Today's Helena newspaper, the Independent Record has an article about the conviction of Bill and Sally Foster for the illegal taking of OVER 30 illegal deer and elk.
I suspect serial poachers like this are one of the biggest threats if not the biggest threat to the future of hunting in Montana and elsewhere.
Wyoming Fish and Game web site right now has several cases of poachers being arrested, in many of the cases it involved the killing of trophy class animals.
Wish people would get fired up enough about this to scream for jail terms for the bast ids.
3, 2014
RIVERTON MAN CONVICTED OF POACHING TROPHY MULE DEER NEAR LANDER
LANDER - On Dec. 3, a Riverton man plead guilty in the Ninth District Circuit Court in Lander to poaching a large trophy buck mule deer. The incident occurred Oct.14, 2013 near Lander.
Joseph A. Holdren, 28, pleaded guilty to knowingly and intentionally taking an antlered mule deer without a license, hunting private land without permission and using an illegal firearm to take the deer.
Lander Game Warden Brad Hovinga with mule deer poached by Joseph Holdren.
Holdren illegally killed a large trophy class mule deer buck without a license on private land near Lander. He killed the deer with illegal ammunition, causing the rifle to be illegal. Recent changes to Wyoming Game and Fish Department regulations allow the use of the .223 caliber cartridge Holdren was using as long as the bullet weight is at least 60 grains and has a soft, expanding point. The bullet in Holdren�s ammunition did not meet these requirements.
The defendant was ordered to pay $12,340 in fines and restitution for the illegally taken mule deer. Holdren�s hunting and fishing privileges were revoked for the next 10 years in Wyoming and 39 reciprocal states. In addition, equipment used in the poaching incident was forfeited to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, including the .223 caliber AR-15 rifle used to kill the trophy.
�A huge thanks goes out to the anonymous individual who called the Game and Fish to report what was believed to be suspicious activity,� said Lander game warden Brad Hovinga. �It�s folks like this taking the time to report possible illegal activity that allows us to catch more of these criminals and successfully prosecute them for their wildlife crimes.
�None of this would have been possible without the efforts of Deputy County Attorney Tom Majdic and his dedication to the successful prosecution of wildlife crimes. The support of County Attorney Michael Bennett and the Fremont County Attorney�s Office is unprecedented in this case.�
WHAT A WASTE � CODY MAN SHOOTS MULE DEER AND LEAVES THE MEAT TO ROT
Buffalo � A case involving the intentional waste of edible portions of a big game animal was adjudicated on February 13th. On October 1st 2013, Steve Haberland of Cody Wyoming shot a 5X6 buck mule deer northeast of Buffalo. Haberland took only the head and back straps and left the rest to rot. Haberland offered many different excuses and stories to Buffalo Game Warden Jim Seeman as to why he left the meat. For his crime, he was fined $540.00 and lost his hunting privileges for one year. The head of the mule deer was also permanently confiscated.
Haberland with 5X6 Mule Deer he shot northeast of Buffalo on October 1, 2013.
May 12, 2014
JOHNSON COUNTY ELK POACHING CASE SETTLED
BUFFALO � A Gillette woman, Prairie Whiteface, has been ordered to pay fines and restitution totaling $19,500 following a guilty plea of the illegal taking of two bull elk in 2011 and 2013 on a ranch near the Powder River east of Buffalo.
Warden Jim Seeman with the confiscated elk mounts.
Due to the seriousness of the elk violations, and because of a previous case involving Whiteface in 2009, Johnson County Deputy Attorney Ryan Wright and Whiteface�s defense attorney drafted a plea agreement for the fines and restitution. Circuit Court Judge Shelley Cundiff then sentenced Whiteface in accordance with the agreement.
On April 28, 2014 Whiteface, entered a plea of guilty to the illegal take of two elk without proper licenses in 2011 and 2013. The case was initiated in October 2013, when Gillette game Wardens Dustin Kirsch and Teal Joseph relayed information they had received regarding a possible poaching incident to Buffalo game warden Jim Seeman. After Seeman received the information he recalled a similar type violation that occurred in 2009 involving the same defendant. In that case, Whiteface�s license was given to a Texas man to use when he harvested a buck mule deer. The Texas man was charged with taking a deer without a proper license and paid a fine of $780. The mule deer in that case was also confiscated.
In the elk cases, it was Whiteface that used licenses in 2011 and 2013 that were not issued to her. After the Gillette wardens and Seeman collected physical evidence about both elk, Seeman interviewed Whiteface who admitted to killing both elk and having the elk she killed in 2011 mounted.
In addition to fines and restitution, Prairie Whiteface lost her privilege to purchase licenses and hunt for three years. With her hunting privileges suspended in Wyoming, Whiteface will not be able to purchase hunting licenses in 38 other states that are members of the Wildlife Violators Compact. Both elk heads were confiscated and the meat from the elk taken in 2013 was donated to a family.
I have far less issue with someone who shoots out of season/without tags/whatever and still eats the critter. These guys who shoot and let lay are the devious ones.
Neither is 'OK' however...