Missouri woman petitions for tougher poaching fines

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis woman has launched an online petition push she hopes compels state lawmakers to increases fines for wildlife poachers.

Self-described hunter Sarah Cox of Maryland Heights said she launched the petition drive months ago after reading in a newspaper a man faced only a $99.50 fine for illegally killing a black bear.

Cox also said she was outraged after a poacher killed a Missouri elk and removed the antlers with a chain saw, only to leave the animal's carcass to rot.

Cox's petition also presses lawmakers to take illegal harvesting of wildlife more seriously and require repeat offenders to face felonies and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The effort also calls upon legislators to create a law that would allow authorities to confiscate guns, knives, boats, vehicles and anything else poachers use during the crime, with those items to be auctioned to benefit public schools.

"I'm a hunter and grew up seeing all the wildlife Missouri has to offer," said Cox, whose petition on change.org had collected more than 6,800 signatures as of Sunday. "The lax punishment and penalties for poachers in Missouri needs to change. It's the right thing to do. We have such small penalties for such a large crime."

Her petition also endorses previous efforts by state Rep. Linda Black, a Park Hills Republican, to require restitution from poachers who illegally killed deer, elk, black bears or turkeys.

That legislation, which never was brought to a House vote, called for restitution of $750 for each poached wild turkey, $1,500 for deer, and $3,500 for elk or black bear. Black's House term ends at the end of the year because of term limits, and it's not clear whether the legislation will go forward.

Cox plans to share her petition with lawmakers to demonstrate the support she says there is for changing Missouri's poaching laws.