Support poaching punishment

I was disconcerted to read the March 8 story entitled “Banks Lake poachers get ‘light’ sentence.” The article describes the arrest of three poachers from Tacoma who illegally netted 377 fish. The judge in this case was not identified, but Grant County prosecutors Garth Dano and Tyler Santiago were. The sentences were indeed very light. One was fined $1,068, the other two $300 each.

If we are only going to exact a 20 percent penalty for these blatant infractions, it would make commercial sense to not prosecute these offenses at all, and save taxpayers $4,000 each time we don’t prosecute.

We must ask ourselves, “How can we protect the public from criminal activity, implement a deterrent to poaching and not waste taxpayer money?” The answer is to efficiently and severely apprehend, convict and meaningfully penalize the thieves of our state’s resources.

To accomplish this, we must elect judges and prosecutors that protect us and our resources. Report all poaching and support Chris Anderson and other officers in obtaining convictions. If you want fish and wildlife to be there for you when you want to go fishing or hunting, it is your responsibility to support those who have similar priorities.

Mike Britton

Spokane