They pled not guilty. 30 others that hunted the same camp at the same time all pled guilty and have paid over $507,000 in fines. The outfitter was found guilty and sentenced to federal prison in addition to fines over 200k. But, somehow the Bowmar's claim they did no wrong there. Weird that they were the only clients charged to not plead guilty. Maybe they have the most to lose. I think their biggest complaint is the fact that they don't think the Lacey Act is fair because it turns a simple baiting charge into a major offense. The way I see it......if you don't break game laws, you don't have to worry about how fair the Lacey Act is. And you don't have to worry about being chased out of the hunting industry.
I agree to a point....don't break the law and you have nothing to worry about. However, the Lacey Act was created in 1900. The spirit of the law is to protect wildlife from being illegally taken and commercially transported or sold across state lines. Obviously, this was a major issue that threatened wildlife populations across the country at the time. It was really the dawn of our effort to protect the overharvest of natural resources (both plants and animals) in the U.S. It was certainly not designed to turn a simple wildlife violation in one state (a minor, ticketable offense) into a Federal crime because you took that animal home to eat it or put its head on your wall. I personally don't feel that Federal punishment is warranted for such violations and that we should be able to recognize the difference in cases and act accordingly. The punishment should certainly fit the crime. Think of it this way. You decide to travel to another state to go hunting. Like many states, that particular location you go to has a litany of rules and regulations that you're unfamiliar with. You do a pretty good job at trying to figure all of them out, but you miss something. Maybe there's a special use tag you need for the area you're hunting. Or maybe that state doesn't allow mechanical broadheads. Or maybe legal hunting time ends at sunset and not 1/2 hour after. So you shoot an elk 5 minutes after legal light is over. You then process your animal and take it back home with you on the other side of the country. Should that be a Federal crime punishable by tens of thousands of dollars in fines and loss of your hunting privileges nation-wide? Or should you be subject to whatever the standard game violation punishment is within that state? Spook Spann is another good example. Is shooting a deer using a landowner tag while on a piece of property you lease but don't own, then bringing it back home with you, worthy of Federal punishment, thousands of dollars in fines and loss of your hunting privileges? If he lived in KS and committed that crime he'd get a slap on the wrist and sent on his way. But because he lives in another state it's now somehow a more severe offense? I'm certainly not advocating for people to break the law and get away with it. However, I would like to see the Lacey Act be revisited and reapplied to modern times. Travel across state lines for hunting purposes is far more commonplace than it's ever been. And, whether deliberate or unintentional, state game violations shouldn't subject someone to Federal punishment unless they meet some sort of threshold requirement.
It think it would telling to see the actual number of violations that prosecuted via the lacy act vs state prosecution of non residents. Most likely you will find that the lacy act/feds arent involved in the run of the mill game violations even ones that they could be, why is that? The most likely cases you will see them is when willfully intent and conspiracy is shown via investigation......much like this and the spook span incident. If they are guilty I hope they receive the full brunt of the law.
In my opinion, you can repeal the Lacey Act when we put some teeth into the state charges. Getting a slap on the wrist for traveling to another state and taking an animal over bait for commercially produced video is not a fair punishment. Maybe we could add a hundred grand to each and every fine that is a result of someone promoting themselves or their products while committing game violations. Again, the law was in place before it was broken. If you don't like the law, get it changed before you owe the Feds a few hundred grand, not after. Or better yet, follow the game laws and sleep well.
