Washington man receives suspended sentence for poaching Bitterroot bighorn, mule deer

Two men accuse each other of poaching the bighorn while on a trip in Montana

The ex-wife of one of the men reported the 2003 incident to the authorities in 2007.

Washington man receives suspended sentence for poaching Bitterroot bighorn, mule deer
By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic


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  1. pointswest Avatar
    pointswest

    The guy in Idaho who shot the four additional elk at least had a license and tag and could argue that his emotions got the best of him in killing the four additional elk.

    These two zeros did not even have licenses and flagrantly disregarded the law and all hunting ethics. Bighorm are much, much more rare and difficult to replace too.

    How come they didn’t get 60 days in the clinker?

  2. mikepost Avatar
    mikepost

    “…hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”.

  3. Save Bears Avatar
    Save Bears

    I think you will find that the reason this type of sentence was handed down, was due to the length of time between the act and the prosecution of that act. And I am not saying I approve, I would at least hope they choose to collect the fee associated with the taking of a big game trophy animal, but when it comes to wildlife violations 4 years is a long time between act and prosecution, in addition throw in the ex-wife angle, makes for a difficult case to bring to justice. It would have probably been a difficult case to take to trial.. A guilty plea was probably the best way to make sure he at least got some sort of punishment. Now, I would like to know if they transported across state lines, if they did, they could be charged with a Federal crime under the Lacy act. I hope this is not the last we hear of this one.

  4. mikarooni Avatar
    mikarooni

    The proper sentence would have been to force both of them to spend a couple of weeks chewing and eating glass beer bottles while sitting in a vat of battery acid.

  5. Save Bears Avatar
    Save Bears

    Hang them HI and let them die! That is the solution…

    In reality, all we have to do is follow the laws that are already on the books, jail time, fines and lifetime bans on hunting, as well as confiscation of guns, chastising them in the community..the laws are in place, now if we as a society use them, perhaps this bullshit would slow down or stop..

  6. Talks with Bears Avatar
    Talks with Bears

    We live in a country that chooses to allow child predators to roam the streets after being “rehabilitated” so that they can destroy the lives of even more children. So, why would anyone expect “serious” consequences for someone that steals wildlife that belongs to the public?

  7. Si'vet Avatar
    Si’vet

    Here is a perfect example of why the Fergeson case with 60 days jail time was a small victory for all wildlife.

Author

Ken Cole is a 5th generation Idahoan, an avid fly fisherman, wildlife enthusiast, and photographer. He is the interim Idaho Director for Western Watersheds Project.

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