Wyoming Hunter Fined $10,000 for Mistaking a Grizzly for a Black Bear

[aftriathlete]

Right or wrong is an opinion everyone is entitled to but the fine amount is intentionally high to make hunters nervous about shooting a grizzly by mistake. If the fine were $1500, I think more hunters would be willing to take gambles on questionable bears.

10k seems high but beats jail time and even higher fines.

$10K to me is a rightfully steep fine for the offense. I still credit the hunter for doing the right thing, he sounds like he did not have nefarious intent. But that’s why he was not hit with the maximum penalty which would have included jail time. Idk what it costs for a guided grizzly hunt but I bet it’s a lot more than $10K, if they can even be hunted at all, these animals have a monetary value to the local hunting economy in addition to their inherent value.

 

[Lytro]

Seems like a huge fail by WY. It's pretty rare to see poachers get charged anywhere near $10K for unlawfully killing multiple animals. This guy self reported and didn't even pull the trigger.

 

[william schmaltz]

I'll play the other side. There's been a huge problem with people shooting nonlegal moose and sheep in AK recently.

Imagine someone being $8K into a one in a lifetime DIY moose hunt and they're looking at a squeaker in the scope on the last day knowing that they can roll the dice on it either being legal or if it's sublegal they can just turn it in and be rewarded for their cooperation and only pay $2k. I don't need to ask the question to the group if they think the hunter in this case is more or less likely to shoot or not shoot depending on $$ associated with the punishment. Same with some guy that's on his last year living in AK and has a squeaker sheep in the scope. He knows that he either gets his sheep or pays $30K another time. If his fine is only a couple grand if he turns himself in on "good faith", is it worth rolling the dice? Probably. Imagine someone from the east coast just made a massive financial and time sacrifice to hunt in Wyoming this fall and sees and article where some guy shot a grizzly in the spring and was only charged $500 when he turned it in. Is he gonna be more or less likely to identify his target if the article he read said $500 or $10,000? Properly identify your target and be damn sure it's legal before pulling the trigger. I respect the man for turning himself in.

They need to exponentially increase punishment for people that are not self reporting or purposely poaching.

Bet that guy won't self report again.

I think we're almost all in agreement that if he (or anyone) is the type of person that does it again, he wasn't fined enough the first time. I don't agree at all with the augment that this will make people less likely to self report, especially when the fine for that is a felony and in the six figures. You never know who is watching you in the mountains, who saw you at the trailhead, etc.

 

[sndmn11]

I would be over the moon smitten if my kid shot a grizzly and the result was I only had to pay a fine.

-The kid was not charged
-The dad has a deferred misdemeanor (can still hunt, can still vote, can still possess a firearm, has no criminal record after a year)

It sounds like all three sides bought into how the criminal justice system is supposed to work and came up with a win for everyone.

 

[roadrunner]

I disagree. He owned the mistake, and it kept him out of jail. Owning up to a mistake is responsible, but it doesn't entitle anyone to avoiding punishment altogether. Good on this man for owning the mistake. At the end of the day he illegally killed a protected animal, there should be a penalty so he should own that too. He also broke one of the most fundamental firearm safety rules in that he wasn't sure of his target.

To me it's not in question whether this deserved punishment, which I believe it did, but a separate issue altogether that I think is valid that poachers generally aren't being punished severely enough.

Punishment? That word alone is ancient in use for context. Is this guy 5 years old or something???

 

[Ganderlander2]

The way I read it was the judge would dismiss the case if he stayed out of trouble for a year. Does that include the fine?

 

[sndmn11]

The way I read it was the judge would dismiss the case if he stayed out of trouble for a year. Does that include the fine?

No, the fine likely will be in payments over those twelve months as a part of his probation conditions. If it was not a deferred judgment he could probably pay in a lump sum if he wished.

The criminal record (viewable by the public) is the part that would be dismissed.

 

[LongWayAround]

The way I read it was the judge would dismiss the case if he stayed out of trouble for a year. Does that include the fine?

He has a year to pay off the $10k. If he doesn't screw up over the course of that year, his record will not show a "guilty" conviction.

The "restitution" seems overly high to me. I hear there are quite a few grizz around Cody and I'm sure that one won't be missed. I am in agreement though that the penalty must be high in order to discourage other possible misidentifications.