Ignorance of the law isn’t a viable defense. I do agree with your previous statement of innocent till proven guilty. I would also agree that using the Lacey act for minor violations is over reaching however the alleged crimes are more than trivial mistakes in my opinion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I agree on the State charges comment. Additional punishment by State authorities should definitely be an option and should be used to fill the gap between a ticket and a federal court. I disagree with the part about traveling to another state. This particular violation is not made any worse if you jump across the state line to do it. Baiting is baiting whether you do it in your back yard or across the county. Issuing a far more severe penalty simply because you traveled to commit the violation still doesn't seem right to me. . I'm not opposed to increasing fines - but they would have to be justifiable in terms of what was gained by committing the violation. 100K is pretty steep for a YouTube video the creator made, at best, a couple of hundred bucks from. Getting federal laws changed isn't an easy thing. And it seems like mentioning it within the hunting community is taboo for some reason. In spite of the fact that the law was written 120 years ago with no intent to be used in these types of situations. Hunters as a group seem to have a difficult time distancing our emotions from our beliefs. We are very passionate about what we do because we love it. However, that doesn't always make us the most objective people when it comes to forming our opinions or our reactions to certain situations. I bet if you explained this situation and the application of the Lacey Act to a non-hunter, they would find it absurd. If a hunter illegally baits an animal in Nebraska, and they are a Nebraska resident, it's considered a Class III misdemeanor and is punishable by a $125 fine. It's basically a speeding ticket. If you kill a deer over said bait, it's punishable by up to $10,000 in fines. I don't about you guys - but $10,000 is a lot of money for most people. If a hunter illegally baits an animal in Nebraska, and they are not from Nebraska, and take the deer they killed home with them, it's now a Federal crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. FOR THE SAME CRIME.
You're correct - ignorance of the law is never a viable excuse. And I'm far from excusing anyone's actions if they knowingly poach an animal. So my question becomes - what should the punishment be? Is $10,000 per animal killed enough? I think they're accused of 2 deer and 1 turkey? So 30K? That's a year's salary for a substantial amount of people in America. Or should they get $250K+ in fines and lose their ability to hunt anywhere in the country for 5 years?
Honestly... I say 10 year hunting rights removal. Second offense lifetime ban. Plus whatever financial fines and penalties are deemed worthy. I'm more concerned about getting them OUT of our same "hunter" group than I am taking money from them.
This seems like a personal vendetta against the Bowmars because you don't like them. However, we can't legislate based on whether we like people or not. There needs to be an equal application of the laws across the board, regardless of who committed the crime.
Wait, this was not specific to the Bowmars. I may not have liked their production style, but I have nothing to base them being terrible people. I am speaking to poachers in general. I could see perhaps a first offense - 1 year and then second is 10 and third is life.
Good question and I guess the easy answer is whatever the judge decides. Personally I have zero tolerance for anyone that poaches and I’m a firm believer that harsh sentences are a deterrent to committing crimes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Had they cooperated from the start, they likely would not be facing the Lacey Act charges. They would of had a much better leg to stand on when it comes to making a plea deal like the other 30 guilty parties. I think the fact that they were willing to knowingly commit the same crimes over and over again for multiple years at an outfitter that was obviously crooked set them up for being used as an example when they chose to deny the charges. Now, they are screwed. You all know my thoughts on what commercializing hunting has done to a hobby I love. In my opinion, many of these crimes would never happen if there was not pressure to produce footage and an insane desire to become "celebrity" status in the hunting world. The list of "celebrity" game violators continues to grow and grow. Not to mention the small fry like Booner that happens in every neighborhood all the time. To actually answer one of your questions beyond rambling....... $10,000 for poaching is a solid fine. Maybe a good start. For some though, it is nothing. For others, it is a new mortgage on the house to get out of trouble, maybe even bankruptcy. There are guys that will pay several hundred thousand dollars for an auction sheep tag. 10k to them is definitely not a deterrent. Ultimately, we have to police ourselves as best we can and be willing to make the call when we see illegal activity. The Nebraska camp had over 30 hunters knowingly involved in poaching. In that instance, I have no issue with throwing the book at them. They are the type that ruins everything for the rest of us. Suspension of hunting rights in addition to a solid fine might be enough for most. I do absolutely get your point about the outdated intent of the Lacey Act. But again, I think for the most part, if you are making an honest mistake and you admit your wrong, you are not likely to get hit with the Federal charges. Spook was known to habitually bend and willingly break the rules. He was made an example for the rest of us that might be tempted to do the same. He plays dumb and hides behind the Bible. The absolute worst kind of human being in my opinion.
