A Kansas hunting guide has been sentenced for poaching violations. Zachary White, 35, of Ellinwood, Kansas pleaded guilty Nov. 17th to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. during his plea, Zachary admitting to helping goose hunters kill more than their daily bag limits. White was a guide to 13 hunters that killed a total of 31 white-fronted geese. Each hunter is only allowed to take two geese a day in Kansas. This means that the party took 5 more than the allowed limit.
Poaching at Prairie Thunder Outfitters
White was sentenced to pay $5,000 to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund. Likewise, he must also pay $10,000 to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism. White was also ordered to three years of probation. During this probation, Zachary is not allowed to hunt, fish, or act as a guide in any capacity. At the time of the violations, White was a co-owner and the operator of Prairie Thunder Outfitters.
Prairie Thunder Outfitters has now had 10 guides, clients, and associates sentenced for taking part in poaching violations in recent years. These charges typically came from taking waterfowl in excess of the daily bag. Another guide at Prairie Thunder Outfitters, Bryan Boxberger, was sentenced in August 2020. Boxberger also took part in the illegal taking of excessive waterfowl. As punishment for his crimes, Boxberger was ordered to pay $12,500 in fines and restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism. All of these violations stem from Prairie Thunder Outfitter’s guided waterfowl hunts in 2015 and 2016.
This is the second time in recent years that an Outfitter has been charged with poaching related crimes. The Hidden Hills Outfitters poaching saga started in 2019 and currently, over 30 defendants have been sentenced. Likewise, the case has doled out $570,453 in fines and restitution, and issued 53 years worth of hunting and fishing permit revocations.
So, what are your thought on this hunting guide being sentenced for poaching? Do you think the punishment fits the crime? Let us know in the comments below.
