Poachers beware – some Boston-area legislators have their aim set on you.
The Humane Society of the United States praised Massachusetts Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, and Rep. Matthew Beaton, R-Shrewsbury, for introducing bipartisan legislation last week that would increase penalties for wildlife poaching and bring Massachusetts into a nationwide law enforcement network known as the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
“The key to combating poaching is deterring these crimes before they happen, and adequate penalties make poachers think twice before breaking the law,” said Alexis Fox, Massachusetts state director for The Humane Society.
The bill would increase penalties for illegal activities such as shooting animals in a wildlife sanctuary, hunting under the influence of alcohol, spotlighting wildlife at night and shooting wildlife from a vehicle.
It also authorizes Massachusetts’ membership in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which establishes reciprocity with other states for the purposes of hunting, trapping and fishing license suspensions.
Massachusetts is one of only seven states that is not a member of the accord. Membership in the compact would prevent wildlife violators who have lost their licenses in member states from crossing state lines into Massachusetts to circumvent their punishment.
“As a former environmental police officer, I am well aware that the illegal practice of poaching is a serious public safety issue, which has a negative effect on the environment,” said Sen. Moore. “Poaching is not only a concern for animal protection advocates and conservationists, but also law-abiding hunters. Poachers cheat the system and gain an unfair advantage over lawful hunters.”
Poached:
- State records show that on average, several hundred people are arrested, charged or warned for hunting violations in the Commonwealth each year.
- Some of Massachusetts’ poaching penalties are among the weakest in the country and some have remained unchanged since the 1930s.
- Recent alleged poaching crimes in Massachusetts include a turkey killed illegally by a man shooting from the road in Athol in May 2012, a Southampton man charged with illegal bear baiting in September 2012 and a deer killed illegally in a wildlife sanctuary in Petersham in November 2012.
- Forty-one states are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which was started in the early 1990s. Since then, membership has spread across the country with more states joining each year.
- When a poacher has his or her hunting, fishing and/or trapping privileges suspended in a state that is a member of the compact, the suspension may be recognized by all other compact member states. The violation is treated as if it happened in the violator’s home state for purposes of license suspension. Suspension information is shared between states via an electronic database.
