WDFW potentially looking at limiting bear hunting during Deer and Elk seasons.

[kselkhunter]

When I had to get a replacement tag in Oregon, I had to go to ODFW office and sign an affidavit regarding why I was getting a replacement tag.   My tag was a 7 hour drive away, and my hunt was the next morning for a 5 day season.   Not sure what the process is in WA, but replacement tags shouldn't be allowed to be purchased at a license vendor.  Half the big box sporting goods stores staff (I'm looking at you Dick's Sporting Goods) barely know how to work the license/tags computer, and too easy for a poacher to get a second tag.   

[DOUBLELUNG]

I am almost never in favor of restricting legal hunting to address poaching.  On both duplicate tag and party hunting poaching issues I instead recommended increasing penalties to include multiyear loss of hunting privileges.  The in-season hunting community is basically made up of three components: hunters who follow the law, hunters who intend to hunt legally but give in to temptation when an illegal opportunity arises, and those who head out to deliberately break the law.  Time after time, studies have shown the greatest poaching deterrents, in descending order, are jail time, loss of privileges, loss of equipment, and fines.  Poaching detection rates are low, running from less than 1% to around 20%; the most effective hunter management tools are those that provide sufficient deterrent to move hunters from the second and third groups, to the first.

[pianoman9701]

When I had to get a replacement tag in Oregon, I had to go to ODFW office and sign an affidavit regarding why I was getting a replacement tag.   My tag was a 7 hour drive away, and my hunt was the next morning for a 5 day season.   Not sure what the process is in WA, but replacement tags shouldn't be allowed to be purchased at a license vendor.  Half the big box sporting goods stores staff (I'm looking at you Dick's Sporting Goods) barely know how to work the license/tags computer, and too easy for a poacher to get a second tag.

For all of you guys who want to make it harder to replace lost tags because duplicate tags make poaching easier: where is the data to support your assumptions that replacement tags are widely used for poaching? What about the earlier suggestions regarding using serial numbers on tags so that a voided/lost tag could be easily identified if attached to an animal? Poachers aren't going to do the lost tag thing year after year. Or if the WDFW is allowing that without it sending up some warning bells, their system is screwed up. Let's change the system to make poaching harder instead of further restricting lawful hunters who need replacement tags.

[Bob33]

I am almost never in favor of restricting legal hunting to address poaching.  On both duplicate tag and party hunting poaching issues I instead recommended increasing penalties to include multiyear loss of hunting privileges.  The in-season hunting community is basically made up of three components: hunters who follow the law, hunters who intend to hunt legally but give in to temptation when an illegal opportunity arises, and those who head out to deliberately break the law.  Time after time, studies have shown the greatest poaching deterrents, in descending order, are jail time, loss of privileges, loss of equipment, and fines.  Poaching detection rates are low, running from less than 1% to around 20%; the most effective hunter management tools are those that provide sufficient deterrent to move hunters from the second and third groups, to the first.

Unfortunately it is extremely rare for poachers to be given jail time, and also rare for them to lose hunting privileges or loss of equipment.

Given that, I can understand efforts to make it more difficult to obtain duplicate tags.

[andrew_in_idaho]

I've never understood what good it does to take away a poachers hunting privileges, they've already shown they have no regard for the law anyway. Big fines and long jail sentences are the ticket.

Regarding duplicate tags they should definitely have to be picked up at regional offices, allowing them to be sold free for all at Wally World is ridiculous


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[DOUBLELUNG]

I've never understood what good it does to take away a poachers hunting privileges, they've already shown they have no regard for the law anyway.

It lowers the bar greatly for the next bust.  All you need is to catch them in the field with a hunting weapon, or even a photo taken by a third party with an affidavit to the officer. 

[bigtex]

Take the surveys. There's also a proposal from the director to restrict duplicate tags because poachers might be using them. It's ridiculous. Ramp up the penalties for poaching instead of targeting law-abiding hunters.

Penalties for poaching in WA are stiff, but it's the county prosecutors or judges who don't want to hand down those penalties. Or would rather take the theft of a shopping cart case to court instead of a poaching case.

