POACHER IGNORES WILDLIFE VIOLATOR COMPACT

12/21/2009

CODY - A Worland man convicted of poaching in Colorado found out the hard way that the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact should not be ignored.

After committing violations in Colorado in 2004, Keith Searle had his hunting and fishing privileges suspended until Nov. 2010. "Searle moved to Wyoming and began hunting and fishing," said Worland Game Warden Matt Lentsch. "However, an individual who loses their privileges to hunt in a state that is a member of the wildlife compact actually loses them in all 32 compact member states."

According to Lentsch, Searle pleaded guilty to purchasing eight resident licenses while under suspension over a three-year period. He was also cited for taking a deer without a license, accessory to taking a deer without a license and two counts of accessory to transferring licenses.

Washakie County Circuit Court records show that Searle was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to the State of Wyoming and $390 court costs. He was ordered to serve three consecutive one-year jail terms in the Washakie County jail, with all but 90-days suspended. He was fined $840 and lost his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for 18 years.

"Searle was placed on four-years of supervised probation and ordered to sign a waiver of extradition (which means Colorado may not be done with him). The conditions of his probation are very strict," Lentsch said.

Searle's probation conditions state that he is not to posses any firearms, bow, arrow, hunting knives, binoculars, spotting scopes, fishing equipment, or any item that is used in any type of hunting or fishing in any state. Nor is Searle to be in the presence of anyone that has any of the mentioned items. He is not to engage in any hunting, fishing, trapping and/or shed antler gathering, nor be in the presence of anyone engaged in these activities. "Searle was given 30 days to remove all hunting and fishing equipment from his possession," Lentsch said.

According to Lentsch, wildlife violations are taken seriously by judges and prosecuting attorneys and the wildlife violator compact was created to serve as a deterrent to poaching. Any person whose license privileges are suspended in Wyoming would also be suspended in the other 31 member states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.