# Charges sought in bobcat poaching



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Charges sought in bobcat poaching

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=30825

4-7-2006 By BRIAN MULHERIN Daily News Staff Writer 
[email protected] 843-1122, ext. 348

Conservation officers are seeking a 10-count warrant against a 43-year-old Custer Township man for running an alleged bobcat poaching ring.

The man confessed to taking eight bobcats and assisting his son with illegally registering two bobcats in the recently completed trapping season, according to Sgt. Kevin Hackworth. The bobcats  taken from the Custer area, were misrepresented as Upper Peninsula animals when they were registered. The suspect allegedly enlisted two of his sons friends and a family member to assist him by obtaining tags in their names to cover all but two of the cats that he had taken in Mason County. He then assisted the others in falsifying the registration of the cats at a local DNR facility. 

The man also confessed to using the same method to register six bobcats from the 2004-05 season. 

Mason County Conservation Officer Brian Brosky said poaching bobcats carries a fine of $100-500 per animal. 

The DNR has possession of two of the dead animals. The other eight from the 2005-2006 season were sold. The whereabouts of the animals killed in previous seasons is unknown, but officers suspect they also were sold. 

The suspect was identified by an analysis of registration records by Conservation Officer Matthew Liestenfeltz. Hackworth said the man has been cooperative and has provided details about each cat registered this season. 

Brosky said the bobcat population seems to be booming in the county. 

Every trapper I talked to got an incidental bobcat  at least one, Brosky said.

Hackworth said in almost every situation, bobcats trapped incidentally can be released alive and unharmed. 

There is no legal means to kill and possess a bobcat from Mason County under current state regulations. 

DNR Biologist Larry Smith said Mason County is a good candidate for a bobcat season because it has large amounts of public land. 

The problem is the cats are pretty vulnerable both to hunting and trapping, so the private land is important for some protection for the cats as they expand into these new areas, Smith said. With the large amount of public land in Lake and Manistee, theyd be pretty vulnerable if you opened it up. 

Bobcat pelts are worth more than $100 each with the right fur coloration. Bobcat fur can be used in coats, stoles, and other products. 

Hackworth said hes had reports of car-killed bobcats being picked up by residents. Possession of an illegally taken animal remains a crime, and Hackworth said he, Brosky and Conservation Officer Jim Espinoza will be visiting taxidermy shops regularly to make sure any bobcats in possession have the proper paperwork. 

He also noted that Mason County bobcat DNA is on file. 

We can prove whether or not cats came form the U.P. with DNA, he said.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

CO Reports for 06/04/2006
DISTRICT 6

Ten warrants were issued for a Custer man that was being investigated for using family members' and friends' tags to illegally tag bobcats in Mason County. The case was initiated when CO Matt Liestenfeltz followed up with local officers on a number of bobcat registrations. COs Brian Brosky and Jim Espinoza conducted several interviews and followed up on leads. The ten warrants include eight counts of taking bobcat in a closed area, one count of buying/selling illegally taken bobcats, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Bobcats were also illegally sold in Muskegon and Kalamazoo Counties.


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## One Eye (Sep 10, 2000)

Hamilton Reef said:


> Mason County Conservation Officer Brian Brosky said poaching bobcats carries a fine of $100-500 per animal.
> 
> Bobcat pelts are worth more than $100 each with the right fur coloration. Bobcat fur can be used in coats, stoles, and other products.


Those two statements tell me that there isn't much of an economic deterrence to limit bobcat paoching. IMHO, the fine should be $1000 per animal as well as court costs and loss of hunting and trapping privileges.

Dan


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## steelhead1 (Jan 2, 2005)

That's the kind of stuff that makes me sick to my stomach.


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## lwingwatcher (Mar 25, 2001)

One Eye said:


> Those two statements tell me that there isn't much of an economic deterrence to limit bobcat paoching. IMHO, the fine should be $1000 per animal as well as court costs and loss of hunting and trapping privileges.



Insufficient deterrent is right, especially when you consider the odds of getting caught to begin with. Prosecutors and Judges often seem complacient as well regarding game law violations. Heck, the fine for a 5 over speeding ticket is over a hundred bucks...


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## TUCKER (Nov 1, 2002)

From what I have seen in the poachers section of the local newspaper, it costs someone $1000.00 plus loss of hunting rights for 3 years to poach a deer which is an abundant animal with a kill season. It only costs a maximum of $500.00 for a Bobcat which is limited in population and has no season in Mason County. Heck, it costs $1000.00 or better to poach a turkey for crying out loud why only $500.00 on a rarely seen Bobcat. This seems like an area where the D.N.R. may want to bring this fine up to the current standard of living (poaching). Makes no sense and it also makes me wish I could go to the trial court and tell someone who understands and would listen.:rant:


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

If there is a population explosion just call the dog hunters. They will get the season opened.


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## WinMag (Dec 19, 2004)

Hamilton Reef said:


> ...The suspect was identified by an analysis of registration records by Conservation Officer Matthew Liestenfeltz...


Atta boy, Matthew!


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## brushwolf (Oct 26, 2005)

There's no way to tell if a bobcat came from the U.P. by doing a DNA test. That's insulting to a person's intelligence. It's funny how trapping cats in the LP is now illegal but dog hunters can still run them. Guess there isn't much money in guiding a trapline for out of state hunters.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Utah man sentenced for poaching Nevada bobcats

A Utah man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Reno for illegally taking 124 Nevada bobcats and violating the Lacey Act, a Federal law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold.

Cole Steele, 34, of Santaquin, Utah, pled guilty to the misdemeanor violation on March 5. He was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and forfeited 106 bobcat pelts valued at approximately $38,000.

http://www.elynews.com/articles/2007/06/13/sports/sports01.txt


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## griffondog (Dec 27, 2005)

Vote in Nevada, live there 30days

Nevada drivers lisc 30 days

Get a Nevada divorce 6 weeks

Nevada resident trappers lisc,live there 6 months


Looks like they don't want anyone moving there to get a little kitty action!


Griffondog


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## Gary A. Schinske (Jul 10, 2006)

The DNR does not set the fines, the court and/or judge does. The court not only was too light on the fines, they listened to a sob story on how he was a devoted trapper and taught many kids how to trap and all albout the outdoors. So the court "suspends" his trapping privileges for I believe three years but says he can still trap to teach others. What sense does that make. He may have gotten some jail time, but if he did most of it was suspended. Complaints about this guy started coming in as soon as the 2006/2007 season started. He said he was just checking traps for someone else, but was running a line where others had permssion to trap. Finally the DNR was waiting for him when he came around a bend with a canoe/boat containing traps and animals. They busted his again. The fine for the amount of animals he had plus taking his boat/canoe and traps could have been as high as $9,000, but the court said that would be to much of a financial burden on him. What a statement the court has made. "If you appear not to have too much money, go ahead and break the law (twice) and we will not be too tough on you. Look like you may have a buck, break the law and we will through the book at you." Remember, the DNR did their job by arresting him twice that we know of, but the court is the one that gave him a little slap on the hand. What a crock!!!!! By the way, IT IS A FACT there is some type of DNA diffenence between a UP and an LP bobcat. I have had a retired CO and a biologist validate this fact.


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