Poaching Problems

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

You are driving home and through the dark of the night you see a light shining through a field. It settles on a spot and you hear a gunshot. The vehicle turns off the road. The poachers grab their kill and leave. You may not know it, but you likely just witnessed a crime that occurs too much in New York state.

Deer poaching is the illegal harvest of deer by the use of artificial light during the night. The crime involves shining a light on the deer, thus freezing it just long enough to shoot it, killing the animal at its most vulnerable state. The Cooperstown Crier claims that this horrible wildlife crime usually happens in rural areas late at night. Due to these late hours and unpopulated areas, there are few, if any, witnesses to the crime. During just a seven week period, Environmental Conservation Offices were assigned to saturation patrol in targeted rural areas. In that short time, 137 individuals were arrested for more than 250 offenses.

There are many reasons why people poach deer. An article from the Cooperstown Crier also recently stated that the number one reason people poach deer is because they have either had a rough year, or few years, in terms of harvesting deer. Another big reason why people poach deer is because they are just too lazy to spend time in the woods. They just want to get the easy kill, take the meat, and leave. Furthermore, The New York Post reports that some people poach just for the thrill of the hunt. They like the excitement of shooting a deer.

Fortunately, the poaching penalty is getting more firm. About ten years ago, when you got caught poaching a deer, you were looking at a hunting ban in one state for a year or two and a small fine. Now, in 2011, the penalties are getting more severe. A man in California recently a lifetime hunting ban in thirty-one states for illegally killing a bull elk to Oregon. Also, The New York Post claims that an Ohio man is facing six months in prison and a three year hunting ban for killing deer at night while using a spotlight. New York State poaching penalties are not as strict, but if we want to stop this problem our laws need to improve.

The next time you are driving home on a dark night and you see a car stop, followed by a light settling on a spot in a field, what will you do?

-Ryan Trudeau