Mar
11
Texas Hunting Fines Question!?
ByMy buddy was hunting on Type 2 public land in Texas and was stopped by a game warden. He was issued 3 citations: (1) Hunting with a rifle during bow season. (2) No hunters education card (he has taken the course but did not have the card on him? (3) Hunting without a valid license. I don’t know why he did these things, i think he was unsure of the rules and regulations of public land in Texas. About how much money is he going to be paying?
Haha yea i agree it was stupid of him. I appreciate the comments, but could you guys maybe throw a number out there, even if it is an estimate. I just want to know if i will be looking for a new roommate if he has to move out in order to pay the fines.
6 Comments
March 11th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I don’t know how much the fines are but I can tell you this: I’ve hunted in more than a dozen states and in every one you are required to have your license, hunter safety certificate (if you are required to have one) and any other documents required to hunt legally ON YOUR PERSON while you are hunting. This just goes to show that you should do your homework before you ever set foot in the woods. Hunting with a rifle during a bow only season? Obviously he didn’t check the regulations closely enough. As the age old saying goes…”ignorance of the law is no excuse”.
March 11th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
There is very little public land in Texas, I am curious to know where he was hunting. But hunting without a license, especially on ‘public’ land is a pretty brain dead move, and hunting with a rifle during bow season on ‘public’ land is not very smart either. I imagine the fines are going to be pretty stiff.
March 11th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Texas Hunting Fines are determined by the “Class” of the individual Citations Issued……Your friend who was issued the citations should have the Class of violation written on each citation he was issued.The breakdown in fines are as follows
Class C-Misdemeanors $25-$500 per violation
Class B-Misdemeanors $200-$2,000 per violation
Class A (Felonies)) $500-$4,000 per violation
Class A State Jail Felony+$1500-$10,000 fine * Jail Time
and Loss of Hunting Privileges (Lifetime) and confiscation of Firearms used during violations
These are the General Fines and Punishments that are current for 2008. The class of criminal citations issued is determined by the warden/game officer at the time they (citations) are issued.
I would suggest strongly that your friend hire a Lawyer of get Legal representation regardless………
March 11th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Damn!! JD has it wired and he spelled it out before I could. Way to go, JD.
I don’t know what your friend is going to have to pay but he had better have a family with some money or get himself another job. Game violations are serious business and can carry hefty fines. I agree with JD that your friend had better find himself a good lawyer. If his judgment is that impaired, perhaps he had better find another hobby besides hunting.
March 11th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Texas is harsh on poachers. A lawyer should be engaged sooner rather than later. These are criminal offenses, they ain’t parking tickets. I have heard of handcuffs and a ride to the jail for lesser violations.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I had a similar thing happen to me. I didn’t have my hunters education card on me in Texas. Im not a retard and wasn’t hunting in bow season with a gun though. And i have a valid license. I had to pay $130 for not having the education card but that was back in ….. id say about ’89