Representatives of Audubon California today pointed to this week’s news about a case in Colusa County as a perfect example of why California needs tougher penalties for poaching violations. Despite killing numerous waterfowl out of season, hunting deer without licenses and interfering with ongoing conservation research by collecting tracking collars, the three members of the same family who pleaded guilty to a variety of charges only received total fines of $5,500, three years of probation, and the loss of hunting rights for one year.

“It’s unbelievable that poachers can do this much damage to native wildlife and conservation and receive such light penalties,” said Gary Langham, Audubon California’s director of bird conservation. “California’s wardens do a tremendous job protecting our state’s natural assets, but our poaching laws don’t match their efforts.”

Assembly Bill 708, authored by Assembly Member Jared Huffman, would create much stronger penalties for poachers, particularly repeat offenders and those involved in egregious cases. The bill recently passed the California State Assembly on a unanimous vote, and is now being debated in the State Senate. It enjoys widespread support from both sides of the aisle, as well as conservation organizations, hunting groups and district attorneys.

The California Department of Fish & Game declared 2008 “the year of extreme poaching.” This designation was typified by the arrest of a Gilroy hunter who had in his possession more than 300 bird carcasses – way over the legal limit – including protected species such as Sandhill Crane and Tundra Swan. The rise in extreme poaching matches that of poaching overall. Violations rose from 6,538 in 2003 to 17,840 in 2007. The trend has hit waterfowl particularly hard, with sensitive species of geese and ducks the most at risk.

Despite its terrible toll on native wildlife, poaching currently carries surprisingly light sentences. Regardless of the scale of the carnage, it is almost never treated as a felony under state law, and only rarely under federal law. Moreover, in 2008, California had fewer than 200 active-duty fish and game wardens actively patrolling the state’s 100 million acres.