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Administration; Law-Enforcement; Wildlife; Hunting; Licenses-and-Permits
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2023) — Poachers who steal wildlife resources from the Commonwealth and take away opportunities for law-abiding recreationists now face civil damages as well as criminal penalties, as the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is actively seeking restitution in poaching cases.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is seeking more than $12,000 in restitution from two men convicted in separate cases of poaching record-class bucks during the 2022 season. The restitution is in addition to fines, seizures and suspension of hunting privileges imposed in the criminal cases.
“By seeking restitution, it demonstrates our commitment to protecting our fish and wildlife resources in the Commonwealth,” said Rich Storm, commissioner of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.
State law (KRS 150.995) allows the department to seek restitution in addition to criminal penalties and fines against deer and elk poachers.
Those sued include:
Conservation officers Sgt. Jared Ervin and Ofc. Aaron Amshoff located the site where the deer had been field dressed, then backtracked up the trail to where the buck had been illegally shot on park property. Their investigation also revealed the carcass had been dragged more than 150 yards down a steep bluff and across a well-marked creek that served as the boundary between the park and the wildlife management area.
Upon questioning by Conservation Officer Conner McEvoy, Smith acknowledged using his grandmother’s centerfire rifle to illegally shoot a deer while standing in his driveway during muzzleloader season. A modern rifle cannot be used during muzzleloader season.
The restitution law allows the department to seek monetary damages for illegally taken game. Penalty fines for a deer or elk are calculated based upon their record-book score as determined by an official Boone and Crockett Club measurer. Scoring considers several factors, including length of antler tines, width of the rack, number of tines, thickness at the antler base, and overall balance of the rack. The trophy restitution applies to antlered deer with a gross score of 125 or more, or an elk measuring 280 or better.
“My biggest issue is the opportunity that someone else missed because the deer was taken illegally,” said Storm.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Deputy Commissioner Gabe Jenkins said the department has increased its capacity to certify record-book deer and elk to better serve hunters and enhance protection of the wildlife it stewards for the Commonwealth.
“By recently certifying more official measurers across the state, we can now more readily provide hunters with valid scores on legally taken quality deer or elk, while also being able to more efficiently score illegally taken animals for restitution cases,” said Jenkins. “The department plans to pursue more civil restitution cases against poachers in the future as an additional deterrent to this criminal activity.”
Until recently, only a few department employees were trained and certified in the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system. However, department employees are now located statewide to better serve our hunters. To find an official measurer hunters can visit Boone and Crockett Official Measurer Lookup.
Kentucky is an international destination state for hunting, particularly white-tailed deer and elk. The Boone and Crockett Club recently listed the Bluegrass State again among the top-10 states for hunting whitetails. Kentucky’s elk herd is the largest east of the Rocky Mountains. The state’s annual elk hunt drawing attracts tens of thousands of paying applicants who are seeking one of only a few hundred coveted elk hunting permits.
Expenditures by Kentucky deer and elk hunters yield more than $550 million in economic benefits to the Commonwealth every year. Poaching is detrimental not only to sustainable opportunities for hunters and wildlife watchers, but also to Kentucky’s local communities and economies that benefit from tourism by law-abiding recreationists.
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