The NATIONAL
Program Ensures Poachers Will Pay
News of TEXAS
also develop template legislation that could be carried in state houses to help state agencies fight wildlife crime. B&C also announced that it is actively seeking additional sponsorship from the outdoor industry and other organizations to help fund Poach & Pay research and outreach in the coming years. Boone and Crockett Club President Timothy C. Brady noted “Poaching goes against all that we hold sacred as law-abiding sportsmen and women and undermines the entire foundation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. However, the media often uses the terms hunting and poaching interchangeably, dragging all hunters down with the crimes of poachers. “In addition, with little consistency among states in terms of fines and restitution, poach-
DURING THE ANNUAL MEETING OF the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC), the Boone and Crockett Club announced its plans to lead a long-term Poach & Pay campaign against poaching. Through Poach & Pay, the club will work with state wildlife agencies, legislators, and the judicial system to improve the detection and conviction of poachers and to ensure that the fines being assessed for this illegal killing are in line with the value society places on wildlife. Poach & Pay has received initial financial support through Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund. The program will include detailed research and a public outreach campaign to actively engage the sportsmens’ community against poaching. Poach & Pay will
ers often get away with little penalty. This emboldens them and other poachers to steal our public trust resources–and potentially the future of hunting.” In 2016, the Boone and Crockett Club conducted research on the state restitution systems for illegal take of big game species through Phase I of the Poach & Pay project. This review found that 42 states currently have restitution programs—many include trophy restitution—however there is little apparent standardization of restitution costs, either within or among states. Surveyed state conservation officers believed that poaching penalties accurately reflect the crime and current values of illegally taken animals. However, the survey found that the judicial system often was the primary obstacle in convicting and punishing poachers. In fact,
MIXED STRINGER
RED SNAPPER
Aransas Pass
Port Mansfield
Nina Garrett caught a limit of reds plus this nice trout on a recent wadefishing trip around Mud Island near Aransas Pass and Rockport. To top off the day, their boatride back was escorted by a pod of dolphins that stayed with them for 20 minutes.
Carlos Marcel Gamboa landed this snapper fishing out of Port Mansfield with Big Dawg Outfitters. The fight only took three minutes. It was Carlos’s first red snapper.
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