Poaching is poaching no matter where you go in America, and it deserves to bring harsh consequences. However, at least one West Coast state views it in a much different way than it does other criminal activities, especially when the animal has a lot of antler on its head.

A Northern California landowner recently found out the hard way when he was slapped with a $17,500 fine, three years probation and confiscation of many of his personal belongings after using alfalfa, shelled corn and other grains to bait deer on his El Dorado property in 2018.

According to the complaint, the 66-year-old man pled no contest on Feb. 21, 2020, to one misdemeanor charge of killing a deer over bait. However, because the state of California deemed the buck of “trophy size,” the penalties for the infraction were enhanced. California Department of Fish and Wildlife agents filed the charges after successfully serving search warrants of the man’s home, place of business, and the property where the baiting occurred. No antler score was provided, but a review of the photos indicate the rack was approximately mid-150s on the Pope and Young scale.

Also seized in the case were the man’s compound bow, arrow, trail cameras and, of course, the deer’s rack. a CDFW photo of the rack indicates it was from a buck that sported a decent 4-by-4 configuration (counting brow tines) with at least two matching “flyer” points of the G2s.

So, it seems that poaching a trophy buck in California is far worse than getting drunk, then driving and injuring another person; habitual reckless speeding; and or possessing crack cocaine.

In California, a first-time offense of driving under the influence and causing injury to another person carries a maximum fine of $5,000. True, a person convicted under this offense could serve anywhere from 16 months to 16 years in prison, depending on the severity of the injury to the other person.

A third-time (not first or second, but third) speeding offense of driving more than 100 miles per hour brings a maximum fine of up to $1,000. Granted, jail time is also a possibility.

A first-time offense of crack cocaine possession in California could land a person in jail for 1 to 5 years, but jail-time is very uncommon in these cases. In most first-time offense cases, the individual faces mandatory rehab, a deferred judgment, court costs, or a combination of these penalties.