3 Montana "Hunters" Receive laughable sentences

​worldanimalnews.com/3-montana-hunters-unfathomably-receive-no-jail-time-weak-sentence-for-illegal-killing-mountain-lion-in-yellowstone-national-park/

3 Montana hunters received laughable sentences after being convicted of illegally hunting a mountain lion in Yellowstone National Park. The 3 men wandered past a border which lead them into a no hunt zone and shot a mountain lion dead dragging again across the border back to their truck but only after taking selfies they posted to social media.  The sentences included 3 years UNSUPERVISED probation, a $1,700 fine, and a 3 year ban on hunting worldwide. Here's why I think this is beyond unacceptable.

First of all, they crossed a no hunt border which is the first illegality in this situation. The borders are there to prevent people from hunting animals in these areas where legal hunts take place however disgusting the terminology legal hunts may be, these men broke those rules by illegally wandering in to hunt this lion. Secondly, they took the carcass back across the line again to bring it back to their truck. When confronted, they lied to authorities and claimed they did not hunt the lion within those boundaries which is the next offense. Finally, they posted selfies with their illegal kill which completely demeans the animal but also laughs in the face of the illegality of the situation. They got nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

First of all, a $1,700 fine is completely laughable. Someone could pay that off in less than 3 months and forget the whole friggin situation ever happened.  Second of all, unsupervised probation is basically self served probation which implies that they do not have to report to anyone regularly. How does this do anything to prevent this from happening again? Such is the case with the ban on hunting worldwide, this was an illegal hunt correct? What is stopping these losers from doing this again but NOT getting caught? They were caught this time but there's absolutely nothing to stop them from doing this again and not getting caught, it's completely ridiculous to impose such a light sentence for so many crimes committed. Not only does this sentence do absolutely nothing to prevent these assholes from doing this again, but it certainly does nothing for sending a message to other illegal hunters who decide to go and do something just like this. A punishment is supposed to not only teach someone a lesson but also send a message that these activities will not be tolerated and will result in a appropriate punishment.

Unfortunately, until our governments update our animal cruelty laws, we will continue to see these sorts of things happening. Without a punishment that supports the illegality of the activity, what the hell is stopping anyone else from doing it? Animal abuse or animal cruelty is a SERIOUS CRIME that needs to be recognized and punished as such. Especially in the case of illegal hunting, in my opinion, hunting is scummy enough but when someone is willing to go around the legality of it to commit such a crime, we need a punishment that sets an example. Their punishment is despicable and will only allow future problems to continue.

In almost every case of animal cruelty or animal related convictions, punishments are severely lacking and this lack of appropriate punishment is why these things continue. When abuse is exposed on factory farms, the punishments rarely set an example to the rest of them which is why we see story after story f animals being violently abused on these farms. Nothing is changing because our laws are not changing, it's as simple as that.

Despite the movement of veganism picking up and major victories in the world of animal rights including the banning of circus' using wild animals, cetaceans in captivity, and fur on the way out, we still struggle across the globe when it comes to punishing animal cruelty and illegal hunting to its full potential. What I would like to assume is that as veganism continues to drive our nation's motives, I would expect that our animal cruelty laws will be strengthened in time. We can't see all of these victories without seeing the root laws being upgraded to reflect the times, can we?

HAPPY VEG