In Montana, out-of-towners pay a higher price for
their hunting and fishing violations, even though locals commit
most of the wildlife crimes. Non-residents who illegally killed
fish or other wildlife in 1994 spent three times as long in jail as
Montanans, according to an Associated Press analysis. They also
lost their licenses for an average of four months
longer.
“There’s a small-town atmosphere (in
Montana) where everyone knows everyone else,” game warden Tom
Bivins told the Billings Gazette. “For some justices of the peace,
it’s easier to make examples out of someone they don’t know.”
Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources used to
find similar discrepancies in rulings by elected judges, says
Robert Elswood, chief of law enforcement for the wildlife division.
But Utah’s court system changed several years ago, he says, and now
wildlife violation cases decided by appointed judges and penalties
are more consistent. Elswood adds that states such as Utah and
Colorado have set fines for specific hunting and fishing
violations. Because violators pay a fine instead of posting bond,
judges exercise less control over penalty
assessments.
– Jenny Emery
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bad hunters meet good old boys.
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