 

[Yoder]

Wow only 5 pounds shy of the world record

I just looked it up again. The bear I personally seen was in 2003 and it weighed 864lbs. My God did that thing stink. The 875lb bear was killed in my county but I never seen that one. The one I seen wound up being an illegal kill. The guy was deer hunting and came upon this bear. Both deer and bear seasons were open at the time so he unloaded his 30-30 on it. I don't even know how many times he shot it. After it was dead, he went to a local store and bought a bear tag. The Game commission thought it was a little coincidental that he happened to buy a tag that day. It was really stupid since the tag is $17.

 

[Gutshot007]

Probably would have been treated a little better had he burnt down a police building, Target store and a few city blocks in downtown Minneapolis

 

[7mm-08]

$10,000 is a lot of money in my house. Considering the manner in which the reporting party immediately self-reported and took responsibly for his actions (as a fist time bear hunter), that fine feels excessive to me.

 

[dtrkyman]

Dude got hosed!


Maybe he has plenty of cash to pay the fine and got out clean with the "pay off"?

100 percent the nexy guy in Wyoming to do the same will not report!

 

[DangerRanger]

10l for a grizzly ain’t bad tbh

 

[GetWestern]

Figured they are more likely to give you a break if honest and not having a nefarious intent. Maybe they did in this case? I bet if he tried covering it up he might face a felony poaching charge and jail time.

 

[NB7]

Maybe his lawyer can file a motion for reconsideration of modification on his sentence, about halfway through paying of the fine. Still pays out 5K and by then has demonstrated his dedication to making amends and maye be let off the hook for the other 5K. By then a modification would be low key in the press and not likely to garner as much attention.

 

[UncleBone]

That kid will probably be a legend around town. Even if it was an accident, I bet every kid there who hunts wants to take down a grizzly. They should at least let the kid keep one claw for the 10k. Reminder to always do the right thing, and also to brag to his buddies.

 

[AKBC]

I'll just leave this here...









DUI penalties found in 31-5-233(e).

I agree, making a mistake hunting should not be more expensive than committing a crime that could kill people especially considering he self reported. But then again, we routinely read about animal cruelty convictions that are more severe than abuse/sexual assault of women and minors.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

For reference, in this case last year

Chewning was charged with the following crimes, according to Game and Fish:

• Five counts of intentionally taking antlered big game without a license or during a closed season
• Two counts of transferring a license
• Two counts of intentionally wasting edible portions of game bird and big game back straps
• Five counts of transporting game without an interstate game tag. The illegal transportation charges related to five skulls with antlers attached that Game and Fish said Chewing illegally collected

He pled guilty to three counts of intentionally taking antlered bull elk without a proper license, one count of taking a buck mule deer without a license and one count of transferring a license, according to Game and Fish. Chewning’s hunting and fishing privileges were suspended for 15 years and he was ordered to pay $1,585 in fines and $7,000 in restitution. The other charges against Chewning were dismissed.


Macy was charged with the following crimes, according to Game and Fish:

• Five counts of intentionally taking antlered big game without a license or during a closed season
• Two counts of transferring a license

He pled no contest to one count of taking a buck mule deer without a license and two counts of intentionally taking a bull elk without a proper license, according to Game and Fish. Macy’s hunting and fishing privileges were suspended for two years and he was ordered to pay $5,640 in fines and $1,500 in restitution. He was also ordered to forfeit the Browning .338 rifle used in the crimes, according to Game and Fish. All other charges against him were dismissed.

Then a few of the dollar amounts from that huge bust last year

On June 10, 2020, he appeared in court and pleaded guilty to illegally killing two bighorn sheep rams. Sixth Circuit Court Judge Matt Castano imposed $20,070 in fines, $10,000 in restitution and suspended Vick’s hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for 10 years.

Vick was charged with killing three mature bull moose and one yearling bull moose without a license in the Bighorn National Forest between 2007 and 2011...Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Shelley Cundiff sentenced him to one year in the Sheridan County Detention Center, with seven days of credit served. He was ordered to pay $40,160 in fines, $30,000 in restitution and began his incarceration that day.

No real apples to apples comparison but good frame of reference. Given that, I'd say the punishment isn't too steep given that it will likely be expunged from his criminal record, and he maintains his ability to hunt and fish. If he pays $5k of it and is granted relief from the rest I'd say that's a fair outcome too.

 

[Rich M]

By fining this guy $10,000 for admitting to a mistake, they just shut up the rest of the mistakes. Getting spanked like that for saying, hey, we screwed up and want to make it right doesn't make folks want to do "the right thing".

Maybe more guys will go on the discount grizzly hunts now - pose for picture- save it to the cloud, turn yourself in an pay $10K.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Thats way steep.

$750max and year deferred adjudication max

Surely this is more a rouge judge then Wym Wildlife department