A $5,000 criminal fine, 364 days in jail, and a $2,000 civil fine for poaching a doe isn't a slap on the wrist to me 

[bigtex]

Take the surveys. There's also a proposal from the director to restrict duplicate tags because poachers might be using them. It's ridiculous. Ramp up the penalties for poaching instead of targeting law-abiding hunters.

That one was especially disturbing. Why couldn't they come up with tag serial numbers that can be voided when a duplicate is purchased. Then if a slime ball is using a voided tag, the warden could run it and bust-o-!

So are WDFW Officers now supposed to check the tag number every time they contact a hunter to ensure they aren't hunting on a duplicate tag? What about the areas with no internet service via cell phones?

[olyguy79]

Take the surveys. There's also a proposal from the director to restrict duplicate tags because poachers might be using them. It's ridiculous. Ramp up the penalties for poaching instead of targeting law-abiding hunters.

Penalties for poaching in WA are stiff, but it's the county prosecutors or judges who don't want to hand down those penalties. Or would rather take the theft of a shopping cart case to court instead of a poaching case.

A $5,000 criminal fine, 364 days in jail, and a $2,000 civil fine for poaching a doe isn't a slap on the wrist to me 

I agree 100%

I could give you a list of counties that either basically doesn't prosecute poaching violations, or if they do, the penalty is minimal. That's not WDFW's fault, in most cases it's a overworked and understaffed prosecutors office.

I personally like what California is starting to do and divert the funds from trophy big game poaching cases and giving 50% of the fine from the poaching case to the prosecutors office, that way there is actually an incentive to prosecute the case. Right now 100% of the funds from all fish/wildlife fines in WA go to the county, but the county decides how they use the money.

[walt]

Take the surveys. There's also a proposal from the director to restrict duplicate tags because poachers might be using them. It's ridiculous. Ramp up the penalties for poaching instead of targeting law-abiding hunters.

That one was especially disturbing. Why couldn't they come up with tag serial numbers that can be voided when a duplicate is purchased. Then if a slime ball is using a voided tag, the warden could run it and bust-o-!

So are WDFW Officers now supposed to check the tag number every time they contact a hunter to ensure they aren't hunting on a duplicate tag? What about the areas with no internet service via cell phones?

Couldn't they snap a quick pic of the hunter's ID and tag and look it up when back at the office?  Or have a staffer do the looking up?    

[Humptulips]

Predators take more game then poachers so we want to make it harder to control predator populations? I would like to see some figures on this that indicate it is a problem because I don't believe it is that widespread.

On the duplicate tags it seems to me nobody would ask for a duplicate as long as they had the original. No doubt some are going to notch a tag and then think they can get away with round 2 but I don't see how you would catch them short of searching every hunters freezer.

[grundy53]

Seems like they want added protection for predators in Washington.

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[Special T]

Predators take more game then poachers so we want to make it harder to control predator populations? I would like to see some figures on this that indicate it is a problem because I don't believe it is that widespread.

On the duplicate tags it seems to me nobody would ask for a duplicate as long as they had the original. No doubt some are going to notch a tag and then think they can get away with round 2 but I don't see how you would catch them short of searching every hunters freezer.

The WDFW does often make those kind of assertions with no data, and yet what most sportsmen consider basic logic is dismissed for lack of data.

[birddogdad]

make all the assertions they want. the few criminals should not impact the rest of the hunters. if they don't like it, change the damn seasons to end for all prior to the big game seasons. this is clearly guilt by association and a penalty for a successful big game hunter. Some folks still have to work for a living and take a vacation for one season. disruption to end early or try to renegotiate a second time off is just wrong too...

[JimmyHoffa]

I don't think that guys with bear tags only out party hunting for elk would be stopped by a new rule.  It is currently legal to wander around the woods with a rifle completely separate from hunting.  So those guys that currently party hunt would still be legal to go with their buddies and carry a rifle.  Only thing that would change is they couldn't legally shoot a bear, so I guess they borrow a tag from someone else.  The only thing that changes is WDFW loses the sale of a few bear tags.  How many are we really talking about?  One or two a year?