Montana bear poaching ring
Bears
Some news from Montana in regards to a "Bear poaching ring".
"Harrison pleaded guilty to felony charges of unlawful possession of a game animal and faces a maximum of 45 years in prison and a $250,000 fine"
Sounds like the 3 stooges.
I'm hear'n a banjo........
Can't believe the one guy only had his hunting privileges revoked for only 5 years. To me if you are involvedin something like this, they should not be able to hunt or fish for life!!!
I bet they saved 100 elk calves. HUNT
HUNT. !!!!!!????????????Justification for poaching?
My best, Paul
Paul not at all. Just that bears eat elk calves and dead bears don't. They could have drove another 20 miles to Idaho and baited all the bears they wanted. It's a fishy story all the way around to me. Hunt
I'm with Hunt on this.........not to justify the guy but literally Trail Creek is less than 10 miles from a dirt road that straddles MT/ID border that he could have baited bears on all day long. 9 bears in 5 or six years out of that little area saved a lot of elk/deer calves and fawns.
Something doesn't make sense about it, I'm guessing we're not hearing all the details.
just what we need, killing bears for their gallbladder. A headscratcher as reported.
Nick, yes for illegally killing a bear and illegal baiting. What I have seen over the years is that most people who do this kind of Crap have broken many more laws in the past so yes they should have the privelege of hunting and fishing taken away for life!
Every time poaching is mentioned people get banned,some justify it and those that bring it up are the bad guys oh and always one that plays politics.Ask Nugent,too many moral compasses pointing south.Ted Nugents bear camp faces 70 charges of poaching and his bookings went up!!
Whether we agree or disagree with a regulation it dosen't matter because it's the regulation and as ethical sportspeople we need to abide by the game regulatiom. If we have a sound and reasonable biologic objection to a law it should be taken up with the DNR and DNR Commissioners to change the laws. But condoning illegal hunting activities is not the way to do it. It shines a bad light on all of us.
I personally know several hunters that refused to go with Nugents bear camp in NB and lost several thousands of dollars in deposits because they refused to hunt with an outfitter that's under investigation for multiple game law violations.
I don't get why people push for lifetime hunting bands. Do you really think it's going to stop them from poaching? Come on they are poaching. Besides these guys are baiting and from what it sounds like there is more to the story then what that short article had to say.
There is no way that anyone would go to Jail 45 years or pay a $250,000 fine it will be more like there buddys got. You can rob a bank and not get 45 years in Montana.
some scary stuff posted above by "sportsmen"
So these guys where tagging there bears with a Montana bear tag. Taking them in to Fish and game to check them in. Fish and Game knew what was going on and waited 4 years to get all the evidence to conflict them. I don't agree with what they did or how they did it. But there is always more to the story. Hunt
I wonder how things would be if bears were eliminated or became rare?i always thought hunters were the real conservationalists nownot so sure that applies .
The whole story is strange to me and seems like it's missing a lot of information. There will probably be more to come out about this.
I wonder what is the longest jail sentence for poaching ever given in the US?
An old self proclaimed poacher once told me he didn't care if they banned him from hunting/fishing, because he didn't buy a tag or follow their rules anyway.
Agree with Elmer and Bou.
well strung u are correct take a lic away from a poacher thats a joke no hunting for years lol another joke.. Even if he lost lic in the states he can then hunt Africa Canada Mexico and others .
I wonder how things would be if bears were eliminated or became rare?i always thought hunters were the real conservationalists nownot so sure that applies .
There will be poaching until fines hurt too bad to continue to do it. Problem with fines........crimminal might not have the funds. Solution to that.......a lot of community service in front of the general public. Nobody likes working for nothing and nobody likes public humiliation.
There will always be poaching no matter how high the fines get. Sorry but there are country where people have their hands cut off for stealing, guess what they are still cutting off peoples hands.
If MT is anything like Colorado, then baiting was not banned for biology, but out of politics that have nothing to do with biology. From a biological stand point baiting makes tremendous sense as hunters can then select the specific bears that need to be removed from the wild and they can also avoid sows, cubs, etc.
As far as the statement of saving elk, there is no doubt that both deer and elk herds benefited from the removal of the additional bears, but it does not justify illegal activity... Sorry but #Elklivesmatter makes about as much sense as black lives matter.
Sorry, I was referring to repeat offenders. I should of been more clear.
Revoking hunting privileges from a poacher is like putting more gun laws in effect to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Its a joke.
For those not familiar with the Trail Creek area, it's part of what's considered the "Big Hole." Very scenic remote area with a stretch having no fences or ranches for miles and miles. I believe it's a major summer area for the elk and I'm assuming calving area as well.
The other interesting thing about the area is it's close proximity to two units (250 and 270)that went from general elk units to special draw units resulting form a crash in elk numbers a few years ago. Wildlife and Parks were slow to react to over-harvest of cow elk and "wolf depredation." Local sportsman groups funded an elk study to hopefully verify the wolf impact and migration habits. The study surprisingly found that mountain lions and bears were having impact as well and mountain lion quotas have increased I believe. Since no bear baiting is allowed in MT, the bear harvest is minimal and probably will remain that way.
The poached bears may actually help the elk rebound in a twisted way. The guy will "pay the fine and do the time" and hopefully the money will help wildlife and parks which always seems to struggle with budgets.
Here's a picture of my Dad with his first mountain bull that was killed only a few miles from the bear poaching area last fall. The area is scenic and great habitat that has the potential to support many more elk if the conditions are right.
"I wonder how things would be if bears were eliminated or became rare?"
And IF my Aunt had the right equipment she'd be my Uncle.... IF is (depending on what your definition of "is" is...) dramatic, but a pretty meaningless word when it doesn't apply....
They were doing something illegal. They got caught and will pay their debt to society. But a little perspective needed IMO.
They cheated and broke a hunting regulation to take animals they had tags for. Folks get busted for speeding, lots of things that actually ENDANGER another human being. Unless they are multiple offenders they are fined and "points" taken away or probation, take classes, etc.
They weren't priests molesting children or broke into your home and robbed you, nor assaulted or murdered anyone. The "maximums" stated are over the top extreme for the crime IMO, like Bigdan said. Those in charge will decide the proper punishment. This time, for this infraction.
All I know is I've argued with Huntman before and he's always right. :-)
And remember... these days it is extremely rare for the media to print a story without blowing it out of proportion. "Hunter caught baiting bear" could translate as "Hunt Man dropped a Snickers bar out of his tree stand a the filming crew for the TV show Wardens burst out of the brush and cuffed his arse" Details at 11.
