'n... what's the difference?

 

[Dakotakid]

What penalty should have been imposed?

 

[Nameless Range]

What penalty should have been imposed?

I think if someone shoots an animal for which they have no tag, using a method that even if they had a tag would be illegal, while trespassing on private property, it should probably cost the perpetrator more than $400. It would also make sense to me to remove their ability to hunt for a while. To me, all of the above combined is fairly egregious, and had I been the landowner whose property this occurred on, I would be a bit disappointed at the nonchalance of the penalties. As someone who follows the laws while hunting wolves, I guess I am.

Maybe that's just me.

 

[Dakotakid]

I am not discounting your rational, rather if you were the judge, what penalty would you impose?

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

Helicopter stuff is getting out of hand!

It appeared that AK has some very strong opinions about helicopters and game animals. Apparently, You can't even recover your legally downed game from the field with a helicopter. I have spent a bunch of time in helicopters and so it seemed to me to be a more perfect fit for backcountry hunting than bush planes, because they can just get in tighter places (if range and cost wasn't an issue). After reading up on some of their concerns about protecting animals by restricting the access to the game without physical effort; it appears that they may have a point. I suppose that it could be regulated as no fly zones for big game as a better solution, but it's their system.