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Unlawfully taking game leads game violations, substance abuse a growing problem

By Olivia Goudy ogoudy@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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Hunters head out into the woods. According to the PGC’s annual legislative report for the 2016-17 hunting season, there were 991 violations associated with that game law.

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Associated Press

A group of whitetail deer grazes in the woods. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania’s coming firearms deer season packs promise for hundreds of thousands of hunters.

For all of the thousands of law-abiding sportsmen and -women in Pennsylvania, there are still those who knowingly violate the regulations handed down to them for the ultimate safety of the wildlife and public.

Each year, wildlife conservation officers, now known officially as game wardens, with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, hand out thousands of citations for failure to abide by those laws.

“The goal of law enforcement is voluntary compliance, that’s why we’re out there. If everyone followed the law, our job would be really easy,” said Patrick Snickles, state game warden and Information and Education Supervisor with the Southwest Region of the PGC. “We have an obligation to all residents of the state and law-abiding sportsmen of the state to protect the resources.”

Over his years with the game commission, some of the violations have varied, though one almost always remains near the top — the unlawful taking of game or wildlife.

According to the PGC’s annual legislative report for the 2016-17 hunting season, there were 991 violations associated with that game law. Those numbers don’t include mistake kills.

“There are select individuals that certainly don’t abide by the rules, and for them I’d suggest they know that in today’s world, quite frankly, they’re often being watched,” Snickles said. “They can be turned in at any time by anyone, anonymously. Don’t be surprised if someone you know does turn you in, it happens all the time.”

“Not only that, but they should know that wildlife in Pennsylvania belongs to all commonwealth residents. When you take more than allowed, you’re not stealing from us, you’re stealing from family, friends and neighbors,” he added.

“You’re denying someone else the opportunity to possibly get an animal that they’d be overjoyed to have.”

His overall message is simple: the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they usually catch up with people.

“Just because you’ve gotten away with it in the past, don’t make the assumption that you’ll never get caught — it’s a bad assumption,” he said.

All of that being said, though, there are a myriad of ways a violation could end up being considered an unlawful taking of game or wildlife. It’s not just poachers, Snickles said.

“It could be the method and manner in which they did it,” he said.

For instance, some of those results are tied with the usage of motorized vehicles to locate game.

“You might see a buck, roll down the window, and ‘bang.’ It’s illegal because it’s taken in an illegale method. It’s not always about taking more than you’re allowed, or taking them out of season,” he said.

Another example might be a hunter who’s taken a bear he or she found hibernating. Even though everything else about that hunt was legal, including having the required orange on, the manner in which they did it was illegal, as it’s against the law to shoot a bear in a den.

Also on the PGC’s list of top ten game violations for 2016-17 were operating a motorized vehicle on state game lands or on property enrolled in the agency’s Hunter Access Program, hunting or taking game or wildlife with bait or enticement, possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle (in motion and stationary), and failure to wear the required amount of fluorescent orange (all seasons).

A new one this year, though, compared to the prior year, was spotlighting violations.

“This year, for whatever reason, our numbers were up. And nine times out of ten, it’s from spotlighting after legal hours,” Snickles said.

Pennsylvania is one of the few states in which spotlighting is legal, though there are restrictions against its use after 11 p.m., and during rifle season.

The second most common violation associated with spotlighting is having firearms or bows in the vehicle while you’re doing it.

“You can’t spot while in possession of those,” he said, noting that the law does, however, accommodate legal possession a handgun with the appropriate protection permit.

An ever increasing problem for Snickles and countless other game wardens, though, unfortunately has nothing to do with the wildlife or sport itself.

“Drug and alcohol use, and littering, are fast growing problems for us,” Snickles said.

“Unfortunately, our folks are running into this more and more, all the time.”

Occasionally, game wardens come across substance abuse while hunting, and there is a section of game law for those cited for HUI (hunting under the influence). But generally, PGC data accounts for people using game lands as a place to drink, use drugs, and deal them.

Last year, there were 266 violations for drug and alcohol possession on game lands, and 265 for littering.

“They’re facing it more and more, and it’s a shame,” he said.

The top-ten list is rounded out by failure to tag big game properly and using a Commission range without a license or permit.

“The Top 10 wildlife crime violations during fiscal year 2016- 17 were similar to those of the previous fiscal year with these exceptions,” the report indicated. “Falling from the Top 10 were hunting or trapping without the required license, road hunting, and safety zone violations.”

According to Snickles, there were 7,516 prosecutions last year statewide, 6,775 were successful, 234 were unsuccessful and 507 were withdrawn. The overall prosecution rate was 96.7 percent, and game wardens gave out 12,000 warnings for a ratio of almost two warnings per citation, he said.

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