Why It Matters: Poaching – the illegal take of game animals – stands as one of the greatest threats to the societal acceptance of hunting. Additionally, poaching is a major hurdle for professional, science-based wildlife management. Hunters and non-hunters alike should unite to enact proactive measures that strengthen punishments and incentivize reporting of those engaged in poaching.
Highlights:
- Poaching threatens the social acceptance of hunting and is often utilized by anti-hunting organizations to paint with a broad brush and to blur the lines between legal, regulated hunting and illegal poaching.
- In many states, the fine or penalty for poaching is insignificant, sometimes even less than the cost of a hunting license.
- In 2024, Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) Co-Chair Senator Paul Rose and Caucus Member Representative Caleb Hemmer sponsored legislation that would have increased penalties and fines for poaching violations.
Poaching is theft — theft that negatively impacts sportsmen and women both locally and nationally. Enforcement-related activities of conservation officers working to eliminate poaching can also consume valuable staff resources and pull dollars generated through the “user pays – public benefits” American System of Conservation Funding from on-the-ground conservation practices.
In the recent light of emotional driven attacks on our hunting traditions, like Proposition 127 in Colorado, it is more important that ever for the sporting-conservation community to take a united stance against poaching. The anti-hunting community often parallels legal, ethical hunting practices with poaching when attempting to appeal to the non-hunting public, especially during election season.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) encourages state legislators to explore opportunities to strengthen penalties and fines for those that engage in poaching. Earlier this year, supported by CSF, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus spearheaded legislation that would have increased penalties and fines for poaching violations. Specifically, the legislation would have increased fines up to $500 for each offense, compared to current fines, which is up to $50 per offense. Although this legislation did not pass, it is a step in the right direction to combat poaching. In Maryland, poaching penalties correlate directly with antler size, with the fine for poaching a white-tailed deer with a gross score of more than 150 gross inches not to exceed $10,000 coupled with 80 hours of community service. In some states, Tennessee included, the fine for hunting or fishing without a license is sometimes less expensive than the license itself.
CSF is not alone in the movement to increase penalties for poaching and protect our hunting traditions. CSF’s longtime partners at the Boone and Crockett Club have taken their own unique approach to combatting poaching with their Poach and Pay Project. Their unique approach is designed to deter poaching and protect our natural resources and hunting heritage through public education. Another key element of this campaign focuses specifically on the judicial system by encouraging states to fund a wildlife prosecutor that specifically focuses on pursuing wildlife violations. By funding a wildlife prosecutor, wildlife crimes can receive the attention they deserve.
CSF will continue to work alongside our partners and Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus members to protect our storied hunting traditions in Tennessee and beyond from the negative impacts associated with poaching.
