Alabama hunting fines?

turtlebug

Senior Member
Okay, so this girl at work, who works in another department, started hunting this year. She's a really sweet girl and we've always gotten along. I thought kind of highly of her..... until today.

She shot an 8 point (her first ever) a few weeks ago. Was proud of her and all.

Then, she tells me last week she was going hunting over in 'Bama. Can't remember which county BUT today, she informs me that she will be heading back to Alabama with her hunting party to appear in court.

They got six of em for...
1. No hunting license
2. Hunting over bait
3. Something about a "Harvest Tag" (not sure about this cause if you don't have a license, then of course you don't have a tag).

She said one person in their party owned up to a buck but the DNR officer didn't confiscate the buck but he did take their cameras and such (not the rifles though) and told her it would be up to the judge if they got their belongings back.

She said he let the guy keep the buck and didn't write a ticket for it but she has three charges she has to appear for on herself. I don't understand the "harvest tag" thing if she didn't kill anything. :confused:

IN NO WAY am I taking up for her. She said the officer told them that with all three tickets, they were looking at more than $2400 each. At first, I felt a little sorry for her, but after about 30 seconds, I was mad with her. I mean who did she think she was to go to another state, hunting with no license and so on..... especially over bait.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has had any run-ins or dealing with Alabama DNR or have any idea about that third charge. Is it gonna be expensive?


I hope so.......:bounce:
 

fountain

Senior Member
sounds like ga. people should stay in ga to me:bounce:---if they are not going to obide by and be considerate of another states' laws.
 

germag

Gone But Not Forgotten
Yeah, I've heard that Alabama recently revamped their wildlife laws.....a lot tougher now and fines are a lot higher. I guess the storal of that mory is.....if you're going to hunt in Alabama, obey the laws. :bounce:

If she knew she was breaking the law, I wouldn't feel bad for her at all....if she didn't, well....she should have. It's her responsibility to be aware of the legality (or lack thereof) of her actions.
 

rhbama3

Administrator
Staff member
She picked a doozy of a time to commit the crimes. House Bill 677 went into effect this year. I don't remember all the particulars, but many of the fines were QUADRUPLED from the previous amounts. The $2400 is probably right.
 

fountain

Senior Member
i feel for her--$2400 is a lot to pay right now---with the crappy economy, christmas coming up and all.

HAVE A HEART!
 

fountain

Senior Member
thats all kool too----look above at my post. always read from top to bottom, left to right.

i know that--but still. yep they broke the law. i just dont see $2400 there--that's all.
i would like to know what the harvest tag is all about
 

JustUs4All

Slow Mod
Staff member
Alabama Gubberment gotta have money too. ;)
 

LIB MR ducks

Senior Member
If you are gonna be stupid you gotta be tough!
 

Jeffriesw

Senior Member
If you are gonna be stupid you gotta be tough!

Yep, and evidently you gotta have deep pockets if your gonna be stupid in Alabama.:rofl:



I do feel sorry for anyone who has to come up with that kind of money to pay the fines, but good Lord you have just got to be smarter than to go out and break that many laws at one time.:banginghe
 

BamaBart

Senior Member
I live in Alabama and heard this about why the fines went up.
Some guy got cought hunting without permission last year and went in front of the judge. After the judge told him the amount of the fine, he said " That's ok, I can get cought a few more times and still not pay what it cost to join a good hunting club."
I'm not sure if this is true but I did hear this.


Bart.
 

robertyb

Senior Member
She is actually very lucky. I live in Polk County which abutts the Alabama line in places. I know several people from here that have been caught violating the hunting/fishing laws in Alabama that were carried to jail and made to post bond before being released. That is before being made to appear in court and being fined. Some of the bail bond fees were as high or higher than the fines.

It is simple. Do the crime and EXPECT to pay if caught.

I have always just considered it easier to be legal and pay up front. :bounce:
 

nc/ga hunter

Senior Member
Know a guy from here who got caught in AL breaking the laws a few years ago. He had a new F250 truck less then 5K miles on it and the confiscated it, plus fines in the 2K range.
 

Trizey

Senior Member
She's lucky they didn't take everything from them. Alabama has increased fines this year and sounds like they did some good work.
 

olcowman

Hillbilly Philosopher
We keep a small lease in Russell county, yes that is some big fines, but the Ala non resident hunting fees are pretty expensive to start with ($350+) There is more than a few fellers I have run into who risk it every year and don't buy the permit, but our property is a favorite hang out of the local ranger, so we are all legit.

He catches most of them when they park their trucks, with the Ga tags and may even have some sort of way of cross checking the registration from the tag info with the non-resident permits? I've seen him camp out on a couple of the culprits on an adjoining club waiting on them to return to their vehicle, while seemingly passing on by other out of state hunters after a quick look at the tags? I don't know what his system is or what tools he has, but he has kept all of us at our camp on the straight and narrow for last 4 years.
 
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