Legislator wants tougher penalties for poaching
Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives this week would deter poaching by increasing the fine and mandating that repeat poachers lose their hunting and fishing licenses.
House Bill 2573 by state Rep. Pat Ownbey would make the penalty for a first offense a fine of $500 to $1,500.
The legislation makes the penalty for a second offense a fine of $1,500 to 2,500, six months in county jail or both and mandates the loss of the poacher’s hunting and fishing licenses for 1 to 10 years.
“Several of my constituents had problems with a repeat poachers on their land, partly because of how weak the current minimum fine is,” said Ownbey, R-Ardmore. “One constituent had a horse shot. This is a huge problem and we need a penalty that matches the crime. We’ve got to do a better job of deterring poachers.”
HB 2573 was approved by a vote of 61-33 and now proceeds to the Senate for consideration.
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It is about time we adopt this new legislation. It’sonly about 20 years overdue. People will continue to commit these crimes until the fine outweighs the punishment. People know that they might never get caught by a game warden( Unless someone turns them in) and if they do get caught they will pay the fine. These poachers really upset me to no end. They want a branging buck but,Don’t want to put out the effort. They just want the notoriety and exposure it brings. Just like these people that want to impersonate the valor of our service men and women and have never left the living room. Just upsets me to no end what some people do in our society these days.