Most everyone knows that certain materials often used in our craft are fraught with rules, regulations, and laws. I've harped on raptor feathers for years, as everyone knows.
But last week I was made aware of a dire situation a guy got himself into selling snake skins down south. From the very first post he made in Selfbow Nation on Facebook he was marked by a local game warden. They followed him and his posts for several months on various social media gathering evidence. That evidence was taken to a judge and the judge found sufficient cause for a number of warrants. This led to knock on his door and a number of agents presenting him with search warrants due to his illegal sales of copperhead skins. His home and surrounding buildings were all searched top to bottom, every computer owned by the family and all their smart phones were confiscated. He had something like 100 copperhead skins confiscated when the state limit was a total of 6.
They had started with a Facebook post and that led to warrants to track his communications as well as all his financial records. They knew his bank account info, plus all his online transactions like Venmo, Paypal, etc down to every transaction and who it was with. "Trades" where no money is exchanged, like our bow trades, still count, too. If you get anything of value, even good advice, it can be considered a sale. I can see a prosecutor trying to figure out what a handmade osage bow is worth and checking online: Ryan Gill, $2,400. Weylon Olive, $1,700 and up. Those numbers in most states make it a felony.
Didn't have to happen, didn't have to go down this way. He had been warned by someone that also sold snake skins for years that he really needed to contact his state game officials and discuss in depth the legalities of taking and selling animal parts. He just adopted the "yeah, yeah, yeah, it's none of their business" attitude and found it out that this, indeed, IS their business.
They have him dead to rights. It's down to felony charges now. I seriously doubt he earned enough money doing this to afford a high caliber lawyer that can make the state bargain it down to misdemeanors and a small slap on the wrist fine. He's looking at possible jail time and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Of course, on top of that he'll lose his fishing and hunting privileges for years AND be known to law officials forever as a poacher for money. For however many years he'll likely have parole hanging over his head which means any time of day or night he can get a knock on the door and CANNOT legally say no, much less delay for a moment, search of his home and buildings, vehicle, and person. He is well and truly screwed.
All this could have been avoided by something as minor as an email or phone call to his state game officials. Or....you can be a comedian and try out the funniest line prosecutors and judges ever hear..."I didn't KNOW!"
