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Bighorn sheep poaching in DeBeque points to tougher penalties
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Bighorn sheep poaching gets tougher penalties.
The recent Big Horn Sheep poaching in DeBeque, Colorado reveals a growing trend in stricter anti-poaching penalties.
In the DeBeque incident that took place on Oct.27th, where a commonly seen Bighorn was found shot in the neck on private property, the perpetrator faces $100,000 in fines, 5 years in jail, and permanent loss of hunting and fishing privileges. Back in the 1990s, a crime like this would not have been punished so harshly. Enforcement coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Russ Pollard told the High Country News in 1997 when anti-poaching legislation was rejected in Wyoming and Colorado, "There's a perception out there that wildlife crimes are not criminal acts."
Poaching big-game back then was considered a misdemeanor with up to $1,500 fines and 6 months in jail. Even as recent as 2007, in Dubois, Wyoming, a man who was arrested for poaching a Bighorn Sheep was given $4,000 in fines and 30 days in jail. The man was charged with waste, abandonment, illegal possession of wildlife, and hunting without license. The culprit in the DeBeque case, if arrested, faces the same charges with harsher consequences.
Penalties are determined on a case by case basis depending on a lot of factors, such as trespassing, but since the 1990s poaching penalties have gotten stiffer. In 1995 a locally famous 7-point elk bull called Samson was poached in Estes Park, leading to the enforcement of Samson's Law, which carries up to $25,000 in additional fines for poaching animals falling into the "trophy" category. The Bighorn killed in DeBeque had only partly curled horns, and authorities haven't announced whether or not the case will be subject to Samson's Law, however the Samson killing expressed the growing intolerance for poaching in Colorado. In 2004, the Department of Wildlife started the TIP initiative, which rewards hunters for helping to catch poachers. As part of the Operation Game Thief, started in 1981, TIP activities have resulted in 900 wildlife crime arrests.
Poachers typically have images as poor people who kill to feed their families, but Operation Game Thief officials are finding more and more that this isn't the case. Many times where the carcass is left behind, like in DeBeque, it's done for sport. Real hunters and citizens that don't want Colorado's wildlife exploited, are changing ideas on wildlife crime and punishments are getting tougher, hopefully making poachers think twice about choosing not to follow the law.
For more info on poaching: www.outdoorcentral.com/2008/09/19/poaching-isnt-just-about-big-game/
Photo: Wikipedia
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