Legislation has been introduced in Minnesota to harshly penalize flagrant violators of state game and fish possession laws.

Tuesday, January 30, 2001

Legislation has been introduced in Minnesota to harshly penalize flagrant violators of state game and fish possession laws. It’s about time.

The bill cracks down on game hogs, among them greedy anglers who illegally haul freezers full of fish out of Minnesota lakes hoping to elude game wardens and avoid big fines. Too many succeed.

Targeted by the legislation are intemperate harvesters of fish and game – like the nine Lake Winnibigoshish ice fishermen who had 1,700 perch over the limit and the Indiana couple stopped with 520 crappies more than allowed.

Under law, the Wisconsin trio simply forked over $1,300 in fines and went back to fishing. That’s because Minnesota requires two violations during the previous three years to yank a violator’s fishing license.

That will change if the Legislature passes the bill introduced by Rep. Bill Haas, R-Champlin.

Haas’ legislation allows conservation officers to seize, on the spot, the hunting and fishing licenses of flagrant bag limit violators and denies the offenders any means of obtaining duplicate licenses.

If convicted, violators could lose their hunting and fishing licenses – or both – for three to 10 years.

Laws like the one proposed are necessary to ensure that the future of fishing and hunting is preserved for honest outdoor enthusiasts, regardless of where they live.