The alleged poaching of a potential state-record buck in Kansas has re-ignited calls for stiffer poaching penalties.
"We need a system that's more fair to the value (a deer) has to the state," said Tim Donges, president of the Bluestem Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association. "We want to be sure there's proper restitution."
Donges has been working to get a bill into the Kansas legislature that would increase fines on poaching. Last week the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism announced charges against David Kent of Topeka, who is accused of illegally shooting a 14-point buck on Nov. 11 in Osage County.
The eight charges also include criminal discharge of a firearm, illegally hunting with an artificial light, hunting outside legal hours, hunting from a vehicle and using an illegal caliber to shoot big game.
Law enforcement sources said Kent has admitted to illegally killing the deer.
The antlers were confiscated at the Monster Buck Classic in Topeka on Jan. 29 by game wardens. The buck was measured at 198 7/8 inches on the Boone & Crockett record system.
The state record for a typical whitetail killed by gun is a 198 2/8-inch buck shot in Nemaha County in 1974.
The charges, all misdemeanors, could total a maximum of $7,000 and 18 months in jail.
Kent was not charged with poaching a trophy-class buck because state law says a whitetail buck must have an inside antler spread of at least 17 inches to be considered a trophy. A trophy deer charge carries a fine of $5,000 and can be placed amid other charges. Donges would like to see another fine based on a deer's trophy score for all deer scoring more than 125 inches.
"Somebody could shoot a six point with a 17-inch spread and pay more than someone who shot a potential new state-record buck," Donges said. "That's not right. Score usually is a better indication of a buck's maturity and what it might have been worth to a legal hunter or a landowner who is leasing his land."
Donges is promoting a penalty system similar to what's been used in Ohio for several years. His formula for restitution value is a buck's gross score, minus 100. That number is squared and then multiplied by $2.
That would place a trophy deer penalty of around $20,000 for the buck Kent is accused of poaching.
