SD Poacher sentenced for whitetail taken from high fence operation.

[MO Betta]

Traversie gets probation and no hunting for 1 year; $9,000 restitution bill for poaching giant buck

A federal magistrate judge in Pierre on Thursday sentenced Dugan Traversie to a year of probation, a year without hunting, and to pay restitution of $9,000 to the Timber Lake

www.capjournal.com

1 year of probation, 9 grand in restitution, hunting license revoked for 1 year.

 

[TheTone]

I’m no fan of poaching but I find it interesting this effected his hunting privileges. I really don’t see it as any different than illegally killing a beef cow or any other livestock

 

[MO Betta]

I think it would have been tricky to prosecute anything other than larceny had he chosen to take his chances.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Interesting how that played out honestly. I don't agree with high fence operations at all, but I would be mad if my prized livestock was killed and I only got $75 a month for it.... That will take a while to get to $9K...

 

[NEWHunter]

Who would have guessed with a rack that white

 

[LuketheDog]

Garbage legal outcome in my opinion, but interesting. Seems like if his lawyer was worth a darn he could've avoided all the wildlife-related charges since it wasn't a wild animal. And, if the prosecutor was worth a darn the guy would have seen some jail time since the deer apparently was worth $25,000 to the ranchers. If you steal a $25,000 car you don't get probation and a fine...

 

[seeth07]

the deer apparently was worth $25,000 to the ranchers

Hard topic to get into here. In legal battles, it's extremely hard to give a future dollar amount when a past dollar amount exists (ranch paid 9k for it). With that said, it would be easy to prove its worth that as an "expense" and then a more reasonable comparable hunt cost of whatever their typical guided hunt is. Probably 3 to 5k more maybe.

 

[LuketheDog]

Hard topic to get into here. In legal battles, it's extremely hard to give a future dollar amount when a past dollar amount exists (ranch paid 9k for it). With that said, it would be easy to prove its worth that as an "expense" and then a more reasonable comparable hunt cost of whatever their typical guided hunt is. Probably 3 to 5k more maybe.

Maybe, the article said they had clients ready to pay $25K for the hunt, if a deposit for that hunt had already changed hands that could swing it toward the higher amount/income lost.

 

[seeth07]

Yes agreed, not enough details to know but we can probably agree that 9k was for sure a bottom amount here.

 

[MO Betta]

Class 4 felony Grand Theft in SD based on the agreed upon value if I'm reading the law correctly, he got off pretty light on potential penalties and jail time.

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[teej89]

I’m no fan of poaching but I find it interesting this effected his hunting privileges. I really don’t see it as any different than illegally killing a beef cow or any other livestock

My thoughts are if he could do it at a high fence operation where people are typically close by, what would stop him in the middle of nowhere?

 

[SFC B]

Class 4 felony Grand Theft in SD based on the agreed upon value if I'm reading the law correctly, he got off pretty light on potential penalties and jail time.

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[/QUO

Not SD jurisdiction ....on the Res

I would also go for classifying this as simply a theft. I don't take this to be relating to "wild game" in any sense. For example, some of you may know that I took a disabled Vet on a generously donated high fence outing in IN earlier this year. When they decided to turn that operation into a high fence hunting preserve they were required by the state to kill all of the native deer left on the property once the fence was completed so that only their "controlled herd" remained.

 

[antelopedundee]

So if the ranch owns the deer can the ranch set hunting season/s?

 

[MO Betta]

@SFC B You're correct, for some reason I thought this was held in the state system and glossed over it being under a federal magistrate judge.

I agree that it should be considered livestock and not game.

 

[SFC B]

So if the ranch owns the deer can the ranch set hunting season/s?

Yes......as the one we were on they hunted roughly from SEP through FEB (dependent on when antlers started dropping). No hunting licenses required and they have (at least in IN where we were) a system for issuing "possession tags" to prove the origin of the deer.

 

[Rzrbck918]

High fence operations are the hunting equivalent of picking out your lobster from the tank at the restaurant. Couldn't care less what punishment he got but I agree if he would shoot that deer illegally, he would any other as well.

 

[seeth07]

but I agree if he would shoot that deer illegally, he would any other as well.

I wouldn't agree normally with that statement. However, since he chose to shoot a deer that has actually quite a small and ugly rack in comparison to some of the freaks that are normally behind a high fence, I would have to actually agree as well.