I have vaguely been following this case. I don't know to great detail of what the laws were that were broken so I won't comment on the case itself. The hunting industry seems ripe with these issues. There seems to always be someone, every few years, that get dinged for something really bad. It's a shame really, this is what our sport has come to. Money, greed, notoriety driving some to take part in illegal activity in order to get the film to TV and money in their pockets. This is partly why i personally won't watch anything on TV with the exception of the Heartland guys. I just can't get into the "canned" feeling of these shows anymore. Now, that is not to say that the others on TV aren't doing it by the book. I'm quite sure these guys have their crap together as they are probably under a microscope from neighbors and the DCNR in their respective locations. These big time TV shows, Lakoski, Drury, etc., for example, can't afford to be doing something really stupid or shady. They get caught and their entire empire goes down. This is why I stick with the more homegrown stuff like Bowhunt or Die and Midwest Whitetails for example. Love the feel of the content from BHOD, because I can relate to it and they guys are just like us.. well.. maybe not Justin.. he's a little odd. lol. I think there is a line between doing something that is easily known to not be right and getting caught for an honest mistake that I'd venture a lot of us probably do more than we realize. There is a big difference between knowingly breaking big laws such as poaching, illegal baiting, knowingly trespassing, etc., and mistakenly shooting a bit after legal time or mistakingly using the wrong tag. I don't think people should face federal charges unless warranted. Let due process run its course, then decide proper punishment. I do believe there also has to be a level of discretion from the authorities when looking at these situations. Was it an honest mistake or does the person implicated have a prior history of not so legal issues? All of this should be taken into consideration.
The above I highlighted in red did have a run in just a couple of years ago. Seems like he tagged a deer with a tag he bought after shooting said deer. I'm generalizing that and don't remember the exact details of his offense but really moot to the point I want to make. I guess my point is Lee admitted to an honest mistake. He owned the mistake, stated he wasn't trying to be nefarious and paid the fine. Until proven otherwise I have to take him at his word and respect he owned it and paid the price. Unless it's something like rape, murder, robbery, hit a woman, etc (things done that can NOT be explained away as a mistake) that I would never do I can't criticize ANYONE for making a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes all the time they just don't get caught and most of the time it's not being malicious or trying to gain an advantage it's just an honest mistake. I know ignorance is not an excuse but we're all imperfect and can't know everything. It's just if you really didn't know and made an honest mistake and get caught - don't whine and try to lie your way out of it. Own it, apologize, pay the price and move on. I got dinged $210 summer of 2019. I did not know of an obscure law, I broke it and got a $210 reassurance I'll never do it again. Now I think the $210 was EXTREMELY excessive and I think anyone with the sense God gave a goose would've let it slide but they didn't and I paid. I had just finished fishing by myself and had just pulled my bass boat onto my trailer to leave and go home. It gets dark here in the summer about 8-8:15ish. It's about 7:30PM at the time. I stepped onto the hitch of my boat trailer and cinched the boat and was getting down to pull my truck out of the way. I stepped onto the slimy boat ramp and fell. My forehead busted my rear passenger tail light. My forehead was cut pretty bad and my cheekbone had a gash where I hit the bumper on the way down. I then fell down the ramp into the water. I had spare dry clothes but no spare dry shoes. I HATE wet shoes. I changed clothes and put the wet clothes and shoes in the bed of the truck. I live 8.1 miles from ramp to home, I get pulled over. I explained what happened and apologized and it was obvious from my forehead and cheek it had just happened. Plus the wet clothes and shoes in the back. He gives me a ticket for somewhere around $100-150ish for the tail light but when I went to court the judge dropped it because I had a receipt for fixing it the next day. He also gave me a ticket for driving barefoot for $210. Apparently one of those old seldom heard of or enforced laws on the books - like spitting on Wednesday. I was honest with the judge and admitted breaking that law out of ignorance but no malicious intent and asked for leniency but he gave me none. However it is a law and I never sat down and committed myself to memorizing every single law on the books, so you know ya gotta own it and pay it. Now as far as the Bowmars, I've never met them so can't judge there but I actually like their videos and from the videos don't have a bad opinion formed. One thing I'm extremely staunch on is innocent until proven guilty. Also if accused of something I didn't do then I would probably cause a wangdangdoodle myself. On the flip side if you throw a fit and get proven guilty you deserve whatever you get I guess.
I support our law enforcement but........ This right here is completely absurd and a prime example of an officer abusing his authority...... smh Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow sure glad I did not get pulled over after I fell wade fishing a river lost one croc. I drove home barefoot in just my under pants.
