Earlier in the year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission uncovered a poaching operation that involved the illegal killing of nearly a dozen deer in Mount Pleasant Township, just east of Pittsburgh. After investigating a tip, officials caught 19-year old Charles Harr Jr. poaching whitetail deer from his pickup truck and later pressed charges against his father, Charles Harr Sr. and accomplices Ben Daniels and Travis Kolick as well.
Harr, Jr., 19, reportedly smirked at cameras as he entered the Westmoreland County Courthouse, facing charges stemming from the poaching incident.
When the dust settled, both Ben Daniels and the Harrs were ordered to pay fines amounting to $16,400 combined, while Harr Jr. accepted 18 months of probation.
In addition to the probation, Harr Jr. Was also ordered to surrender the rifle he used to illegally harvest the deer and received a 50-year suspension on his hunting license.
While this punishment, on the surface, can seem quite detrimental to the young man, it begs the question:
Is suspending the hunting privileges of someone who knowingly broke the law numerous times an effective punishment?
Honestly speaking, this young man likely never utilized a hunting license to begin with.
It is my belief that the only way to really get to the heart of the poaching problem is by enforcing larger fines and retribution in conjunction with jail time.
Let’s start taking away their rights, before poachers begin to infringe on ours.
H/T: CBS Pittsburgh
