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There shouldn’t be a need for a deterrent.

We should know better.

But several incidents that occurred this year prove that there are a few who don’t know better when it comes to killing our nation’s symbol.

In April, the Pennsylvania Game Commission arrested a Carbon County man for shooting a bald eagle near Lehighton and leaving it to die along the road. An investigation into the incident revealed the man also shot five great blue herons.

Last month, an immature bald eagle was found clinging to life after it was shot in Fulton County. The bird suffered a broken wing and leg. It couldn’t move and maggots had infested its wounds.

The eagle was taken to a veterinarian where it succumbed from its wounds.

For some reason, bald eagle shootings aren’t as uncommon as one would think.

In 2013, for example, May proved to be a particularly bad month as two adult bald eagles – one in Butler County and another in Cambria, were shot and killed.

Still, bald eagles persevered in the state and are now a common sight. They’ve been removed from the state’s threatened species list and nests can be found along nearly every major river, including numerous locations right here on the Susquehanna.

But with that success came a price. The de-listing of bald eagles from the state threatened species list lowered the penalty for killing one to $200. Actually, the penalty is referred to as “replacement costs” although a new eagle isn’t released for every one that is shot. Replacement costs are essentially a form of restitution for wildlife that is shot by poachers – deer, bear, turkey and now eagles.

With two eagles shot and killed this year, apparently a $200 penalty didn’t make poachers think twice about taking aim at the majestic bird.

Perhaps $2,500 will do it.

That’s the new penalty for killing a bald or golden eagle, as established by the PGC board of commissioners at their quarterly meeting last month. I wouldn’t mind seeing it raised to $5,000, but the PGC board did the right thing. A $200 fine for killing an eagle is a joke, just like the previous fines that used to be in place for other illegally-killed wildlife.

Not too long ago, the penalty for killing a deer illegally was around $200 to $300. There weren’t any replacement costs and poachers didn’t need to worry about jail time.

Today, thanks in large part to a bill spearheaded by the now-retired state Rep. Ed Staback, that fine has been increased to $1,000 or more, plus the possibility of 90 days in jail. Also, there’s an $800 replacement cost for illegally killing a deer – a change that occurred around the same time that Staback’s poaching bill passed.

And now protection for bald eagles has finally caught up. The $2,500 replacement cost for killing an eagle is the highest for any species in the state. The next highest replacement cost is $1,500 for elk and bear, although the cost for killing an endangered or threatened species is $5,000.

While I strongly support increased penalties and the concept of replacement costs to curtail poaching, I find it disheartening that such steps are necessary.

There’s no reason to shoot a deer, bear or anything else out of season or at night under the beam of a spotlight. But there are those who simply don’t care, and the only way to drive the point home is to threaten them with costly fines and the prospect of going to jail.

Nevermind morals, ethics and right from wrong. Money is the only deterrent a poacher knows, and maybe now they’ll think twice before gunning down our nation’s symbol.

Venesky
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By Tom Venesky

Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky