Hey Hunters, Come to Montana and Kill a Wolf
You could pay an outfitter in the Northern Rockies $3,600 or $2,900 for a guided hunt to kill one wolf, or you could come to Montana and illegally poach two wolves for $1,135. And you don't need to worry about losing your hunting privileges for the poaching.
$1,135 and no revocation of hunting privileges; that was the punishment imposed upon a wolf hunter in northwest Montana that illegally killed two wolves near Glacier National Park last month.
The State of Montana also failed to include those two wolves and another illegally poached wolf in its hunt harvest quota of 75 wolves.
With such a ridiculously light wrist slap, what kind of message is Montana sending about the value of wolves in the state?
For comparison, two men from Bozeman, Montana, poached one bull elk in Yellowstone National Park a few years ago. Their punishment? One of the hunters received 30 days in jail, a year of supervised probation and three years of unsupervised probation (he also pled guilty to a marijuana possession charge). The other was sentenced to five days in jail already served and three years unsupervised probation. Each was ordered to pay more than $8,000 in restitution, fines and other costs, and both were banned from hunting for four years and prohibited from visiting Yellowstone for four years. They were also ordered to forfeit the guns and ammunition they used during their illegal hunt.
And while that was a federal case, Montana has historically not been shy about dishing out some hefty punishments for poaching cases in big sky country.
But with a very public case of two illegally poached wolves during the state's inaugural wolf hunt, Montana let this wildlife thief off easy and missed a great opportunity to set a strong precedent that illegally killing wolves in Montana will not be tolerated.
What a shame.
When an animal is poached, that animal dies a needless death, and, more broadly, everyone is robbed.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sergeant John Obst nailed it when he said:
[E]very animal poached represents one less opportunity for real hunters, and for everyone, really, who values Montana's wildlife.
It's too bad Montana didn't heed Sergeant Obst's words and drop the hammer with a real punishment for this wolf poacher.
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
OV Social
I have a BS in Cellular Bio with experience in the Fish and Game dept here in MT. There is NO NEED for wolves in the lower 48 States. I will obey the dumb laws and the good laws, but I wish that wolves had never been reintroduced to MT and I would shoot every one that I saw if legally permitted to do so.
Wolves hamstring as many elk as possible and then let them go for food at a later date. It is a very ugly thing to witness. You will find in the next 5 years to see the elk and deer populations tumble as is already evident in the Parks.
Your name is at least accurate. Mother nature is not always pretty, as you should be aware if your BS is not BS. Further, so what if they elk and deer populations tumble.
Maybe you have special wolves in MT, as here in MN, we have not seen the terrible devistation that was foretold when wolves were reintroduced. Or maybe, just maybe, the wolves are not the cause of the devistation you claim will happen. Maybe that BS is BS.
What are the paticulars to this? Not the poaching but the court case, did he have a good lawyer? Was he a rancher who had lost stock over the years? Heavy fines do indeed help stop poaching but Judges need the discretion to take the circumstances into consideration. As far as adding a poached wolf onto a leagal hunting quota that is plain silly. Any wolf deaths (or any game animal deaths) recorded other than legal take (road kills ect) are always included and used in game animal management. Lets lose the emotional hype and use the best science to try our best to keep our animal populations at the best possible level. Wolf management up to now has been a textbook case of PC run amuck. A question I always wonder is how many of the people who are antihunting would allow a rampant rat infestation in their home go unchecked? Should every case of poaching result in jail time? Revocation of hunting privliges?
Some people shoot more wolves, deer, or elk than they have tags for which is rather irresponsible. No question there. I put these folks into the same category as those who shoot road signs in rural areas. Jackasses.
I've never actually agreed with fines for breaking laws. In many cases that "debt to society " is nothing more than a fee for disregarding laws that are put in place for a reason. That's like saying "It's okay, I have the money in case I get caught." It encourages bad practices. I agree with short-term probation after a reasonable amount of time spent incarcerated.
Lose your freedom for a bit when you break a law . And do without several of your rights for six months to a year while you're on probation.
I can't disagree with this. Poaching should result in more than a wrist slap.
It does nothing to further the cause of hunters or other pro 2nd Amendment folks when they get away with this.